Getting Things Done

URL: https://todoist.com/productivity-methods/getting-things-done
Author: Todoist

Summary

This is the last GTD guide you'll ever have to read. Learn the task management system used by millions of people to organize their work and lives.

Highlights Added July 17, 2024 at 11:02 AM

The more information bouncing around inside your head, the harder it is to decide what needs attention ([View Highlight] (https://read.readwise.io/read/01h5sn0mbcxfh23bd1h4889dc2))

• Capture Everything: Capture anything that crosses your mind. Nothing is too big or small! These items go directly into your inboxes.
• Clarify: Process what you’ve captured into clear and concrete action steps. Decide if an item is a project, next action, or reference.
• Organize: Put everything into the right place. Add dates to your calendar, delegate projects to other people, file away reference material, and sort your tasks.
• Review: Frequently look over, update, and revise your lists.
• Engage: Get to work on the important stuff. ([View Highlight] (https://read.readwise.io/read/01h5sn915x0s6p7dpqxytbfffs))

For GTD to work, you must stop storing information in your brain. Anything that crosses your mind — to-dos, events, ideas, book recommendations, etc — must be captured and stored immediately in an inbox. In GTD an inbox, be it physical or digital, is a visual representation of all the inputs you need to somehow deal with on a daily basis ([View Highlight] (https://read.readwise.io/read/01h5snb1dq9y5xfz1akdae8skx))

Your inbox is only used to collect the chaos of your thoughts in order to get them off your mind. This is not the place or time to worry about organization. ([View Highlight] (https://read.readwise.io/read/01h5snbemjk32r9g5wfx1mfx3q))

You can use Todoist to consolidate your other inboxes — from emails you need to follow up on, to messages you need to take action on, to articles to read, to grocery lists, to reference materials you save for later. The fewer inboxes you have to check for open loops, the easier your system will be to maintain. ([View Highlight] (https://read.readwise.io/read/01h5sndwc0v0z4xq5wyar3wac5))

Send items to Todoist from your email or team messaging tool:
• Forward emails directly to your Todoist inbox using your project forwarding address.
Capture reading & reference material:
• Take photos of business cards or event reminders and attach them to the relevant task’s comments.
• Attach files from Dropbox, Google Drive, or your computer to any task to read or work on later. ([View Highlight] (https://read.readwise.io/read/01h5sne2xd6v08h76rzmye5etb))

• Connect a reading app like Pocket with Todoist via our IFTTT integration and have a Todoist task automatically created every time you add an article to Pocket.
• Download Todoist for Chrome, Safari, or Firefox to save any url to access later. ([View Highlight] (https://read.readwise.io/read/01h5sne6pjpvzy6sqe6qry9ss1))

Use the Todoist share extensions on Android or iOS to share pages from mobile apps as tasks. ([View Highlight] (https://read.readwise.io/read/01h5sneaaj4h3hbhgefzgmth1a))

If a task requires more than one step, create a project to house all of the items associated with it and identify the one next action you can take to move the project forward. ([View Highlight] (https://read.readwise.io/read/01h5tr28eyq701qf7snj1j40k3))

You’ll find that many of the tasks you wrote down are actually projects. In the GTD philosophy, projects are any item that requires more than two steps to complete. ([View Highlight] (https://read.readwise.io/read/01h5tr47aqxnemw57nzvszq6h8))

Areas of focus
It may be helpful to group your projects based on your "Areas of Focus" — the GTD term for the various areas of responsibility you have in your life. These areas are a tool to draw attention to your broader life goals while deciding what to work on next. If a task does not fit within the scope of any of your areas of focus, it may be time to reassess if it's something you want to spend your time on. Or you may just want to separate your projects between "Work" and "Personal". ([View Highlight] (https://read.readwise.io/read/01h96xqendxpneek15wt7ywvts))

Next actions
These are tasks with a clear, concrete action you’ll do at the next opportunity (e.g. "Email James the budget for office party"). Next actions are separate from future actions — steps you'll take eventually but do not need your focus right now. ([View Highlight] (https://read.readwise.io/read/01h5tr5wb6jwqar33mq50j6x4x))

Tasks with a due date and/or time
For items that must be completed at a specific date and/or time, schedule them. But be warned: GTD cautions against over-reliance on due dates. Only add them to the tasks that really have to be done on a given date and time. For everything else, trust your next actions and a regular weekly review of all your task lists (more on that later). ([View Highlight] (https://read.readwise.io/read/01h5tr6b2n7bk443pamkva6q4a))

These are items that have been delegated or are awaiting action by someone else. For example, if you need to finish writing a blog post but are waiting on your editor to get you feedback on your last draft. Identify these tasks by tagging them with the label "@waiting_for". Keep @waiting_for tasks organized inside the projects their related to, or inside the One-Off Tasks project if they're unrelated to other tasks. ([View Highlight] (https://read.readwise.io/read/01h5tr7jyx4tb4syg17ntrs0c1))

Many items that you capture will be ideas for things you want to do in the future, but don't have the bandwidth to work on now (e.g. places you may want to travel, books to read, new projects you may want to try, ideas for blog posts, etc.). You want to be able to review these later, but you don't want them gumming up your system now. ([View Highlight] (https://read.readwise.io/read/01h5tr7s2tv4wwkt3d0k9bz1h4))

With your project lists in place and your tasks sorted, you're now ready to tackle contexts. In GTD, contexts identify tools, places, or people that you require to complete a given task. In other words, contexts allow you to focus on what you can actually get completed given your current circumstances. For example, if you are at your office, you don’t want to waste time sorting out all the next actions you have at home. ([View Highlight] (https://read.readwise.io/read/01h5tr8fzrqpq4216ehp8mxfjb))

Following the project approach we laid out above, the easiest way to add contexts is with labels. GTD recommends the following contexts:
• Computer/internet
• Home
• Office
• Errands
• Calls
• Anywhere ([View Highlight] (https://read.readwise.io/read/01h5tr8tyf1cp5sgqz99q83df0))

Review
Each week, set aside time to look over all your lists, organize your tasks and keep your system running smoothly. The review helps you adapt to changes, refocus your attention, identify next actions, and reflect on your workflow.
David Allen has called this weekly review a "critical factor for success" because frequent review of your system will ensure that you aren’t just doing things, but that you are doing the right things. ([View Highlight] (https://read.readwise.io/read/01h5trbse738g2hm7hbhvqjzy1))