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Thoughts on Personal Productivity

I’m generally skeptical of personal productivity systems. I think they’re mostly much ado about nothing–how hard is it, really, to simply think about what you want from life and then set about accomplishing it? (Okay, so maybe it’s not that easy.)

Out of curiosity, I read Stephen Covey’s hugely popular “Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People.” I found it too long on nebulous touchy-feely stuff (like “personal mission statements” and the like) and short on practical advice.

But then, a few months back, I came across a copy of David Allen’s “Ready for Anything,” a follow-up to his first book, “Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity.”

I really like Allen’s straightforward approach: he advocates two main concepts. The first is to write down all of your committments–everything from finishing that report at work to cleaning out the garage–and create a written or electronic system for managing these to-do lists. Second, Allen advises doing “weekly reviews” of your various projects and, less frequently, reviewing your longer-term goals. Makes sense to me.

The most recent Atlantic Monthly has a great profile on Allen and his approach, though the article’s regrettably not online. Here’s Allen’s Web site and message board, where his many enthusiasts share pearls of wisdom.

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