Getting Things Done
Getting Things Done by David Allenby David Allen
Hacker ApprovedThe most recommended of 4 productivity books
People recommend it for a capture-and-review system that clears mental clutter and makes overwhelmed work manageable.
People recommend it for a capture-and-review system that clears mental clutter and makes overwhelmed work manageable.
18 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 14
- criticize it
- 4
- approval share
- 78%
Recommended in 7 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 14 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 3.5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 7 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Capturing everything into trusted lists
“the idea of capturing every action I need to take, then routinely putting those in home/work/self/etc. buckets was life changing”
Comment from 17 Jan 2026 in “Post-PARA: What survived 4 years of real use” “I've relied heavily on seamless capture for a couple of decades, ala Getting Things Done.”
Comment from 6 Nov 2025 in “How I am deeply integrating Emacs” “The basic concept is just that you write down things when they pop into your head.”
Comment from 14 Jan 2026 in “ADHD. How do you manage the constant stream of thoughts and ideas?” - Comment from 11 Jun 2026 in “I stopped tracking my time. Now I can't focus”
Reduces mental clutter and overwhelm
“It emphasizes simplicity and developing a system you can trust so you have less running around wild in your brain.”
Comment from 3 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: Selling one's self” “gave me a framework to get out of the weeds when I am overwhelmed”
Comment from 16 Jun 2026 in “Has AI already killed self-help nonfiction books?” Improved work life
“it plus David Allen GTD changed my work life for the better”
Comment from 12 Sep 2026 in “My last six months at Evernote” “someone had to put it together. It has been useful to me.”
Comment from 17 Jun 2026 in “Has AI already killed self-help nonfiction books?”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Ideas seem nothing new
“The book had zero additional information compared to the article.”
Comment from 17 Jun 2026 in “Has AI already killed self-help nonfiction books?” “That's it, nothing profound or from another planet.”
Comment from 17 Jun 2026 in “Has AI already killed self-help nonfiction books?”
Other productivity books people recommend
The three most recommended other productivity books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Getting Things Doneby David AllenThis page | 14 | 4 | 78% | 7 | — | Approved |
| Deep Workby Cal Newport | 7 | 1 | 88% | 7 | — | — |
| Four Thousand Weeksby Oliver Burkeman | 6 | 0 | 100% | 6 | — | — |
| Essentialismby Greg McKeown | 3 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
All 18 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“it plus David Allen GTD changed my work life for the better”
“More recently I have been using GTD within the bullet journal framework.”
“It's the constant fear of the parents shouting your name from the balcony to tell you the playtime is over”
“It takes effort to read through his writing, but he had good ideas.”
“The book had zero additional information compared to the article.”
“someone had to put it together. It has been useful to me.”
“There is more than that, though. Deadlines, Next Tasks, Weekly list purge/build, Yearly alignment etc etc.”
“That's it, nothing profound or from another planet.”
“gave me a framework to get out of the weeds when I am overwhelmed”
“This is very similar to a GTD inbox and I agree.”
“They all died the same way: maintenance was the first casualty of a busy week.”
“the idea of capturing every action I need to take, then routinely putting those in home/work/self/etc. buckets was life changing”
“The basic concept is just that you write down things when they pop into your head.”
“David Allen (GTD) will love this too.”
“It emphasizes simplicity and developing a system you can trust so you have less running around wild in your brain.”
“theirs seems to be the only one that stuck (other than GTD)”
“You’re probably better off reading Getting Things Done.”
“I've relied heavily on seamless capture for a couple of decades, ala Getting Things Done.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.