46 pages • 1 hour read
David AllenGetting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2001A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Part 2, Chapters 4-6Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 2: “Practicing Stress-Free Productivity”
Part 2, Chapter 4 Summary: “Getting Started: Setting Up the Time, Space, and Tools”
Part 2 provides a step-by-step guide to implementing the productivity system Allen outlines in Part 1. It begins with advice on how to set up an effective workspace. The author emphasizes the importance of creating a designated workspace if you do not already have a desk or office. He recommends spending two full days preparing this space.
A basic workspace should include an in-tray, a writing surface, writing tools, and space for any digital equipment. If work involves regular travel, the author suggests a portable “micro-office-in-transit” (90). He also advocates setting up identical systems at home and work. Allen argues that having one’s own workspace is crucial. He critiques the widespread practice of “hotel-ing” or hotdesking, which is the idea that knowledge workers can work anywhere as long as they have a computer and internet connection. Allen feels that shifting workspaces runs contrary to the way the human brain works.
The essential processing tools required are a minimum of three in-trays, plain paper for the capturing process, post-its, paper clips, a stapler, and a labeler. A calendar, a wastebasket/ recycling bin, and an ample supply of file folders are also needed.
Allen emphasizes the importance of a comprehensive filing system for both paper and digital materials. He recommends an A-Z filing system for general reference materials that should always be close at hand. Items should take less than a minute to file to prevent unfiled materials from building up. Allen recommends keeping a stack of new folders within reach to make it quick and easy to set up new ones. An auto labeler to label files also speeds up the process. The author suggests arranging a regular “purge day” to keep on top of the filing system. This involves sorting through files and eliminating obsolete material.
Part 2, Chapter 5 Summary: “Capturing: Corralling Your ‘Stuff’”
This chapter provides a detailed description of capturing—“the process of getting all your incompletes […] into one place” (106). Allen reveals that guiding clients through this process usually takes one to six hours. The author emphasizes the importance of completing this process before moving on to the next stage. Once capturing is thoroughly completed, the mind can focus, confident that all open loops are in a place where they will be dealt with.
Capturing involves trawling your environment for items that need action or are not where they should be. Every incomplete task goes in the in-tray. If an item is too large to fit, a placeholder must be created with the object’s location and date. Existing lists and files also go in the in-tray. When the in-tray is full, the overflow should be stacked around it. Any items that are clearly trash should be disposed of immediately. However, the author warns readers not to be drawn into lengthy pondering. A separate emergency stack can be created for anything urgent, but only if absolutely necessary.
Allen recommends beginning with items on one’s desk—notes, mail, reports, business cards, etc. At the same time, it is useful to assess if any desktop equipment needs changing. If so, a placeholder should be written. The next stage is to clear countertops, cabinet contents, floors, walls, and shelves. When everything in the office is captured, the same process must be repeated in any other locations where “stuff” is stored.
Once the physical environment is cleared, a “mind sweep” should be performed, identifying any other items that are taking up space in “your mental RAM space” (115). As thoughts arise, write a placeholder on a single sheet of paper for each one and put them in the in-tray. Allen’s book includes an extensive list of professional and personal “triggers” to aid this process.
Part 2, Chapter 6 Summary: “Clarifying: Getting ‘In’ to Empty”
The aim of clarifying is to empty one’s in-tray. This process does not entail completing all actions. Instead, it involves deciding what to do with every item in the in-box. Allen recommends reading Chapters 6 and 7 before beginning the process.
Allen establishes three rules for processing in-tray items: start at the top, consider one at a time, and avoid returning anything to the tray. Although some items will be more attractive to deal with than others, they must be processed sequentially in the same manner. The author asserts that delaying decisions is a waste of mental energy.
When considering each in-tray item, one must decide “What’s the Next Action?” (126). Items that require no action fall into three categories: trash, incubate, or reference. Trash should be thrown away, deleted, or recycled. Incubate items need no current action but may be required in the future. Allen provides examples of incubate material, including an agenda for a forthcoming meeting or an advert for potentially useful software. Reminders about incubated materials can be placed on a calendar, in a tickler file, or on a Someday/Maybe list. Reference material (items that may be useful at some point) are filed in a reference system. The same process applies to e-mail in-boxes.
When deciding on next actions, Allen stresses the importance of defining a specific physical activity. For example, “set meeting” is too vague. In this case, one needs to specify how the meeting will be set (e.g., by e-mail or phone) and who must be contacted. Once a next action is determined, there are three options: “do it,” “delegate it,” or “defer it.” If a task takes two minutes or less, the author advises doing it immediately, regardless of its priority. If another person is best placed to take action, delegate it and track it on a “Waiting For” list, recording the handover date. However, most tasks will likely fall into the “defer” category. Once deferred actions are identified, they should be attached to the item on a post-it note. The item then goes in a pending pile for processing.
The final step in this stage is creating a Projects list. Allen defines a project as “any outcome you’re committed to achieving that will take more than one step to complete” (139).
Part 2, Chapters 4-6 Analysis
Part 2 is the book’s longest section, as Allen moves from theory to practice. The author’s experience as a productivity consultant comes to the fore as he coaches the reader through setting up and implementing an organizational system. Clear and precise instructions on each step are provided and a clarifying workflow diagram is provided for visual learners in Chapter 6.
Chapter 4 describes how to set up an effective workspace while Chapters 5 and 6 thoroughly explain the capturing and clarifying processes. Allen continues to develop his themes in these chapters by providing practical examples. His description of performing a “mind sweep” underlines the importance of recording open loops to relieve the brain of memory overload and stress. Meanwhile, Chapters 5 and 6 illustrate the bottom-up approach to work in action, further developing the theme of The Bottom-Up Approach and Front-End Thinking. By instructing readers to collect and systematically process every uncompleted item, the author emphasizes the importance of engaging with mundane everyday tasks to achieve higher goals. The author’s advice on filing systems also illustrates the correlation between ease and efficiency. He asserts that files should be easy to access, as “[i]f it takes longer than a minute to file something […] you’ll likely stack it or stuff it somewhere instead” (99).
Allen sets clear rules and boundaries in every aspect of the organizational process. In Chapter 4, he insists that complete ownership over one’s workspace is vital. The author unapologetically critiques the practice of hotel-ing or hot desking. Pioneered by large technology companies, such as Google and Microsoft, these practices are based on the concept that employees engaged in knowledge work can work anywhere provided they have a desk and access to a computer. By contrast, Allen argues that owning one’s office space is crucial to maintaining control over workflow. Desks should not even be shared with spouses.
Also non-negotiable is Allen’s rule that in-tray items should be dealt with one at a time, from the top down, and nothing should be returned to the pile. By highlighting the human tendency to cherry-pick the most appealing work, the author shows his psychological insight into unproductive work habits. Similarly, his warning that an “in-tray is a processing station not a storage bin” acknowledges a common failing in many people’s organization systems (125). While emphasizing the importance of the right organizational tools, Allen also warns that buying them is not a quick fix. To increase productivity, readers also need to implement his system.
Although these chapters focus on the practical business of setting up and implementing an organizational system, Allen also uses psychology to give readers insight into why his techniques work. For example, he explains that a research materials filing system is necessary as “[r]andom nonactionable but potentially relevant material, unprocessed and unorganized, produces a debilitating psychological noise” (97). Meanwhile, he links his rule of deciding about every in-tray item to the cognitive science theory of “decision fatigue”—“Deciding to “not decide” about an e-mail or anything else is another one of those decisions, which drains your psychological fuel tank” (127).
Allen encourages readers to be realistic about embarking on the process of thinking about and organizing all their incomplete actions. Using the analogies of deciding to “exercise or clean house” (126), he clarifies that willpower and effort are involved. While the author advocates adhering to his entire system for maximized productivity, he promises that readers who do not do so will still learn useful stand-alone “tricks” from his book. An example of this is the “two-minute rule,” which he claims can significantly increase productivity if adopted as a regular habit. Allen explains the reasoning behind the rule, clarifying that if an action can be completed in two minutes, it takes less time than creating and filing a reminder.
