ESCP Europe

Getting Things Done is divided into three parts. Part 1 provides an outline for getting control of your life through the five stages of mastering workflow: collection, processing, organizing, reviewing and doing. Part 2, which is well over half the book, repeats a lot of what is said in Part 1, but provides much more detail on the application of Allens methodology. Part 3 explains why Allens methods work and the benefits to be gained from using his approach. The entire process, including inputs, processing/thinking, and outputs (actions and action lists), is conveniently summarized in a flowchart provided in the book. Allens philosophy is that to be ones most productive self, one must be able to think clearly. In order to think clearly, one must have completely downloaded from ones short-term memory or RAM (like computer RAM) all the "open loops" -- unfulfilled commitments one has made to oneself. This frees the mind to do naturally what it does best -- think about things rather than of things. Allen gives pointers for using ones critical thinking skills, including three methods for making decisions about what actions to take