Self-help · Similar reads
Books like Getting Things Done
The best books like Getting Things Done are Deep Work, Atomic Habits, and Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less. Getting Things Done by David Allen is about productivity, organization, stress reduction. If that's what drew you in, here are 12 books that share its DNA — each summarized on Superbook, and ready to chat with in the app.
- Deep Work
01
Cal Newport · Self-help
Deep Work is Cal Newport's case that the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task is becoming both rarer and more valuable, and that people who cultivate it will thrive while everyone else stays stuck in shallow busywork.
Both dig into productivity.
Read the summary → - Atomic Habits
02
James Clear · Self-help
Atomic Habits is James Clear's framework for how very small changes — habits so minor they seem to make no difference on any given day — compound into remarkable results over months and years.
Both dig into systems thinking.
Read the summary → - Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less
03
Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less
Greg McKeown · Self-help
Essentialism is Greg McKeown's argument that the way most people approach work and life — saying yes to almost everything — is a slow form of defeat.
Both dig into decision-making.
Read the summary →
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
04
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Stephen R. Covey · Self-help
Stephen R.
A kindred self-help read.
Read the summary → - Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life
05
Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life
Nir Eyal · Self-help
Indistractable is Nir Eyal's argument that distraction is not a technology problem — it's a psychology problem.
A kindred self-help read.
Read the summary → - Do Less, Get More
06
Shaa Wasmund · Self-help
Do Less, Get More is Shaa Wasmund's argument that most people's productivity problem is not a shortage of effort or time but an excess of wrong activity.
Shares productivity and decision-making with Getting Things Done.
Read the summary → - Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most
07
Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most
Greg McKeown · Self-help
Effortless is McKeown's follow-up to Essentialism, and where that book asked which things matter, this one asks why the right things always feel so hard.
Shares productivity and systems thinking with Getting Things Done.
Read the summary → - The Great Mental Models
08
Shane Parrish · Self-help
The Great Mental Models is the first volume in Shane Parrish's series drawn from his Farnam Street blog, which he built into one of the most widely read sites on thinking and decision-making.
Shares decision-making and systems thinking with Getting Things Done.
Read the summary → - Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War
09
Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War
Robert Coram · Biography
Boyd is Robert Coram's biography of Colonel John Boyd, the Air Force fighter pilot who became one of the most influential military strategists of the twentieth century without ever having commanded a major unit, written a best-selling book, or achieved the rank that would have made him famous while alive.
Shares decision-making and systems thinking with Getting Things Done.
Read the summary → - High Output Management
10
Andrew S. Grove · Business
High Output Management is Andrew Grove's manual for how managers at any level should think about their work.
Shares productivity and decision-making with Getting Things Done.
Read the summary → - The Effective Executive
11
Peter F. Drucker · Business
The Effective Executive is Peter Drucker's 1967 argument that effectiveness — getting the right things done — is a discipline that can be learned, and that it is the most important capability a knowledge worker can develop.
Shares productivity and decision-making with Getting Things Done.
Read the summary → - The Organized Mind
12
Daniel J. Levitin · Science
Daniel Levitin's argument is that the human brain's organizational architecture was built for a very different world — one with far fewer decisions, far less information, and far lower cognitive demand than the environment most people now navigate daily.
Shares organization and decision-making with Getting Things Done.
Read the summary →
Books like Getting Things Done: quick answers
What are the best books like Getting Things Done?
The best books like Getting Things Done by David Allen are Deep Work by Cal Newport, Atomic Habits by James Clear, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey, Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life by Nir Eyal, plus 7 more below. Each was chosen for themes it shares with Getting Things Done, such as productivity, organization, stress reduction.
What should I read after Getting Things Done?
A natural next read after Getting Things Done is Deep Work by Cal Newport. Both dig into productivity. Other strong choices are Atomic Habits by James Clear, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey.
What books are similar to Getting Things Done by David Allen?
Getting Things Done centers on productivity, organization, stress reduction. Books with a similar feel include Deep Work by Cal Newport, Atomic Habits by James Clear, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey, Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life by Nir Eyal, Do Less, Get More by Shaa Wasmund — all free to read and chat with on Superbook.
