What formats are available for David Allen’s books, like Getting Things Done?
Formats for David Allen’s books are established entirely by his publisher, Penguin Group, and through the agreements Penguin makes with each foreign publisher.  We are so sorry, but we have no influence over distribution and we are not involved in the process of determining where the books are released.  We do know that availability varies widely by country and distributors. For example, in the U.S., you will find paperback, hardcover, Kindle, ePub and audiobook versions.  This is not the case at all for other countries and download versions in particular are restricted by territory (e.g. someone outside the U.S. cannot download a book from the U.S. Audible.com site.)

Why is the download version more expensive than the paperback version?
We’ve noticed that too!  Unfortunately, pricing for David’s books is out of our control and is entirely set by the publisher, Penguin Group, with the distribution channels where they have released the book.

Can I buy David’s books as a PDF?
No, PDF is not a format that has been created by Penguin Group, the publisher of David Allen’s books. Downloadable options include ePub (very common and compatible with iBook for iPhone, iTouch and iPad users,) Kindle (for the Amazon Kindle devices and readers) and Audiobook (spoken versions, as read by David Allen).

Where do I download Kindle versions?
The Kindle versions of David Allen’s books are available from Amazon.com.  A search for the books will show you the paperback, hardcover and Kindle versions if available in your country.

Where do I download the version of Getting Things Done for iPhone, iTouch, or iPad?
The “ePub” version is compatible with the iPhone, iTouch and iPad devices. You can purchase and download this version through the iBookstore in iTunes, if available in your country.

How come the Getting Things Done book isn’t available for download in my country?
Distribution rights for David Allen’s books are established entirely by his publisher, Penguin, with each foreign publisher.  We are so sorry, but we have no influence over distribution and are not involved in the process of determining where the books are released.  We do know that availability varies widely by country and distributors. For example, in the U.S., you will find paperback, hardcover, Kindle, eBook and Audible.com versions.  This is not the case at all for other countries and download versions in particular are restricted by territory (e.g. someone outside the U.S. cannot download a book from the U.S. Audible.com site.)

How is the Audiobook different than the iBook or ePub version?
The audiobook versions of Getting Things Done (abridged and unabridged) are spoken versions of the book. You will hear David Allen literally reading the book.  The iBook versions in the “ePub” format are for you to read–there is no audio component. ePub simply means electronic version.  Audiobook is spoken version.

How do I contact David’s publisher to share my feedback or request to have Getting Things Done available in my country or in other formats?
You can reach the Penguin Group through their website. You will find many helpful links on this page.  If you want to reach our team, to ask a question, please contact customerservice@davidco.com.

The international translation of Getting Things Done has errors. Who needs to know about that?

We appreciate when customers let us know about errors in the international versions of Getting Things Done.  We are not involved in the translation of David’s books, but we will pass along the feedback to his publisher, Penguin Group, who handles the translation process.  You can also give Penguin Group the feedback directly through their website.

What’s the difference between the abridged and unabridged audiobook versions of Getting Things Done?
Unabridged means you will hear the entire book, just like the printed version. Abridged means you will only hear a condensed version of the book (not all chapters are included.) The most comprehensive version, by far, is the unabridged version, as it covers all of the GTD content. The abridged version is more like the “Cliff Notes” summary of the key concepts and does not go into detail on the implementation phase.

The iBook format of Getting Things Done has poor formatting. Who needs to know about that?
We have been told by some customers that the iBook version is not formatted very well and we have passed along this feedback to the Penguin Group.
You can also give Penguin Group the feedback directly through their website or to Apple, their distribution partner for the iBook version.

How do I know if there is a version of Getting Things Done in my language?
We keep an updated list of foreign language editions of Getting Things Done on our website, as we are made aware of them by the publisher Penguin Group.

I had a problem downloading the book. Where do I go for help?
Please ask for assistance with downloading issues from the store where you purchased the download.  Unfortunately, we are only able to assist you with the versions available through our online store (hardcover, paperback, and audiobook.)

We hope this helps!

David Allen Company Products Team

(please vote and submit separately for each one)

Looking to join a book club to discuss David Allen’s books?  We have lively discussions about all three of these on GTD Connect, our online learning center.  Read what your fellow GTDers are learning, challenged by, inspired to try and more.  Going on now on the Connect Forums.  Free for all GTD Connect members.  Not a member? Check out the free guest pass.

Register Now >>>

If you are in the Minneapolis area next Wednesday, David will be doing a book signing that is free and open to the public. Here are the particulars:

When:

Wednesday, April 21st from 11:30am – 1pm CDT.

Where:

Barnes and Noble Downtown
Midwest Plaza, 801 Nicollet Mall
Minneapolis, MN 55402
612-371-4443

I was in the middle of reading and applying your book when I came home  one day and found it like this.

Yep my dog ate it on a day when he was bored because I was so busy I didn’t get him out for a walk. Did I mention that I was in the middle of applying your recommendations?  Well, I am keeping the book because I can still read most of it and it  is a reminder that I must complete the process I started so I will not lose any more books.

Thanks, Joy

~~

Joy,

If your dog starts getting more bones buried, odors smelled, and books eaten, let me know. (Most people haven’t absorbed as much GTD as he obviously had!)

Thanks for sharing!

David

The answer: GTD is both tactical and strategic. The process of capturing what has your attention in a system that is external from your mind, deciding the outcome and the very next action, and listing those in contexts that match your work style, is tactical.  For example, if you think of a colleague that you need to call,

and make a note of that call on your Calls list, along with the person’s number, you have captured the thought externally so your mind doesn’t have to keep reminding you of that.  When you have a phone and time to make calls (the context), you can review your calls list and handle that action.The strategic part is the way that you align your higher level purpose, long-term and short-term goals, and areas of focus, with your projects and actions.  For example, each of your projects would fall within a defined area of focus, which would be in support of a goal that fulfills your purpose.  In that way, something as tactical as making a phone call can be tracked back up to the strategy for achieving a long-term goal.

A great way to see how these tactical and strategic models intersect is in David’s book, Making It All Work.

Chris Taylor, editor for Goose Educational Media, wrote up a detailed book review of Making It All Work that we thought you may find helpful. He wrote:

We broke the review into two parts, as I felt Making it all Work really lent itself to that format.

Part 1, focusing on control
Part 2, focusing on perspective

You can also read their review of GTD. Enjoy!

Our kick-off event for Breakfast, Business, and Books presents three Los Angeles-based authors who were recognized recently in The 100 Best Business Books of All Time. These business experts will share their knowledge about meeting the challenges we face in the current economic environment. We expect this once-in-a-lifetime event to sell out, so please make your reservations early.

GUEST AUTHORS
David Allen is the internationally best-selling author of Getting Things Done,
Ready for Anything, and most recently Making It All Work.
Warren Bennis has written or edited 26 books, including best selling Leaders and On Becoming a Leader, which was translated into 21 languages.
Karen Berman, founder and president of the Business Literacy Institute, wrote Financial Intelligence with co-author Joe Knight.
Todd Sattersten is the co-author of The 100 Best Business Books of All Time and the moderator and inspiration for this event.

Learn more

January’s Wired magazine carried an article by freelancer Chris Hardwick testing out different systems for helping him structure his work and life better.

He sums up:

Now, I know that David Allen is the head vampire of productivity, but if you only have the fortitude to read a single book, I’m gonna throw my lithe frame behind The 4-Hour Workweek. Ferriss lays out a series of nimble yet perfectly legal cons to help you break out of the corporate Bastille — and work from the actual Bastille, if you want. That sly creativity best fits the rogue nature of the freelancer.

David Allen is head vampire? I’ll have to check for fang marks from my book to see if he got me.

As it happens, I am also a freelancer and I have read Timothy Ferriss’s The 4-Hour Workweek. So I feel like I can respond to Hardwick appropriately. He is right about some things–like the idea that the books can supplement each other–but I think his recommendation is way off target.

For those who haven’t read it, The 4-Hour Workweek is essentially based upon two big ideas:

Idea One covers strategies for separating your work from a physical location–the office–so that you can work from home, work from Europe, or wherever it is you want to be.

Idea Two argues that for very little capital, a single person can get an Internet business going that will provide them enough money to live on with a barest minimum of work (hence the title of the book).

I believe his ideas are sound. In fact, I’m testing out an Internet business right now with Google ads to see if I can start a side business for some extra income.

But what Hardwick misses about the GTD system is that it doesn’t matter whether you’re a corporate CEO working 80 hours a week or whether you’re living off the wealth of your Internet business and only work 80 hours every year. You still have to get things done. You still have to pay taxes and bills, enrich your relationships with family and friends, plan your vacation, and maybe–as in the case of Ferriss–learn to tango (Ferriss holds a world record in tango).

For me, GTD has helped me get out from under the feeling of always being behind, helped me stop thinking about work when I shouldn’t, and introduced a system that means I can remember to buy batteries at the store when I’m actually at the store.

Only with that in place could I really seriously consider the suggestions of Ferriss. Now, one of my projects is creating the website for my Internet business. If things are successful, I’ll add new projects like setting up marketing and shipping.

But I just can’t see tackling those things successfully without having Getting Things Done under my belt.

In Leadership in the Era of Economic Uncertainty: The New Rules for Getting the Right Things Done in Difficult Times (McGraw-Hill), renowned management consultant Ram Charan offers executives a detailed guide to surviving the worst financial and business crisis since the Great Depression. The key, Charan says, is “management intensity”-deep immersion in the operational details of the business and the outside world, combined with hands-on involvement and follow-through.

Plans and progress must be revisited almost daily. Big-picture, strategic-level thinking cannot be abandoned, but every leader now must be involved, visible, and in daily communication with employees, customers, and suppliers. In this world, everyone needs detailed, up-to-date, and unfiltered information. And they have to act decisively when trouble looms. “If you don’t prepare for the worst,” says Charan, “you will put both your company and career at risk.”

Management Intensity and HR
HR has been pretty intensely consumed with issues related to talent management over the past decade. This has been largely as a response to economic and demographic factors. The economy has been booming (meaning a higher demand for skilled workers) and the birth rate has fallen (meaning a decreasing supply of them).

In response, many organizations have increased their focus on attraction, retention and development–to put it another way, getting the right people in the right seats and keeping them there.

Major initiatives such as career development, employee engagement and retention, workplace satisfaction, and mentoring have been widely implemented to support the achievement of talent management goals.

As I sit here in January 2009, however, recession once again dominates the business headlines, and in boardrooms across the country executives are meeting to discuss falling revenues and budget cuts.  Now comes a study from Leadership IQ, a training and research firm, which bears out the conventional wisdom. Three-quarters of layoff survivors say their productivity has declined while customer service has worsened. The survey also found that 69 percent of the remaining workers believe the quality of the company’s products or services has declined since the layoffs.

The company’s survey of 4,172 workers who kept their jobs after a layoff also found that an astonishing 64% of surviving workers say the productivity of their colleagues has also declined.

Getting the right people remains critical, but in the short term, hiring will decrease and employees will become more security-conscious and thus less eager to jump ship.  There will be a renewed focus on costs, and that includes salary costs—-specifically productivity per employee (be that in terms of revenue, profit or production units).

HR to the Rescue?
Inherent in the current economic condition is an opportunity for organizations (and HR in particular) to expand their focus beyond attraction and retention to also include productivity.

Now that the new economic reality has set in, leaders have an extraordinary opportunity to add new value to the enterprise by focusing on initiatives to increase productivity and efficiency in the midst of economic downturn.  In this case, that equates to what people do—and how they do it.

GTD as a Possible Solution
As the world’s leading skill set for personal and organizational productivity, one unique aspect of GTD is that it can be immediately applied to the current projects an individual is working on. For this reason, personal and organizational productivity can be immediately impacted. In our various GTD seminars, most of the work that participants work on is real world project work. This ensures that every participant departs fully enabled to immediately be more productive—both on the job and at home.

Another important aspect of GTD is its scalability.  In support of a company-wide productivity initiative, GTD’s productivity behaviors can be easily scaled across even a global multinational organization.  GTD is commonly mapped to an organization’s core competencies to ensure that productivity is systematically supported by the various HR systems.

Finally, a distinctive feature of GTD is the amazing residual benefit that participants experience in their personal lives. GTD offers the participant and the organization tremendous value – not only because of the improved quality of work life that often lasts for the rest of one’s career, but also because of the increase in personal satisfaction, stress-relief, and productivity that people practicing GTD experience.  For organizations, this translates to more productivity in troubled times as well as more satisfied employees.

In a mammoth post Venkat relays how a day that starts off terribly and only manages to get worse is made not merely manageable, but actually successful by virtue of his GTD habits.  What’s more he manages to gracefully articulate exactly why GTD proved invaluable in the trying circumstances he describes and even more surprisingly he seamlessly weaves in an insightful review of David’s new book, Making It All Work, and even puts it in context alongside David’s first book, Getting Things Done.

Although only an overachiever like Venkatesh would consider an epic like the one he’s penned a mere blog post, it is absolutely worth the ten or fifteen minutes it will take you to read and digest his post.  Not only is it time well spent because of the information it contains and the inspiration it will provide but also for the powerful examples he delivers in what was a very personal blow by blow of a day that he artfully shows us was saved by David Allen and a pair of swim trunks.

Editor’s Note:  Venkatesh has previously contributed to GTDtimes.  You can find his other post here.

Here’s the current schedule of dates, times and locations but be sure to double check here to be sure that none of the information has been updated.

Please note that the Chicago event also includes a question and answer session.  This event is open to the general public however a ticket must be purchased in order to attend.  Business Casual attire is also required for the Chicago event. To reserve a seat please contact the Book Stall at: 847-446-8880

Los Angeles, CA
Tuesday, January 6
VROMAN’S – in store signing 7:00 PM
695 E Colorado Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91101

Philadelphia, PA
Thursday, January 8
Philadelphia Free Library – 7:30 PM
Talk and Signing
1901 Vine St
Philadelphia, PA 19103

Chicago, IL
Friday, January 9
University Club of Chicago – 12:15 PM
76 East Monroe Street, Chicago
Question and Answer and Book Signing Co-hosted  with book sales by The Book Stall. This is a ticketed event ($25/head) for non-members to reserve space by calling the Book Stall in advance. UCC dress code applies: (business casual, no denim or athletic gear; collared shirts required for men.)

Seattle, WA
Monday, January 12
Legends and Leaders Lunch – 12:00 PM
Lunch, Talk, Moderated Q&A and Book Signing
Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce
Grand Hyatt, Seattle, Grand Princessa Ballroom
Seattle, WA

University Bookstore – 7:00 PM
4326 University Way NE
Seattle, WA 98105

San Francisco, CA
Wednesday, January 14
CNET/BNET HQ – 3:00 PM
Post Interview Signing
235 2nd St
San Francisco, CA

(Sorry, just learned that the signing above is not one that is open to the public.  Please check back for updated information in case this should change)

Commonwealth Club – 6:00 PM
Talk and Signing
Business and Leadership Forum
595 Market Street
San Francisco, CA

Dallas, TX
Thursday, January 15
University of Texas at Dallas – 6:30 PM
Book Signing
Graduate School of Management
Davidson Auditorium
Plano, TX

“Making it All Work” does not disappoint him.  The review is the most comprehensive I’ve seen to date and provides an excellent summary of what to expect from reading the book completely.  What Trent does that you might find especially useful is to help place “Making It All Work” in context – both in the  broader sense – which includes explaining how it fits alongside Getting Things Done, but also on a section by section basis by walking us through a good portion of what we can expect to gain by reading the book.

This is not the type of review that leaves you wondering if the author actually read the book he’s reviewing and then just did the most cursory analysis – it is patently obvious that Trent not only read “Making it All Work“, but has taken real time to consider what it means and how to employ that advice in his own life.

If you really want to know what “Making it All Work” is about and more importantly want to know what to expect from reading it this review is the best place you could possibly hope to start.  In addition, Trent’s site in general is a wealth of information on personal finance and provides some excellent advice and tools for getting your personal finances under control and getting out from under any debt you might have.  During these trying times, we can all benefit from being both more productive as well as more frugal – TheSimpleDollar can help you to do both.

One such company, Costco, has a publication that they send to almost six million small business owners.  It is having a house list such as this that makes Costco one of the most successful businesses of its kind in the history of the world.

Thus, it is a tremendous honor for everyone involved with David Allen and the David Allen Company that David is featured on the cover of this month’s Costco Connection as well as in a multi-page article on the inside. It’s free so be sure to check it out!

An annual subscription to this amazing service runs $40 per month but right now you can try it for fourteen days absolutely free. I don’t know how long this free offer will last so if you haven’t already become a subscriber you probably want to head over to the trial registration page and sign up before it’s too late!

Here’s an example of the sort of material that GTD Connect members can access any time day or night, 365 days a year. You simply won’t find material or information like this anywhere else.

From GTD Connect’s exclusive library:

The Simpsons Interview:
What happens when you cross GTD with the world’s most successful TV comedy show? You’ll find out in this high-energy and humorous dialog between David and three of the writers of The Simpsons. Listen as Dan Greaney, Rob LeZebnik, and Danny Chun share how they’ve implemented GTD principles, each in his own way, and how they get things done in a unique professional environment. The way they produce creative comedy by committee may have some lessons for all of us!

Here’s a link to a sample of the interview. If you want to hear the entire thing use the link below but be warned that you do have to register to access that material (registration is free).

Link to full interview on GTD Connect:*

Ismael Ghalimi Interview:

Ismael Ghalimi is the epitome of the new global and virtual professional. He runs a successful high-tech software company in Silicon Valley. He’s also the creator and driving force behind the annual Office 2.0 conference. And, as a dedicated GTDer, he manages himself with totally web-based software. Listen as Ismael shares with David his perspectives on getting things done in his highly mobile world.

A link to a sample of the interview is here. Use the link below to listen to the entire program.

Link to full interview on GTD Connect *

Once again you can register for the free trial of GTD Connect here.

*Please note that free registration is required in order to listen to the interviews hosted at GTD Connect’s private site.

From O’Reilly’s dexcription of the book:

Description
Your Brain: The Missing Manual is a practical look at how to get the most out of your brain — not just how the brain works, but how you can use it more effectively. What makes this book different than the average self-help guide is that it’s grounded in current neuroscience. You get a quick tour of several aspects of the brain, complete with useful advice you can apply to everyday situations.

And don’t miss the Gallery of Illustrations from Your Brain: The Missing Manual.

One such contributor, Jennifer George has authored the post below and will begin her contributions to GTDtimes with a series of posts based upon the ground-breaking book, Kluge, authored by Gary Marcus.

Jennifer George is a productivity geek and Web addict who writes the blog Lifemuncher. In the real world, she is a fundraiser for UCLA and a graduate student in clinical psychology at Capella University.
by Jennifer George – Community Contributor

Gary Marcus’s book, Kluge: The Haphazard Construction of the Human Mind, examines the strange collection of more or less ancient systems that makes up the modern human brain. As he explains in chapter one:

“Measured nucleotide by nucleotide, the human genome is 98.5 percent identical to that of the chimpanzee. This suggests that the vast majority of our genetic material evolved in the context of creatures who didn’t have language, didn’t have culture, and didn’t reason deliberately. This means that the characteristics we hold most dear, the features that most distinctly define us as human beings — language, culture, explicit thought, must have been built on a genetic bedrock originally adapted from very different purposes.”

The word Kluge is an engineering term, and means an inelegant solution that works, but not in the best way possible because of historical and/or environmental constraints. Since our brains evolved over millions of years, building on existing systems rather than scrapping them and starting fresh, we find ourselves with a brain that’s like a marvelous Rube Goldberg device, held together with duct tape and chewing gum. It’s great at things that helped us survive and reproduce on the African savannah, and not quite as good at things related to language and abstract thought, which evolved much more recently.

According to Marcus, the human brain is primarily interested in helping you survive – noticing predators and food sources and finding potential mates. Figuring out the next step on that computer program you’re writing? Evaluating whom to vote for for president? Not so much.

The book is a fascinating and humbling overview of the evolutionary forces that built the modern brain and the resulting strengths and weaknesses that constrain and influence the way we live. Much of what Marcus describes is directly relevant to GTD and productivity, and could give us insights on better ways to do things. In a series of posts, I will be examining his findings on and trying to apply them to the life of a modern office drone. Look for the first one, on memory, later this week.