Comments on: Review: Making It All Work

By: Vidyanand Vaze

Vidyanand Vaze — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 05:05:20 +0000

Hi Trent,
This is really wonderful review. It clearly tells what you need to pickup from the book. I have also read review about “The Renaissance soul”. There are some common points for people who wish to accomplish many many things in life. I started with capturing phase which is getting everything on paper. To balance between control and perspective I decided to rank these items based on Runway to 50k feet so that you can find out important things from unimportant points. I ranked from Next actions (1) to Purpose and principles (5). Now if i want to focus on 5 then 4 and similarly in descending order, other items which are ranked as 1, 2 and not aligned with 4 and 5 should take the least priority. This way I can navigate from Crazy maker visionery to Commander. Let me know your views on this.

By: Georgia

Georgia — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 19:34:23 +0000

@Writer’s Coin

I’ve been reading GTD veeeery slowly. Not because I find it particularly dense (no offense, Trent), but because I can’t stand Allen’s writing style. There’s way too much jargon. However, I still find he has some useful tips.

By: Dan

Dan — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:02:25 +0000

Trent, I’ve ordered boths books (GTD and MIAW) from Amazon based on your reviews. You should check with David Allen about getting a commission.

By: Andrew Mason

Andrew Mason — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 14:42:26 +0000

Great review, I am just reading the book myself after reading GTD and various other books.

Thanks.

By: Writer's Coin

Writer's Coin — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 12:59:27 +0000

I tried reading GTD, but just couldn’t get all the way through it. Ironic, I know, but I’m thinking the same would happen with this book. I’ll pass.

By: Kevin Crenshaw

Kevin Crenshaw — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 12:21:14 +0000

(Jenzer, this relates to your question.) It’s interesting that David’s new book backs away from implementation. Perspective is critical but you’ve got to implement it or it doesn’t help, right?

How to actually get “Getting Things Done” done? How to merge it with Covey-like (and MIAW) perspective without complexity or uncertainty? How to do it fast, without engineering my whole system myself? How to do it for my PDA with my favorite task list?

Search the web, and you’ll see strong evidence that this is what’s really missing from both books.

The answer? My company is now trying to deliver precisely that kind of detail online, merging GTD-principle Control, Covey-like Perspective, and custom tool details in one simple training package. You’ll have to tell me if you think we’re succeeding–if we’re filling in the gaps in the implementation. The basic version of this is free:

http://www.priacta.com/Training/troonline.php

By: Jenzer

Jenzer — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 04:47:49 +0000

Trent, I’ve not read GTD, but I am in the middle of Covey’s -First Things First- (largely because of the enthusiastic review you gave it). How does -Making it All Work- compare to Covey’s book? From your review, it sounds as if the two have a lot of overlap.

By: Savvy Frugality

Savvy Frugality — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 03:38:32 +0000

I’ll have to add this one to my “to read” list. I haven’t heard of it before, but between work, freelance projects, school and family, I really feel like I’m spinning my wheels at times.

By: Amanda

Amanda — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 02:00:27 +0000

“GTT” changed my worklife & everyday life–& I found it here…thank you! I’ll definitely check it out. Hope your book is doing just as well!

By: 15 Minutes to Riches!

15 Minutes to Riches! — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:56:01 +0000

Thanks for this review. I actually wasn’t aware of this book. I’m sure I would have heard about it eventually, but it’s nice to hear about some of the strong and weak points before actually picking up the book.

By: Mrs. Accountability

Mrs. Accountability — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:51:49 +0000

I’ve read neither book, but I’m always up to learn new ways to get organized, and I need to become more focused with long term goals, especially since my husband’s trying to make his own business work. He does the physical work, but I seem to be the driving force behind the scenes and I feel like I’m always running to get everything done. Thanks for the review.

By: Chiko

Chiko — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 23:10:37 +0000

Sounds like this will be a good read. I am adding it to my book list. Thanks.