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Getting Things Done

Written by: Andy Marken

Article Overview: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

Getting Things Done

Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen, Viking Penguin division of Penguin Putnam Inc., NY, NY. 267 pages, January 2001

Review By: G.A. “Andy Marken, Marken Communications Inc., andy@markencom.com


Your whole life seems to revolve around serving clients, the press, the government, industry analysts and almost every part of the company. As if that weren’t enough you also have what you jokingly refer to as your family and personal life. It’s no wonder you seem to be constantly treading water when it comes to being productive.

We all know that if we could really, really get organized we could be powerhouse 24/7 productive communications machines. But after trying most of the bulletproof solutions most of the formulas seem to fail.

We once read a self-help book that advised us to plan our week and then work the plan. Heck if we could actually plan our week we’d be miles ahead. Just never seems to happen in the constantly changing world of communications and public relations. We live in a world where the unknown and unexpected is expected.

We know people who have lists of lists, people who use more Post-Its in a week than most of us use in a month and people who have developed the art of synchronizing their PalmPilot and desktop Outlook calendars into a science.

Unfortunately all of this stuff seems to get in the way of their productivity.

If you fit into any of these categories, Allen – often called the personal productivity guru – may have some hints on how to offload the action lists and actually get things done.

Unlike other “solutions” we’ve read, his book doesn’t require any special books, binders, software or additional equipment. In fact, it you copy the one-page flowchart that is in the book and keep it handy you’ve got the only tool you’ll need to ensure you are able to accomplish more without all of the normal stress.

We found his Two-Minute Rule to be of considerable assistance. Simply stated, if there is anything you must do that can be done in two minutes or less do, it immediately. Don’t lump all of your return calls into two fixed periods of the day, respond immediately. If you have to get an email out, do it and move on. It’s surprising how handling these must-do projects immediately can actually free up your time and your mind.

Getting control of and managing your commitments does require some discipline. If you have an unfinished project on your mind you’re going to constantly think about it…again and again. That does nothing but waste time and create stress. If you’ve made a commitment decide what has to be done so you can make some progress toward satisfying the commitment. Now that you know what needs to be done you’ve got some benchmarks you can follow to satisfy the commitment and ensure it is accomplished.

More and more of us in communications and public relations are knowledge workers so it is up to us to determine what the results should be from the work. Once you’ve isolated the desired results you can be productive and work toward the results. If you haven’t determined the desired outcome then the project is going to be constantly on your mind, creating stress.

Getting Things Done may not change our industry or make you a better writer. However, it may help you get a few more things done in your otherwise hectic day and let you get home at a “decent” hour. That may help you with two of your key publics – your boss and your family.

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