My Impressions: Getting Things Done

This is an amazing book.  The best book I read on personal productivity and getting shit done. 

Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

This book was shared to me by a banker-to-be friend before he starts his banking job full-time.  I guess the bank wanted to prep him well for those horrible banking hours and the shit work-life balance ahead. 

Let me get over the negative part before I start the praise.  I read a very old edition of this book, so hopefully the newer editions fixed this.  But the layout was shit.  The way that cool and motivational quotes were inserted throughout the book made me watch to punch through it.  I hope they found a better editor or whoever arranges the layout. 

So, I’ve always been King bitch-work.  I am so good at bitch-work that in one of my former roles, my output was 3X the next in line – without giving up other performance metrics scores.  This is rather cocky, but I never thought I was super-efficient or super-fast.  I thought it was just normal.   But I couldn’t verbalize what I do, I couldn’t teach what I do, I didn’t know if I could only attribute my efficiency to my lack of awareness on things around me resulting in a super laser focus…  Or I just have less problems facing bitch-work head on.

Then, I started reading this book.  And now, I understand.  The book verbalizes a very systematic approach to managing actions.  I follow this approach religiously.  Over the years, I accumulated bits and pieces of my approach across different books, learning from different people, continuously trying to rise above and become the best King bitch-work there is.  This book has it all here, organized and presented. 

This is a tool book.  This is not a story book where you will enjoy envisioning the climatic experience of setting up a filing cabinet.  This is not a knowledge book where you expand your mind and have cool things to say to impress people at the next gathering.  This book teaches you a very useful and specific skill.  But to be good at the skill, you have to practice it consciously and continuously. 

You can read a book, understand it, and do nothing afterwards.  Bruce Lee said, “To know is not enough, we must apply.”  I’m a firm believer of, “If you don’t live it, you don’t know it.”  Just like calorie-in & calorie-out and weight control.  You can understand the concepts, the theory, and the reactions behind every chemical compound – none will help you with your weight if you don’t execute. 

An additional note: There is a portion of the book that talks about making lists.  I love that concept and I use it, daily.  I have an account on www.habitica.com to manage my daily-to-do-lists and my longer-term-to-do-lists.  I review evaluate my priorities once a quarter, and determine should go on that list.  What are the things that are important long-term, but not immediate visible.  What are these things that I should start chipping away on a daily basis, every day, so they won’t all explode in my face all the same time. 

I do a thorough evaluation so I don’t doubt whether or not I left anything out.  I don’t have to think or debate the list.  I don’t expend energy on worrying if I left something out.  I trust it completely, and I let it run my life for 3 months.  Charge like a soldier, execute like a bawss.  If I have beef with the list, I go to the strategy officer (which is the me in 3 months) to submit my comments.  My future me will then determine the things that are the most important to focus on for the following 3 month period. 

I seriously strongly recommend the book to EVERYONE.  Now go master the skill become a streamlined machine like me.  Efficient like a robot, King of bitch work, and lead a boring and dull life.  No but really, it’s good.