Rating: 
Summary: Buy it
Review: Have you used the Franklin Planner? It has shortfalls and doesn't handle project management well. I used it for a year and quit. For example, an emergency comes up and you blow your todo lists for a week. This book explains why. Time management and organization go hand in hand. In fact, Mr. Allen does away with the priority "to do" list. I am using the system and it works great. If something unexpected comes up and kills the day, no problem. The system has it covered. This book will get you organized in a hurry and boost your productivity. It has been tailored to a paper system, but you can use it with a computer also. The system also is strong with project organization where it will take multiple steps and say weeks to get something done.
Rating:
Summary: Save time - start in the middle!
Review: I LOVED this book, and I've been practicing it's methodologies successfully for about 3 weeks now and see a great improvement in the reduced level of stress in my life.The best thing I learned was "get everything out of your head and onto your to do lists". It is such a relief not to be running through my daily life trying not to forget the little (and big) things I need to be sure not to forget. One suggestion - This book is divided into 3 parts. The first part is introduction (about 80 pages!), explaining why the methods work. The second part is the nitty gritty of implementing the process; and the third part just really wraps it all up neatly, and motivates you to get going and stay at it. I am impatient, and was very excited about getting started. After losing interest at about page 25, I skipped ahead to Part 2 and read from there to the end. I have still been very succcessful with the program, and I don't think I missed anything by skipping a few chapters. This book is great for anyone, as we all are busy and have much longer to-do lists than we think we have.
Rating: 
Summary: There are gems in the book but you need to sort them out
Review: I read the CD version of the book and it certainly has several important and interesting ideas to make getting things done less stressful. Take them off your mind! He explain some of the reasons why we feel this way with open issues.
The main drawback of the book is that you have to read 3 Cd's for the information that can be condensed in 1/3 of one. A few pages summary would also do. Maybe for people that are just starting to figure out how to deal with information would be Ok. The other drawback is that relies too much in file (paper) systems. It deals only superficially with electronic systems.
The book does have some merits but I would have paid the same amount for a 1/2 CD with what the relevant information, how to and ideas. This would have saved me the time to try to figure out which were all the ideas and how to's that were useful.
Rating:
Summary: it really works!
Review: The reviewer who gave it one star did not really read the book - nowhere in the book does it say "consolidate into one list". Maybe he only read the chapter on collecting and concluded that's all there is to what David Allen is saying. Rather, it advices to come up with multiple lists - things you can do at home, at the office, when using a computer, whatever applies for you. And then use the applicable list (your "at home" list when you're at home) to know what you will do next. It also goes beyond what you are currently doing, there are useful advices on how to deal with all the things you wish to do or have to do in the future, planning projects, and dealing with work as they come. It really works! A year ago I'd have frequent periods wherein I'm just totally unproductive because I felt overwhelmed with the thoughts of the things I need to do. Since I adopted David Allen's method of "getting all out of your head" I don't get that experience anymore.
Rating:
Summary: good and practical information
Review: Where the other theoretical books of organization fail, this one hits the heart - managing your procrastination face-on.
Rating:
Summary: Great System - But You Still Have to Get the things done
Review: A lot of people probably give up on this book as Part 1 is very slow-starting and repeats itself over and over, and doesn't really get into anything substantial until Part 2; but bear with it, because the meat of the book is great, and Part 3 really gives you motivation and drives home the key points of the book. Of course this book doesn't actually get the things done for you, and like most people I'm sure, by the time I got all the loose ends down on paper, I realized there is not enough time left in the year to do all these things. But that's part of the exercise, we all have this false impression that we can get everything done if we become efficient enough. While this book helps you to get all those little mental stress bombs out of your mind and into a system where you can prioritize things, you still have to accept the fact that you can't do everything and have to make some hard choices to prevent yourself from being overwhelmed with the detail.
And if you use this system for getting your e-mail under control, you have to really keep on top of things. After I went through the process of handling everything in my inbasket that would take two minutes or less (the magic rule), I still had "deferred" 110 bigger items. As soon as you start falling behind in keeping your main inbasket empty, you will have two inbaskets, which will lead to disaster. But if you can get into the habit of following the guidelines of this system, you will see a huge benefit, if you have always felt deluged with things to do, and trying to keep them in your head or on lists; I find it true: unless you dump EVERYTHING onto lists, you'll never know if you're making the right choices. One warning, it makes frequent reference to Microsoft Outlook as the e-mail system that can be very beneficial in following the system; I have Outlook, but I found it wasn't specific enough, and I didn't really understand what I was supposed to do; the "Tasks" feature in Outlook is critical to this process, but like most people, I didn't really know how to use it and didn't want to buy a 20-pound manual to learn it. So of course I went to his web site where I found that for $30 US (4 times the price of the book), I could download a 40-page manual on how to use Outlook. I bought it, and I'm glad I did, but I think it's a little predatory not to put this in the book, or to charge so much more just to finish the content.
Rating:
Summary: Consider the audio CD version
Review: I have adopted this system at age 35. The filing system he describes alone is worth the eight bucks. Like everything else, if you use it, you benefit, if not, it won't do a thing for you.
But he's absolutely right that getting things down on a trusted list takes them out of your head. And this is a big stress reliever.
To save even more time, listen to the CD version in the car.
Rating:
Summary: Freedom of a "mind like water"
Review: "Getting Things Done" is a road map to achieve the positive, relaxed focus that characterizes your most productive state. It will help you to get everything done with the freedom of a "mind like water". The book coaches how to will keep everything out of your head; decide actions and outcomes when things first emerge on your radar, instead of later; and regularly review and update the complete inventory of open loops of your life and work. Applying these techniques creates work environment and skills that will keep the most invested people from burning out due to stress. Review "Getting Things Done" regularly in three to six moths. You'll notice things you might have missed the first time thought, and I guarantee it will seem like a whole new book.
Rating: 
Summary: Who writes these 5 star reviews??
Review: The author is likeable and the book is an easy read. It confirmed what I already knew - get all of your to do's consolidated into one list so you can prioritize. Beyond that it didn't really add much value to my life or work.
Rating:
Summary: Manage the Vertical and the Horizontal
Review: Along with other reviewers, I must give this book an enthusiastic endorsement. Here are my reasons. (1) This system is flexible for EVERY person-not just desk jockeys (of which I happen to be). (2) It helps you manage the horizontal--multiple projects as well as the veritical--those discrete action steps that must get executed to move forward. (3) It recognizes that lofty goals are an impossibility when your nose is scraping the ground due to your buckling under the burden of "undone's" that is riding on your shoulders. (4) It doesn't feel like proselytizing like other systems. (5) It works. Many of the concepts are not groundbreaking--I wouldn't consider time management a field of breakthrough thinking--but it does take time tested time management principles and packages them in a way to meet the needs of the digital age. The reader must do a little work and think about what his/her buckets are to make the system most meaningful to their individual work and work style. Additionally, the system requires on-going maintenance, and his discussion about the weekly review is critical to the system's ongoing success. But again everyone knows that; it's that pesky problem of just doing it that requires on-going investment of time and discipline. But if your peace of mind, greater productivity (meaning having more time to do the stuff you love to do, even if that is goofing off!)then reading the book and executing the principles is well worth the effort. I'm going to the seminar in November as I liked the book so well (I've gone through it three times). For those of you on Microsoft Outlook, feeling like your e-mails are coming at you at warp speed like so many stars in a galaxy, I would recommend your purchasing as a companion to the book his PDF download on setting up Outlook tasks to mirror the "buckets". (No, I'm not affiliated with David Allenbin any way).
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