New David Allen Book

[JackC]

I see that DA has been busy recently.

http://www.amazon.com/Making-All-Work-Winning-Business/dp/067001995X/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208762843&sr=8-11

On sale end of 2008.

[Brent]

Cool! I wonder when it'll be out. The current scheduled publication date according to Amazon is December 2008, but I understand Amazon often sets the date to the end of the year if they haven't received a specific publication date yet. So it could be any time in the coming year.

I also wonder if this will cover the higher-level stuff, as David has said the original GTD book didn't cover very much of that.

[DavidAllen]

Brent,

Making It All Work is about the two aspects of control and perspective, how GTD really works with both, and how they are tied together. Essentially the roadmap to use when things grab your attention, how to most effectively then put the right kind of attention on them. That includes paying heed to the more subtle "incompletions" at the higher altitudes. Because you need control first, those aspects were the first that GTDers really took to. But the perspective piece (the essence of prioritizing) is still critical for "mind like water." It's actually all in Chapter 3 of the first book, but the new one will flesh all that out quite a bit more...

David

[smithdoug]

Fantastic! I have a copy on pre-order, but no publication date is projected. Any rough idea when we might expect it?

[TesTeq]

But the perspective piece (the essence of prioritizing) is still critical for "mind like water." It's actually all in Chapter 3 of the first book, but the new one will flesh all that out quite a bit more...

I agree that prioritizing is the element which requires deeper discussion because many GTD beginners are misled by the lack of the Next Action / Project list priorities.

[Brent]

Brent,

Making It All Work is about the two aspects of control and perspective, how GTD really works with both, and how they are tied together. Essentially the roadmap to use when things grab your attention, how to most effectively then put the right kind of attention on them. That includes paying heed to the more subtle "incompletions" at the higher altitudes. Because you need control first, those aspects were the first that GTDers really took to. But the perspective piece (the essence of prioritizing) is still critical for "mind like water." It's actually all in Chapter 3 of the first book, but the new one will flesh all that out quite a bit more...

David

Excellent! That wasn't meant as a dig at the book; just that the higher altitudes weren't in the original book in as much detail as the lower altitudes. Very glad to hear that you're addressing higher altitudes in more detail. You rock!

[John Forrister]

This time Amazon is on target. David's new book Making It All Work will be available in December.

You know how time flies, so December will here in a blink. Looking forward to it . . .

-- John

[Barb]

David,

I hope you'll make your new book available in the Amazon Kindle format. Just fyi, I just re-bought the original book...just so I could have it on my Kindle!

P.S. If you don't have one of these things, you don't know what you're missing!

[Brent]

Ooooh, agreed. I'm a Kindler, too. Fantastic for those odd moments in lines, etc.

[Barb]

More Kindling...

Brent, do you find that you are also reading faster? Maybe it's the ability to change the font size or just easier to keep my place on the page, but I find I'm reading about 2X faster! If I had to that the fact that I'm reading in tiny snippets of time, I'm clocking in at 3x!

[Brent]

Oh, yes. I'm reading much more now than I used to, and I read a lot.

Actually, I found that the Kindle has broadened my reading more than anything. I now read more current authors than I used to, such as Junot Diaz's The Complete Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, which I unexpectedly loved.

[Barb]

I bought that book and got about 50 pages in and the Spanish words made it very hard to get the meaning so I went on to another book. It was so well received by the critics, I kind of felt like a dumb bunny because I didn't get it. Should I keep trying?

[Cpu_Modern]

More Kindling...

Brent, do you find that you are also reading faster? Maybe it's the ability to change the font size or just easier to keep my place on the page, but I find I'm reading about 2X faster! If I had to that the fact that I'm reading in tiny snippets of time, I'm clocking in at 3x!

This is just speculation...

When designing websites, the copywriters where always talking about how people "scan" on the monitor, as opposed to "reading" on paper.

Years later, when I took a course in speed-reading, I learned that this "scanning" is how reading should be done. The "real" reading is what we learn in school, good for kids who are learning how to write and read, a hindrance for adults who are used to deal with the written word for years.

Maybe you are automatically speed-reading to some extend?

[Brent]

About The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao:


I bought that book and got about 50 pages in and the Spanish words made it very hard to get the meaning so I went on to another book. It was so well received by the critics, I kind of felt like a dumb bunny because I didn't get it. Should I keep trying?

In my opinion, yes, it's definitely worth it. You're not supposed to get the meaning of every word (according to the author); just keep reading and let it flow. Speaking as someone with almost no knowledge of Spanish and zero knowledge of Dominican culture, I read the book and loved it.

Man, everyone in that book could've used GTD (except Lola, maybe). Especially the higher altitudes. So many people just blithely drifting through life.

[John Forrister]

Barb and Brent - we've passed along your request for a Kindle edition of David's new book to the folks at Viking/Penguin. Thanks for thinking of that.

- John

[Barb]

You all need to buy a Kindle for David. He'll flip out.

[Barb]

About The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao:



In my opinion, yes, it's definitely worth it. You're not supposed to get the meaning of every word (according to the author); just keep reading and let it flow. Speaking as someone with almost no knowledge of Spanish and zero knowledge of Dominican culture, I read the book and loved it.

Man, everyone in that book could've used GTD (except Lola, maybe). Especially the higher altitudes. So many people just blithely drifting through life.

OK, I'm going to put it back on my list. Thanks for sharing!

[sdhill]

You all need to buy a Kindle for David. He'll flip out.

After your enthusiastic recommendation of the Kindle Barb I just checked it out on Amazon and discovered that we don't quite yet live in a flat world when it comes to Kindle. Seems it's only available in the US because of legal reasons. Oh, and if you live in Montana you dip out too because Sprint isn't available there!

[Barb]

After your enthusiastic recommendation of the Kindle Barb I just checked it out on Amazon and discovered that we don't quite yet live in a flat world when it comes to Kindle. Seems it's only available in the US because of legal reasons. Oh, and if you live in Montana you dip out too because Sprint isn't available there!

Yep, you're correct on both counts. Actually, you could get one if you lived in Montana and just sync up to your computer and download books the old fashioned way.

I'd be willing to bet you that it will one day be internationally available. Legal obstacles will be overcome eventually.

[darlakbrown]

I saw David Allen and his wife on Oprah this past week. It was a show on home renovations and he was towards the end. It showed him with his Bonsai trees and their beautiful secret garden at their home.

[TesTeq]

I'd be willing to bet you that it will one day be internationally available. Legal obstacles will be overcome eventually.

I hope I will live long enough. These pseudo-legal obstacles make it impossible to open iTunes music stores in most of the countries.

[12hourhalfday]

I have reserved my copy but is it possible to get a connect member discount on this title?