When comparing The ONE Thing vs Zen To Done, the Slant community recommends Zen To Done for most people. In the question“What are the best books on Productivity?” Zen To Done is ranked 2nd while The ONE Thing is ranked 7th. The most important reason people chose Zen To Done is:
Where many productivity books encourage you to start everything at once, Zen To Done takes a different approach. Realizing that making a large number of changes at once can be discouraging, it suggests that you take your time implementing the changes (recommending a year to do so).
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Great approach for those who are easily overwhelmed
Having a long to-do list can be overwhelming for some, and can cause people to jump back in forth between tasks hoping to get through the list faster.
The ONE Thing teaches the flaws with multitasking and emphasizes the importance of focus for increasing productivity.
Pro Challenges you to question the importance of your tasks
The authors challenge the idea that all tasks are of equal importance. They encourage you to question the tasks you feel need to be accomplished, allowing you to focus on the tasks that are more important.
Pro Ideal for those in business/management
Pro Suggests that not all changes be made at once
Where many productivity books encourage you to start everything at once, Zen To Done takes a different approach.
Realizing that making a large number of changes at once can be discouraging, it suggests that you take your time implementing the changes (recommending a year to do so).
Pro Adaptation of "Getting Things Done"
The author of Zen To Done realizes the potential in the book "Getting Things Done", but acknowledges the ways in which it can be discouraging for some people, and a hard lifestyle change to maintain.
Zen To Done applies those same concepts presented in "Getting Things Done", but with a much slower approach.
Cons
Con Impractical message
The author dismisses the idea of a work-life balance, calling it a lie. This book is mostly beneficial for those who don't mind sacrificing their life outside of work for more productivity in the office.
Con Pre-marked points throughout the book
The author has marked different points throughout the book for emphasis by underlining some key points in what looks like pencil.
This can be distracting as your eyes immediately jump to the emphasized lines.
Con Plenty of typos
Though the occasional typo tends to make it through to publication, this book has more than it's fair share. The number of typos and other errors (such as incorrectly numbered lists) can get distracting and cause some confusion.
Con Ideas are rehashed throughout the book
The author takes his initial suggestions and repeats them frequently throughout the book, which feels like an attempt to fill pages. It makes for a somewhat dull read.