I just finished reading David Allen's pair of books, "Getting Things Done" (ISBN 0-670-89924-0) and "Ready for Anything" (ISBN 0-670-03250-6).
As most any professional I have experimented, over the years, with all sort of tools, systems and so-called "breakthrough methodology" to better organize my life and increase my productivity. I highly recommend David Allen's work which I consider to be light-years ahead of anything I've seen so far.
David advocates a bottom-up approach that is highly practical and provide both short-term, tangible results and long-term, lasting benefits. It is based on a few basic principles including (a) the need to record everything that needs to be remembered on a medium that is more reliable than the human brain and (b) a zealous, almost fanatical determination to decide right-away what the "next action" should be on any and all projects and outcomes that is significant for oneself.
What I find particularly interesting about this method is that it is totally in line with the way I have achieved success in software projects: making explicit all (and I mean ALL) commitments made to every stakeholders of a project and ensuring that everybody involved knows exactly what they are supposed to do, how to do it and why.
Visit David's web site to learn more about his exceptional work and the products/services he's offering.
Comments