For the last several years, a lot has been said in various circles about GTD…and its relevance today. There are opinions among people in the productivity community that range from complete defense of GTD, to complete condemnation of the system. And as far as the web is concerned, you would not be surprised to see such a wide range of thought and opinion.

One of the key criticisms of David Allen’s system is that it is too complicated for the commoner to use. It may work well for the executive, but in order to make it work, you have to put as much effort into the system as you do actually getting things done.

Many of us have been asking the question, “What more is there to say about GTD?” Is this another productivity fad that will fade into the sunset, just like everything before it?

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Fleshing Out GTD

If I had a cystal ball, I’d say that ‘09 will be an unprecedented year for reading.  From Tim Sanders to David Allen, there is plenty to put on your list of must reads.  Here’s what’s on my list up to this point:

Pat Lencioni, The Three Big Questions for a Frantic Family

Seth Godin, Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us

Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers: The Story of Success

Margaret Benefiel, The Soul of a Leader: Finding Your Path to Success and Fulfillment

Tim Sanders, Saving the World at Work

David Allen, Making it all Work

Just so nobody panics, David Allen’s book is listed last simply because it just came out and my list is more cronological than anything else.  He’s up against some pretty stiff competition though when you consider Seth Godin and Malcolm Gladwell.  Nonetheless, each of these is worth a read.

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GTD Cafe: Top Books for ‘09 and Where Allen’s Latest Stacks Up

A Reading Workflow Based On Leveen’s “Little Guide”

Many of my subscribers are active readers and book lovers. My post How to read a lot of books in a short time is my most popular, and I’ve even had the pleasure of receiving surprise copies in the mail! Along those lines, Steve Leveen’s book The Little Guide to Your Well-Read Life is a great meta book, and one of those “I have to give copies to friends” works that leaves a lasting impact.

There’s a lot to the diminutive tome, but here I’d like to share his suggested workfow, an example of a specialized system (unlike Getting Things Done, which is a general one).
Overall Flow

Here’s the staging Leveen recommends (a “shelf flow,” if you will). The basic idea is repeated reviews over time (including during reading and after) help strengthen recall. (Note: “*” indicates my additions.)

1. Pre-candidates list* (desired books, i.e., your wish list)
2. Candidates library (acquired books - a Someday/Maybe list)
3. Currently reading stack
* Castaways*
4. Après reading 1 shelf
5. Après reading 2 shelf
6. Après reading 3 shelf
7. Living library

Briefly, you have three concurrent phases happening: Collecting (managing your pre-candidates list, and buying from it - steps 1 & 2 above), Reading (”activating” one or more of your candidates - step 3), and Reviewing (steps 4-6). Finally, you continue to return to your living library over time, re-reading favorites, or using it for reference or inspiration (step 7). Of course if the book doesn’t pass the 50 page test (see ), it gets rejected as a castaway.

Thanks for joining us on the call, you can learn more about this reading workflow system at Matt’s blog.

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Getting More From the Books You Read

The book is available as a downloadable e-book beginning October 29, at a cost of $12.50, of which $10 will be contributed to the children’s charity Variety. Beginning on the same date, orders will be taken for a limited number of printed books in hardcover ($29.95, with $6.04 to charity) and softcover ($19.95, with $8.02 donated to charity).

Buy this book!

Purchases can be made online at Lulu.com.
More information can be found at the Age of Conversation website. Please do consider purchasing this book, you can learn a lot and support a good cause.

The following is a link-rich list of all of the 237 contributors, please do take the time to visit their sites and leave a thoughtful comment.

Adrian Ho, Aki Spicer, Alex Henault, Amy Jussel, Andrew Odom, Andy Nulman, Andy Sernovitz, Andy Whitlock, Angela Maiers, Ann Handley, Anna Farmery, Armando Alves, Arun Rajagopal, Asi Sharabi, Becky Carroll, Becky McCray, Bernie Scheffler, Bill Gammell, Bob LeDrew, Brad Shorr, Brandon Murphy, Branislav Peric, Brent Dixon, Brett Macfarlane, Brian Reich, C.C. Chapman, Cam Beck, Casper Willer, Cathleen Rittereiser, Cathryn Hrudicka, Cedric Giorgi, Charles Sipe, Chris Kieff, Chris Cree, Chris Wilson, Christina Kerley (CK), C.B. Whittemore, Chris Brown, Connie Bensen, Connie Reece, Corentin Monot, Craig Wilson, Daniel Honigman, Dan Schawbel, Dan Sitter, Daria Radota Rasmussen, Darren Herman, Dave Davison, David Armano, David Berkowitz, David Koopmans, David Meerman Scott, David Petherick, David Reich, David Weinfeld, David Zinger, Deanna Gernert, Deborah Brown, Dennis Price, Derrick Kwa, Dino Demopoulos, Doug Haslam, Doug Meacham, Doug Mitchell, Douglas Hanna, Douglas Karr, Drew McLellan, Duane Brown, Dustin Jacobsen, Dylan Viner, Ed Brenegar, Ed Cotton, Efrain Mendicuti, Ellen Weber, Eric Peterson, Eric Nehrlich, Ernie Mosteller, Faris Yakob, Fernanda Romano, Francis Anderson, Gareth Kay, Gary Cohen, Gaurav Mishra, Gavin Heaton, Geert Desager, George Jenkins, G.L. Hoffman, Gianandrea Facchini, Gordon Whitehead, Greg Verdino, Gretel Going & Kathryn Fleming, Hillel Cooperman, Hugh Weber, J. Erik Potter, James Gordon-Macintosh, Jamey Shiels, Jasmin Tragas, Jason Oke, Jay Ehret, Jeanne Dininni, Jeff De Cagna, Jeff Gwynne & Todd Cabral, Jeff Noble, Jeff Wallace, Jennifer Warwick, Jenny Meade, Jeremy Fuksa, Jeremy Heilpern, Jeroen Verkroost, Jessica Hagy, Joanna Young, Joe Pulizzi, John Herrington, John Moore, John Rosen, John Todor, Jon Burg, Jon Swanson, Jonathan Trenn, Jordan Behan, Julie Fleischer, Justin Foster, Karl Turley, Kate Trgovac, Katie Chatfield, Katie Konrath, Kenny Lauer, Keri Willenborg, Kevin Jessop, Kristin Gorski, Lewis Green, Lois Kelly, Lori Magno, Louise Manning, Luc Debaisieux, Mario Vellandi, Mark Blair, Mark Earls, Mark Goren, Mark Hancock, Mark Lewis, Mark McGuinness, Matt Dickman, Matt J. McDonald, Matt Moore, Michael Karnjanaprakorn, Michelle Lamar, Mike Arauz, Mike McAllen, Mike Sansone, Mitch Joel, Neil Perkin, Nettie Hartsock, Nick Rice, Oleksandr Skorokhod, Ozgur Alaz, Paul Chaney, Paul Hebert, Paul Isakson, Paul McEnany, Paul Tedesco, Paul Williams, Pet Campbell, Pete Deutschman, Peter Corbett, Phil Gerbyshak, Phil Lewis, Phil Soden, Piet Wulleman, Rachel Steiner, Sreeraj Menon, Reginald Adkins, Richard Huntington, Rishi Desai, Robert Hruzek, Roberta Rosenberg, Robyn McMaster, Roger von Oech, Rohit Bhargava, Ron Shevlin, Ryan Barrett, Ryan Karpeles, Ryan Rasmussen, Sam Huleatt, Sandy Renshaw, Scott Goodson, Scott Monty, Scott Townsend, Scott White, Sean Howard, Sean Scott, Seni Thomas, Seth Gaffney, Shama Hyder, Sheila Scarborough, Sheryl Steadman, Simon Payn, Sonia Simone, Spike Jones, Stanley Johnson, Stephen Collins, Stephen Landau, Stephen Smith, Steve Bannister, Steve Hardy, Steve Portigal, Steve Roesler, Steven Verbruggen, Steve Woodruff, Sue Edworthy, Susan Bird, Susan Gunelius, Susan Heywood, Tammy Lenski, Terrell Meek, Thomas Clifford, Thomas Knoll, Tim Brunelle, Tim Connor, Tim Jackson, Tim Mannveille, Tim Tyler, Timothy Johnson, Tinu Abayomi-Paul, Toby Bloomberg, Todd Andrlik, Troy Rutter, Troy Worman, Uwe Hook, Valeria Maltoni, Vandana Ahuja, Vanessa DiMauro, Veronique Rabuteau, Wayne Buckhanan, William Azaroff, Yves Van Landeghem

I am looking forward to working on something exiting with each of the authors on this list in the future.

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The Age of Conversation 2

They are now located on their own page, so you can look at them or not. I have read these books or used these services and highly recommend them. If they are not worth using, I won’t waste your time. Please consider clicking on each one and checking them out.

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