Getting Things Done (GTD) is a personal productivity system developed by David Allen and published in a book of the same name. Described as a time management system, the author states in the book that if a task is on your mind, it will fill your mind completely, which guarantees that you will be incapable of handling yet another task; therefore you will fail to complete any of them. The GTD method rests on the idea of moving all items of interest, relevant information, issues, tasks and projects out of your mind by recording them externally and then breaking them into actionable work items with known time limits. This allows your attention to focus on taking action on each task listed in an external record, instead of recalling them intuitively. Themes Allen first demonstrates stress reduction from the method with the following exercise, centered on a task that has an unclear outcome or whose next action is not defined. Allen calls these sources of stress "open loops", "incompletes", or "stuff". The most annoying, distracting, or interesting task is chosen, and defined as an "incomplete". A description of the successful outcome of the "incomplete" is written down in one sentence, along with the criteria by which the task will be considered completed. The next step required to approach completion of the task is written down. A self-assessment is made of the emotions experienced after completing the steps of this process. He claims stress can be reduced and productivity increased by putting reminders about everything you are not working on into a trusted system external to your mind. In this way, you can work on the task at hand without distraction from the "incompletes". The system in GTD requires you to have the following tools within easy reach: These tools can be physical or electronic as appropriate (e.g., a physical "in" tray or an email inbox). Then, as "stuff" enters your life, it is captured in these tools and processed with the following workflow. Workflow Logic tree diagram illustrating the second and third steps (process/clarify and organize) of the five-step Getting Things Done workflow. The GTD workflow consists of five stages: capture, clarify, organize, reflect, and engage. (The first edition used the names collect, process, organize, plan, and do; the descriptions of the stages are similar in both editions). Once all the material ("stuff") is captured (or collected) in the inbox, each item is clarified and organized by asking and answering questions about each item in turn as shown in the black boxes in the logic tree diagram. As a result, items end up in one of the eight oval end points in the diagram: in the trash on the someday/maybe list in a neat reference filing system on a list of tasks, with the outcome and next action defined if the "incomplete" is a "project" (i.e., if it will require two or more steps to complete it) immediately completed and checked off if it can be completed in under two minutes delegated to someone else and, if you want a reminder to follow up, added to a "waiting for" list on a context-based "next action" list if there is only one step to complete it on your calendar Empty your inbox or inboxes daily or at least weekly ("in" to empty). Don't use your inbox as a "to do" list. Don't put clarified items back into the inbox. Emptying your inbox doesn't mean finishing everything. It just means applying the "capture, clarify, organize" steps to all your "stuff". Next, reflection (termed planning in the first edition) occurs. Multi-step projects identified above are assigned a desired outcome and a single "next action". Finally, a task from your task list is worked on ("engage" in the 2nd edition, "do" in the 1st edition) unless the calendar dictates otherwise. You select which task to work on next by considering where you are (i.e., the "context", such as at home, at work, out shopping, by the phone, at your computer, with a particular person), time available, energy available, and priority. Perspective Allen emphasizes two key elements of GTD — control and perspective. The workflow is the center of the control aspect. The goal of the control processes in GTD is to get everything except the current task out of your head and into this trusted system external to your mind. He borrows a simile used in martial arts termed "mind like water". When a small object is thrown into a pool of water, the water responds appropriately with a small splash followed by quiescence. When a large object is thrown in the water again responds appropriately with a large splash followed by quiescence. The opposite of "mind like water" is a mind that never returns to quiescence but remains continually stressed by every input. With a trusted system and "mind like water" you can have a better perspective on your life. Allen recommends reflection from six levels, called "Horizons of Focus": Horizon 5: Life Horizon 4: Long-term visions Horizon 3: 1-2 year goals Horizon 2: Areas of focus and accountability Horizon 1: Current projects Ground: Current actions
Getting Things Done (GTD) is a personal productivity system developed by David Allen and published in a book of the same name. Described as a time management system, the author states in the book that if a task is on one's mind, it will fill one's mind completely, which guarantees that one will be incapable of handling yet another task; therefore one will fail to complete any of them. The GTD method rests on the idea of moving all items of interest, relevant information, issues, tasks and projects out of one's mind by recording them externally and then breaking them into actionable work items with known time limits. This allows one's attention to focus on taking action on each task listed in an external record, instead of recalling them intuitively. Themes Allen first demonstrates stress reduction from the method with the following exercise, centered on a task that has an unclear outcome or whose next action is not defined. Allen calls these sources of stress "open loops", "incompletes", or "stuff". The most annoying, distracting, or interesting task is chosen, and defined as an "incomplete". A description of the successful outcome of the "incomplete" is written down in one sentence, along with the criteria by which the task will be considered completed. The next step required to approach completion of the task is written down. A self-assessment is made of the emotions experienced after completing the steps of this process. He claims stress can be reduced and productivity increased by putting reminders about everything one is not working on into a trusted system external to one's mind. In this way, one can work on the task at hand without distraction from the "incompletes". The system in GTD requires one to have the following tools within easy reach: These tools can be physical or electronic as appropriate (e.g., a physical "in" tray or an email inbox). Then, as "stuff" enters one's life, it is captured in these tools and processed with the following workflow. Workflow Logic tree diagram illustrating the second and third steps (process/clarify and organize) of the five-step Getting Things Done workflow. The GTD workflow consists of five stages: capture, clarify, organize, reflect, and engage. (The first edition used the names collect, process, organize, plan, and do; the descriptions of the stages are similar in both editions). Once all the material ("stuff") is captured (or collected) in the inbox, each item is clarified and organized by asking and answering questions about each item in turn as shown in the black boxes in the logic tree diagram. As a result, items end up in one of the eight oval end points in the diagram: in the trash on the someday/maybe list in a neat reference filing system on a list of tasks, with the outcome and next action defined if the "incomplete" is a "project" (i.e., if it will require two or more steps to complete it) immediately completed and checked off if it can be completed in under two minutes delegated to someone else and, if one wants a reminder to follow up, added to a "waiting for" list on a context-based "next action" list if there is only one step to complete it on one's calendar Empty one's inbox or inboxes daily or at least weekly ("in" to empty). Don't use one's inbox as a "to do" list. Don't put clarified items back into the inbox. Emptying one's inbox doesn't mean finishing everything. It just means applying the "capture, clarify, organize" steps to all one's "stuff". Next, reflection (termed planning in the first edition) occurs. Multi-step projects identified above are assigned a desired outcome and a single "next action". Finally, a task from one's task list is worked on ("engage" in the 2nd edition, "do" in the 1st edition) unless the calendar dictates otherwise. One selects which task to work on next by considering where one is (i.e., the "context", such as at home, at work, out shopping, by the phone, at one's computer, with a particular person), time available, energy available, and priority. Perspective Allen emphasizes two key elements of GTD — control and perspective. The workflow is the center of the control aspect. The goal of the control processes in GTD is to get everything except the current task out of one's head and into this trusted system external to one's mind. He borrows a simile used in martial arts termed "mind like water". When a small object is thrown into a pool of water, the water responds appropriately with a small splash followed by quiescence. When a large object is thrown in the water again responds appropriately with a large splash followed by quiescence. The opposite of "mind like water" is a mind that never returns to quiescence but remains continually stressed by every input. With a trusted system and "mind like water" one can have a better perspective on one's life. Allen recommends reflection from six levels, called "Horizons of Focus": Horizon 5: Life Horizon 4: Long-term visions Horizon 3: 1-2 year goals Horizon 2: Areas of focus and accountability Horizon 1: Current projects Ground: Current actions
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