Category: Book Review

Book Review: Getting Things Done By David Allen

A Timeless Foray Into Time Management For Every Day Life

Getting Things Done
BreakawayIndvidual.com
Zy Marquiez
November 18, 2018

“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.”
– Confucius

“Simplicity is the ultimate form of sophistication.”
– Leonardo Da Vinci

Getting Things Done by David Allen is a no-nonsense, thorough, accessible and easy-to-follow foray into the realm of organization.

This book is practical in that anyone from a CEO to a house-wife is able to implement its tenets, and reasonable in that it doesn’t require much complexity in its implementation and application.

Getting Things Done (GTD) as a concept is not a system, but a systematic approach into streamlining an individual’s organizational process.

Moreover, GTD streamlines an individuals organizational capabilities by optimizing different (common sense) ideas that may be carried out by individuals to facilitate their lives at many levels. And speaking from experience in having applied the suggestions of this book for nigh a year, each of these ideas when applied correctly and consistently, allows individuals the capability to tackle much more in life by removing all the mental and physical clutter that modern life contains. Following the suggestions within this book is not only simple, but practical.

One excellent example of the book’s simplest and most effective suggestion is what is called the “2-minute-rule”. In plainspeak, anything you can do in under 2 minutes should be done and not be left for a later time. Under such a mindset and given its simplicity, there’s simply no excuse to let clutter of such minute amounts accrue whatsoever. Yet, most of us have myriad to-do’s that fall under this premise. In fact, even though I apply this tenet on a daily basis, I always find myself forgetting to apply it just a little bit more. But whenever I do apply it, my desk, office area, along with my work bag end up being very streamlined and clutter-free.

Sprinkled throughout the book as well are a generous number of quotes that help drive points home. These bring a fresh change to what could sometimes be a repetitive and verbose book.

With society’s addiction to materialism and all-things-speed, coupled with the rise of various media that allows for more and more time to be phased out of an individual’s schedule, Getting Things Done is a breath of fresh air in what would otherwise be a rather asphyxiating and overbearing environment that is modern life.

As such, books like this aren’t merely something to ruminate upon, but something to take to heart. Every single person would benefits from its tenets. In fact, even children can be taught the “2-minute-rule”. The book’s ideas aren’t complicated at all, they merely require effort to bring about – the proverbial first step to get things going.

Simply stated, if you want to implement a robust, easy-to-follow and systematic and mindful approach of organization into your repertoire, this book is vital and should not be overlooked. One could go as far as saying it should be part of every company’s curriculum, or an individual’s education in general given the numerous benefits it entails.
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This article is free and open source. You are encouraged and have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Zy Marquiez
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About The Author:

Zy Marquiez is a Poker Player, CEO, Business Owner, Open-Minded Skeptic, Book Reviewer, Researcher, Writer, Yoga Dilettante & Reformed Carmel Macchiato Addict.  

Book Review: Socratic Logic [V. 3.1] by Peter Kreeft Ph.D.

An Indispensable Piece For The Autodidact; A Vital Component To Education For Individuals Of All Ages

Socratic Logic
BreakawayIndividual.com
Zy Marquiez
November 17, 2018

“Profound simplicity = common sense.  – The height of cultivation runs to simplicity of common sense; the straightest, most logical way.”[1]

“The deepest sin against the human mind is to believe things without evidence.  Science is simply common sense at its best – that is, rigidly accurate information, and merciless to fallacy in logic.”
– Thomas Huxley

Socratic Logic by Peter Kreeft PhD is an essential book. This book has the capability of helping every single individual. This is because logic, as a foundational tool for education, has many resounding qualities.

Logic allows for individuals to streamline their thought process – to think in sequential order. Logic can help individuals read more thoroughly, process information more clearly and effectively, express information in a more in-depth and incisive [the same] fashion, and features myriad other benefits.

And given the unfortunate circumstance that Logic has been all but removed from most curricula in modern Academia, the benefits of logic are not being passed on to individuals. This means that individuals must be proactive in their ventures to not only study and learn Logic, but seek to master it as it was once taught in schooling if they are to implement this knowledge and skillset into their repertoire.

One of the greatest strengths of Socratic Logic is that it showcases a very in-depth approach into learning logic, but better yet, in an easy-to-digest manner. Another strength of this book is that the lessons woven within its pages are not only thorough enough, but clearly divided in very user-friendly chapters that are not only flexible, but follow common sense.

Describing the book as ‘user-friendly’ or ‘accessible’ might be a misnomer, but when juxtaposed to The Organon by Aristotle, which is a vastly more complex and demanding read, this book is a ‘walk in the park’. This ease of accessibility is one of its countless virtues.

Kreeft makes it a point to give individuals all the tools they might need to comprehend traditional logic. The book is sprinkled generously with many real world examples, historical circumstances, significant quotes and instructive issues that allow for a latitude of learning that is robust, and yet significant. Moreover, this book is quite practical in its application once the concepts are mastered and implemented into one’s repertoire.

The book also features a differentiation where one can find the basic sections (B) and the philosophical sections (P) marked in the table of contents.  This helps the reader immensely in focusing on whatever specific area the reader might want to hone their skills in.

Also of note, the book – as mentioned by Kreef and corroborated by personal use – may be used in at least 10 different ways:

[1] the basics only
[2] the basic sections plus the philosophical sections
[3] the basic sections plus the more advanced sections in logic
[4] the basic sections plus the practical application sections
[5] the basic sections plus any two of these three additions
[6] all of the book
[7] all or some of it supplemented by a text in symbolic logic
[8] all or some of it supplemented by a text in inductive logic
[9] all or some of it supplemented by a text in rhetoric or informal logic
[10] all or some of it supplement by readings in and applications to the great philosophers[2]

What one gathers from the book will greatly depend on how much time one chooses to spend learning the tenets from it. Socratic Logic may be studied independently for an autodidact, or used as part of personal learning system. The book can be studied in single class lessons, once a week  lessons, semester formats, etc.

A healthy amount of exercises throughout the book further buttress one’s understanding of the subject matter. This multifarious approach definitely helps hammer in the concepts shown in the book with utmost precision.

Taking all into account, Socratic Logic should have been a book taught in school. In fact, it should be taught to everyone because our society lacks logic in myriad ways.

In the information age, not being educated in logic and its foundational aspects – that venture into every crevice of our lives – is an extreme detriment to all individuals.

And if conventional schooling continues on the downhill grade it’s currently in, knowledge in areas such as this will be worth more than its weight in gold, and that’s not an understatement. With the student loans costing over a trillion dollars collectively and real education dissipating right before our eyes within the conventional establishment, taking your education into your own hands is not only responsible and commonsensical, but downright crucial.

To seek or further one’s education is a choice, and luckily Socratic Logic makes it an easy to choice to make.

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Footnotes:

[1] Bruce Lee, Edited by John Little, Striking Thoughts – Bruce Lee’s Wisdom For Daily Wisdom, p. 189.
[2] Peter Kreeft Ph.D., Socratic Logic, p. 14.
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This article is free and open source. You are encouraged and have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Zy Marquiez
_________________________________________________________________________________
About The Author:

Zy Marquiez is a Poker Player, CEO, Business Owner, Open-Minded Skeptic, Book Reviewer, Researcher, Writer, Yoga Dilettante & Reformed Carmel Macchiato Addict.