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I really don’t spend all that much time reading books. Honestly. I think actually doing something is a better usage of time. I just happen to have finished several in the last month or so, and I think it’s valuable to write down the few key take-aways. Helps make sure I actually learned something…
David Allen’s book is highly revered and seems to be considered the bible for “getting tasks done.” Most of the book goes through describing Allen’s system for gathering, processing, and completing tasks. I skimmed most of this in order to use my time wisely. I’ve got enough experience juggling lots of tasks that I’ve developed a pretty good system for managing them. If you don’t have a system that works for you, this stuff may be a good place to start.
Here’s the most important insight from this book that everything else is predicated upon: “Open loops”–unclear plans, amorphous issues to be addressed, disorganized tasks cluttering our desks–stay on our minds and run in the background. Consequently they distract and cause stress.
The rest of the book is simply a system for solving this problem and implementing a system that frees us to use our brains as a thinking a machine, as opposed to a machine for trying to keep track of all the tasks we’re supposed to be doing.
So, it’s very possible, if you want to reduce your stress, you should collect all the things cluttering your life, figure out what the next action is, and get it done.
-Kevin
2.10.2011
