Getting Things Done - January Book of the Month
Here at Home Biz Notes, January is special month. HBN is the featured blog for b5media, so I’m celebrating with 31 Days of Tips, Tricks, and Treats. One of the treats is the initiation of a Book of the Month feature. Each month I will focus on one book that can help you in your home business.
Getting Things Done. January’s Book of the Month is Getting Things Done by David Allen. Written in 2001, this book was at the top of the NYTimes bestseller list for many weeks, and it has become the “bible” of personal productivity. Allen’s title is clear, but his subtitle is even more revealing: The Art of Stress-free Productivity.
Book of the Month Discussion. Over the next few weeks, I will talk about the book, letting you know the basic tips the author discusses. I will also interview David Allen. I will give you some tips and tricks to help you increase your personal productivity, and to entice you to buy the book. I would encourage you to buy this book (I’m not getting any kickback from it; David Allen doesn’t need my testimonial). It’s $15 at Barnes and Noble or $9.43 on Amazon, or you might be able to find a used copy somewhere.
Personal Experience. I have started reading GTD and I am beginning to put Allen’s plan into action. I have lots of notes already and this week I’m going to begin my organization plan for my home office. I’m excited to finally be getting organized! If you decide to buy the book and work through Allen’s productivity plan, we can share experiences.
Why I Need to Get Organized. When I knew I wanted to use GTD for this month’s book, I started looking all over for it. I thought I loaned it to my daughter-in-law, but she says she gave it back to me. I think it was when I realized I was so disorganized that I couldn’t find the book on organization that I knew I was going to have to start over.
Questions about Personal Productivity. I need your help with my interview. What questions do you have about getting more productive? Balancing work and family? Working smarter? Getting organized? Send me a comment and I’ll add your question to my list.
Getting Things Done Contest. Toward the end of the month, I will have a Getting Things Done contest and give away a copy of Getting Things Done. (If you have already purchased it, I’ll send you one of Allen’s other books.)
For today, I’ll leave you with a couple of thoughts from David Allen:
He says, “Teaching you how to be maximally efficient and relaxed, whenever you need or want to be, was my main purpose in writing this book.” I love that - being both efficient and relaxed sounds like an contradiction, but it certainly makes a lot of sense. I can be much more relaxed when I’m organized. Less stress, more time.
Allen also notes that work has no clear boundaries any more. There is no clear distinction between our work and our personal lives. Nowhere is that more evident than for the home business owner. We are constantly juggling work and family, professional and personal obligations. Allen says we need a new way to “get a grip on it all, stay relaxed, and get meaningful things done with minimal effort, across the whole spectrum of … life and work.”
Join me in January in looking at Getting Things Done. I hope by the end of the month we are both more productive and more relaxed.
Tags: 31 Days of Tips Tricks and Treats, Book of the Month, home-business-owners, Personal productivityShare This
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POSTED IN: Featured Posts, Productivity, Questions about Home Businesses, Quotes & Inspiration, Top Home Biz Tips
2 opinions for Getting Things Done - January Book of the Month
Inauguration Day Work for Home Business Owners
Jan 19, 2009 at 7:20 am
[...] clutter and be able to find important pieces of paper more quickly. I have been using the Getting Things Done system, but I’ve modified it to work for me. For example, David Allen says to put [...]
Professional Organizing as a Business - An Interview with Ellen Faye, CPO
Jan 23, 2009 at 8:51 pm
[...] recognition of “Getting Things Done” and professional organization this month, I interviewed Ellen Faye. Ellen is the owner of [...]
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