Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
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I was attracted to the title of this book. I like to think of myself as somebody who gets things done, but could always use new ideas on how to take care of business better. In a time of an increasingly competitive and demanding marketplace, we all need all the tools we can get. And there are some here, but fewer than I had hoped.
The biggest gift to me from this book was the concept in the first fifty pages that the way to greater productivity, to what the author calls, borrowing from karate, the "mind like water," is to clear the mind. If there is anything, no matter what area of your life it's from, that you're thinking about - it reduces productivity. If you're worrying about hiring a plumber or calling your sister or hiring a gardener, that worry will affect how you function in front of your staff or in a conversation with your wife. The author argues that your mind will keep working on anything that's still in an undecided state, so he advocates emptying everything - emptying your mind, your in-box, your junk drawers - everything. That was helpful.
The disconnect for me was that most of the rest of the book was telling me what kind of folders to use and how to brainstorm. There were some good box quotes, but that was the best part for me after page 50 (and there are nearly 300 pages.) So, if you need a pep talk about things you likely already know, this could be that. But if you need real organization, you just need to get busy instead of putting the work off by buying books on the subject. I give a lukewarm thumb's up to David Allen's latest bestseller, Getting Things Done.
