1) read Getting THings Done. The knowledge inside this work has been so powerful it has even effected how I sleep; much better. The information here is life changing but like most revivals it can be like thunder a loud exciting burst followed by stillness. Read ahead---->

2) get Ready for Anything 52 Principles.... I read a chapter from this book everymorning, after listening to GTD, and it has helped me through the most difficult part; maintaining enough enthusiam and focus to make it a way of life. The chapters are short to the point and filled with everyday, real life, easy to digest reminders on getting things done.

The fire is still burning well after the storm.

This book is a waste of money. It is a collection of emails that David sent to his subscribers and repackaged in book form. Just stick with the original book, "Getting Things Done"; you don't need the sequel.

Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

Compared to nothing, perhaps this book gets four stars, but you just can't be objective about the writer of the classic book "Getting Things Done." This little book is a very fine accomplishment, easy to read, and packed with great advice. The quotes which also litter this book from other writers, philosophers, etc, are excellent - it's almost worth reading the book just for those quotations.
After finishing the book, I thought, "good, but not great.." so I guess I'm sticking with that initial reaction. One of the best things about this book is it's length. It's short. Right to the point, not a lot of fluff nor repetition of the same ideas. It's easy to read in one sitting, and I think I'll end up reading it several times. I usually wait until the second or third reading to make a complete judgment on a book, so I'm wagering that this one may rise in stature after a couple of more reads. I'll also say it was well worth the price I paid for it - I bought the hardcover at Building #19 for $2.98.

Both books by David Allen: "Getting Things Done" and "Ready for Anything", are amazing. I recommend starting with the first book and then proceed to the second one. I have reviewed "Getting Things Done" on January 3, 2003, and since that, did not find a better English-writing author on productivity and time management. The only one who is as influential as David Allen is Gleb Arkhangelsky, with his famous book "Time Drive" and other titles.

"Ready for anything" is a shorter reiteration of David Allen's principles first laid out in the "Getting Things Done", but this reiteration has deeper philosophical approach.

The most valuable technique that I have borrowed from David Allen is e-mail management habits. While there are many books devoted to email like "The Hamster Revolution", "Never Check E-Mail In the Morning", "Time Management for System Administrators", for me the framework by David Allen is the most actionable, which I'm using successfully for five years so far.

I can also recommend the audio version of "Ready for anything".

David Allen's "Ready for Everything: 52 Productivity Principles for Work & Life" is excellent! As the companion book following his widely popular "Getting Things Done", it is a great addition to enhance personal productivity. I found myself revisiting the book time and again to get back on track whenever I felt overwhelmed. It inspired me to look with clarity and I discovered that it is entirely possible to make things happen with less stress and more effectiveness.

Another great resource I found that has helped me tremendously are books and podcasts by Ariel and Shya Kane. If you like David's approach, you might enjoy the Kanes' Being Here: Modern Day Tales of Enlightenment, and Working on Yourself Doesn't Work: A Book About Instantaneous Transformation. Though not specifically tailored for productivity, the Kanes' books have made a huge impact on my work and life because they have inspired me to look at the root- how I operate in my life and not to judge what I have done or see. It is very freeing to learn to live in the moment. I can be appropriate to what's showing up in my life and this helps me get things completed with satisfaction. I highly recommend them!

This book is a great follow up to Allen's Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity. It probes a little deeper into the areas that he explains in GTD. I gave it 4-stars because I feel it's a companion book and that the original is the 5-star read.

This book helped me think and examine the way I work again. I can relate to those examples mentioned in the book. The book is like an advisor that gives you advice leading you into a more effective way of living. I think this book is OK.

Read it and it will transform your thinking and ultimately your life.
There's great wisdom and practicality in every line.

I read David Allen's first book, Getting Things Done, and thought that his productivity system was great, so I quickly bought Ready for Anything (his second book) to find out what other advice he has to share.

There are many useful insights in this book that elaborate on his GTD system and tackle different aspects of productivity. However, the points he makes could easily have been said in a far simpler - and a more structured - way. For most chapters, I can make out the main point from the title and a few sentences towards the end. Everything in between is usually very confusing, and I struggle to link it to the main idea or any experience in my life.

The lack of structure and the unnecessary confusion shaved off two stars from my rating. Besides that, I believe David Allen's approach is a great way to approach productivity, and this book can help you understand some of the essentials of his system, and the reasoning behind them.

David Allen through this series of 'essays' broadens the GTD concept. One major advantage of this book over his previous one is that the GTD framework is extended past the 'operational' aspects of getting things done. For followers of GTD or those wanting a fresh look at managing today's ever conflicting demands, it's well worth a read.

As a huge fan of David Allen's previous book/philosophy, "Getting Things Done," I was already ready for this "black-belt" CD class and now I'm on my third listen-through during daily commutes.

If you didn't appreciate the initial GTD, then you shouldn't start here anymore than a karate student should start with black belt classes. You should already be reasonably familiar with the GTD process of: In-basket, Process, Organize, Review, and Do - because this new work is all about the subtleties and implications of these steps. Wait until you are a bit experienced in GTD and either feel like you're missing something or want more depth and nuance before starting this new book/CD, or you will not appreciate nor benefit from these great insites and expositions on living a productive life as an imperfect human.

As a real black belt in a traditional Japanese martial art, I appreciate the links Mr. Allen makes between karate forms and organization, and again between real-world fights and dealing with real-life emergencies. You can't be truly creative or take advantage of spontaneous opportunities if you're not practicing staying on top of your commitments and tasks with a good system in place that you trust.

So - start with "Getting Things Done" to learn all the forms. Then get "Ready for Anything" to continue improving at the black belt level.

My highest recommendation, if you're ready for it.

Some reviews have been critical, saying that the material is common sense.

That is the beauty of most things that work. The book is a lot like Dave Ramsey's financial advice. It's common sense, but organized in such a way to make you most effective.

That's what I like about this book. Each portion of his system is extremley intuitive and simple. You put it all together, and it makes you effective if you have the self discipline to do it.

One really good part of the book is that it accurately explains our "stress" as the vague feeling that, despite what you are working on, you should be doing something else, or, that you can't get everything done. He shows you how to organize your workflow so that you can make your daily (hourly) decisions on what to handle confidently - because you are aware of everything that you have to do, and where it ranks in your priorities.

I also like that his system is realistic and flexible, for those days that 3 fires hit you. I also like that it is not software or hardware (certain special calendars) specific. I have always been skeptical of organziational books that seem like they're just trying to hook you on selling you other merchandise. This guy's system can be done with a looseleaf notebook or a PDA. Whatever floats your boat.

I have the book on cassette tapes and I listen to the tapes A LOT! I would recommend reading or listening to this book several times. It has the potential to be life-changing...really!

This book seems like a repetition of the firs one (Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity) which was very interesting and it helped me a lot. If you want to learn his theory about edit and organize todo list, you better buy that one.

This book was not bad. I almost gave it 4 stars, but there are some other great books out there. I have already read Allen's 'Getting Things Done', so some of the material was rehash for me. Overall, I think the book does what it sets out to do, and it does contain some useful tips.

Key points:

1. One should read Allen's "Getting Things Done" (GTD) before reading "Ready for Anything" (RFA).

2. If you've read GTD, you can probably skip RFA. It reinforces some core GTD principles, often in a mind-numbingly repetitive fashion (which can be a good teaching style), but also tries to fill in some of "The Vision Thing" content absent in GTD. Unfortunately, Covey is better than Allen in addressing "The Vision Thing." Together, GTD plus Covey's "7 Habits" and "First Things First" (FTF) make an interesting collection.

3. RFA suffers from the same design and layout issues I found with GTD: the "inspirational quotations" in the margins destroy the reading flow as they push into the space occupied by the main text. The quotes distract the reader from the main text due to their intrusion into such and a lack of white space. IMO, there are too many inspirational quotes. Allen should have simply started each chapter with one relevant quote, ala Covey's "7 Habits..." I've noticed that some of the inspirational quotes are recycled from GTD and are sometimes better than the associated essay in RFA. To see how to place quotes or references in the margins of a book's pages, Allen should review any of Edward Tufte's books, such as "Beautiful Evidence."

4. There are obvious parallels throughout RFA to ideas in Covey's "7 Habits" and "First Things First." However, there's no mention of Covey in the book (and he's only cited once in GTD via an inspirational quote). Both Covey and Allen have interesting things to teach, but it seems Allen eschews any reference to Covey despite the obvious parallels to anyone who has read both authors. In some cases, it seems Allen is taking pot-shots at Covey ideas, such as his reference to the "quadrant matrix" on page 22 of the paperback edition of RFA, an obvious reference to Covey's Urgent/Important matrix in FTF.

5. RFA makes no attempt to indicate when the included essays were originally published in Allen's newsletter. It would be interesting to know when the original essay was published. I'm sure they've been edited and updated for the book, but some connection to their stated original publication dates might be helpful in understanding where Allen was in his personal journey at the time he wrote the essay.

6. The "By the way..." items at the end of each RFA chapter may be valuable for readers who've not yet asked themselves some of the deeper questions or who are struggling with their GTD implementation.

7. IMO, the GTD Workflow chart, in a revised form in RFA, still needs work. Perhaps they should not try to fit it on one page: use a two-page spread or, even better, a fold-out that one can also tear out. The chart would benefit from the help of someone who knows how to draw flowcharts.

8. The paper in the paperback edition of RFA is of a cheap, inferior quality compared to that used in the paperback edition of GTD. To me, it feels like cheap newsprint.

9. RFA lacks an index. A book like this, without an index, is most unfortunate, indicating perhaps a rush job to capitalize on GTD interest by recycling old essays. Recycling content for additional profit is a good idea, but any book like this should include an index.