Getting Things Done and Creative Agency Productivity Tools

Getting Things Done®, or GTD® for short, is a work-life management system that helps to transform chaos into stress-free productivity. Similar to productivity software for a creative agency, this book provides you with best practices to be productive in your everyday life. The Getting Things Done® book by David Allen is considered the bible of the system.

I read the book for the first time over five years ago, and it helped me to transform my life. The book will give you different insights into your life and will provide you with best practices to succeed in your personal as well as professional life. Because of this book, I have more time to spend with my family and do the things that I like doing knowing that the day to day activities of my busy life are under tight control.

Getting Things Done

The book is broken down into three parts:

1. The art of getting things done
2. Practicing Stress-Free Productivity
3. The Power of the Key Principles

The first part of the book provides the foundations to the system. It talks about the reasons behind needing the system in the first place and the different steps involved in actually following the system. The system is broken down into two major processes:

1. Getting control over the items in your life. Providing you perspective, and through that empower you to think about the things you would like to achieve in your life (through core values, purpose, mission, vision and areas of interest).
2. Implement the system using a paper-based approach, which is discussed in the second part of the book.

The third part of the book speaks towards the psychology of the system, how it would affect your life and organization once the system is applied to every aspect of your life, as well as some of the mental barriers associated with following the system on a daily basis.

The Gold Mine

I think of this book as an infinitely sourced gold mine. Whenever I re-read it I get new insights into the process (I am reading it pretty much on a yearly basis). It is like watching a good movie more than once, and every time noticing small details that you haven’t noticed before.

Some people may think that the second part of the book is not relevant to today’s tools, but that’s not the case. The truth of the matter is that unless you know how to implement the system with paper, you cannot follow the system effectively in digital form. I would highly recommend paying attention to that part as you read the book. The trick is to apply the same techniques to your own workflow/tools.

What’s Next?

If you have not read the book, read it. It will transform your life!

If you have read Getting Things Done, I would recommend reading the next two books:

1. Making It All Work – this book provides a really deep dive into the perspective side of things
2. Ready For Anything – provides many real life scenarios and tips for people that go through the process of implementing GTD® in their lives.

In summary, GTD® can provide the same piece of mind for your personal and professional life that agency project management software provides in a creative agency.

This article was contributed by former Function Point team member, Alon Sabi.