![\"What](\"https:\/\/zenkit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/header.en23.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Getting Things Done<\/a> is a time management technique that took the world by storm when it was first published in 2001. It was created by David Allen after years of research and practice in the field of productivity methods. (As some of you already know, Zenkit founder and CEO, Martin Welker had the honour of interviewing Mr. Allen for The Next Web<\/a> this year.)<\/p>\n GTD has remained popular until this day and enjoys a strong following around the world. If you\u2019re new to GTD, this guide will introduce you to the main principles. If you\u2019re an old hand, keep your eyes peeled for next week\u2019s article on how to set up GTD in Zenkit<\/a>.<\/p>\n Getting Things Done<\/a> (GTD for short) is much more than just a way to get things done. It is a framework for organizing and tracking tasks, such that you can 100% trust<\/em> that the things on your to-do list truly are the things you need to do.<\/p>\n GTD forces you to add both context <\/em>and structure <\/em>to tasks\u200a\u2014\u200agetting things out of your mind and into a space where you can start working on them.<\/p>\n \u201cYour mind is for having ideas, not holding\u00a0them\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n David Allen<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The basic concept of GTD is that your brain is excellent at having new ideas but terrible at remembering them. For example, it remembers that you need to get a present for your mum\u2019s birthday next week, but instead of reminding you when you walk past her favourite store, it just leaves you with a nagging feeling that you should have bought something\u2026 for someone\u2026?<\/p>\n When used properly, GTD is a foolproof system that helps you take your vague ideas, whims, inspirations, and late-night musings, and turn them into actions. The idea is that once you trust your system, your brain will stop trying to keep track of everything, thus reducing stress and freeing up brain power for more productive things. Sounds awesome, right?<\/p>\n GTD relies on a series of lists that you use to organize everything that comes to your mind. To implement GTD, you need to capture and process the \u2018stuff\u2019 that enters your life, following a workflow of 5 steps<\/a>.<\/p>\n Next up are your lists: \u2018inbox\u2019, \u2018next actions\u2019, \u2018waiting for\u2026\u2019, \u2018projects\u2019, and \u2018someday\u2019. These lists form the backbone of the GTD system. Each thing that needs your attention lands in the \u2018inbox\u2019 list, then percolates down to other lists through the clarifying and organizing steps. How you process and sort these lists determine which things you act on, and which you don\u2019t.<\/p>\n The inbox <\/strong>is where everything <\/em>lands, where you capture your thoughts. It\u2019s an inbox for your brain\u200a\u2014\u200aemails, phone calls, an idea you had on your ride to work, someone asking you to dog sit on the weekend\u2026 everything. Some people carry a notebook to record thoughts, others use an app or recording device. It doesn\u2019t matter what you use, or how many of them you have (you can have more than one inbox list). The only important thing is that you have somewhere to unload thoughts as they come to you, no matter where you are.<\/p>\n When you first start using GTD, you should do a brain dump of all the things that are on your mind or scattered around your life. Write down everything you need to or want to do, anything that\u2019s been on your mind over the last few days or weeks. In GTD-speak, these are called \u2018open loops\u2019. Open loops are the things that are niggling at the back of your mind, things you remember when you can\u2019t sleep at four in the morning, and things that bug you when you run across them again (like that chip in the paint). This is your opportunity to close those loops and stop them from taking up space in your mind. Add everything to your inbox.<\/p>\n This is the key to making the whole system work. Once you\u2019ve got all of your thoughts down, the processing is your next step. This is where you take everything you\u2019ve captured<\/strong>\u00a0and then clarify <\/strong>and organize <\/strong>them. It may take a little while to get through everything you\u2019ve added to the list after your first initial \u2018brain dump\u2019, but once you\u2019re done, this happens continuously. The more often you process, the less effort it is.<\/p>\n So, how do you actually process your inbox? Well, here\u2019s a handy decision tree to help you out:<\/p>\n You process a new item in your inbox by asking yourself a series of questions about it:<\/p>\n That\u2019s it. How you answer determines which list your item gets added to. If it\u2019s not added to a list, you either do it immediately, file it away, or trash it.<\/p>\n This basically asks if you need to do something<\/em> to get it off your list. If an item is not actionable, you can move it to one of three places: trash, references, or a \u2018someday\u2019 list. Items not worth dealing with or that don\u2019t require your attention at all go to the trash<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Things that are useful or informative, but don\u2019t require any action (like a recipe you want to save, or an informative article you might need again one day), should be filed away in the appropriate place as a reference<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Lastly, if something might require action someday, but not now, it is added to the someday list<\/strong>. These are things that you want to remember, but shouldn\u2019t be cluttering up your \u2018next actions\u2019 list. Things like \u2018Learn Japanese\u2019 or \u2018write a book\u2019 go here.<\/p>\n In GTD, a \u2018project\u2019 is anything that requires more than one action to complete. When your \u2018inbox\u2019 list contains multiple related tasks, create a separate project to manage those things. Add the title <\/em>of the project as an item in your projects list<\/strong> and choose one action item from that list to add to your next actions list.<\/p>\n If something can be done in 2 minutes or less, you should do it right away<\/strong>. The idea is that if it\u2019s such a quick thing to do, it would be a waste of time to bother adding it to a list or delegating it. This would include forwarding a useful email to a colleague or sending a funny cat gif to your mum.<\/p>\n If it takes more than 2 minutes, you should figure out if it\u2019s something only you can do, or if you can give it to someone else.<\/p>\n If you can easily delegate the thing to someone else, then do so. If you want a reminder to follow up with whatever or whoever it is, you should add the item to your waiting for\u2026 list<\/strong>. Things you can add to your waiting for the list include things that are blocked for any reason\u200a\u2014\u200ayou need a reply to an email you sent before you can continue, or you\u2019re waiting on a delivery. Always note the date you add an item to this list so that you can follow up at the right time.<\/p>\n If you can\u2019t delegate something, then you need to add it either to a calendar<\/strong>\u00a0or add it to your next actions list<\/strong>, preferably with a context <\/strong>tag.<\/p>\n If something has a specific due date or time, then you should add it to your calendar<\/strong>. These include things like dentist appointments, meetings, and flights. Don\u2019t include anything that you want <\/em>to get done on a certain day, only things that must <\/em>be done. Including only \u2018musts\u2019 on your calendar keeps it clear of clutter and makes it more useful by only showing things that you have <\/em>to do on a particular day.<\/p>\n If something requires you to take action but doesn\u2019t have a specific due date, you should add it to your next actions list<\/strong>. Your next actions list contains things that need to be done as soon as possible. Anything in this list needs to be a physical<\/em>, visible <\/em>action\u200a\u2014\u200a\u2018write email to John about booking party venue\u2019 instead of \u2018plan party\u2019. This is the <\/em>most important rule in GTD. (Edit: Here\u2019s how you can write better action items<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Writing something down as a physical, visible action lowers the barrier to you starting the task. In terms of mental effort, it\u2019s much easier to \u2018call Jennifer to book babysitting for Thurs night\u2019 than it is to \u2018organize babysitter\u2019, even though they\u2019re technically the same thing.<\/p>\n Ideally, you should add a context tag<\/strong> to items on your next actions list. A context tag tells you where you should be, what tools you need, and\/or who you need with you to complete a task. Examples of context tags are \u2018out shopping\u2019, \u2018at work\u2019, \u2018with children\u2019, \u2018phone\u2019 or \u2018computer\u2019. Other contexts you could use include the time you have available, how much energy you have, or what priority an item has.<\/p>\n If you can view your next actions list sorted by context, then you can easily just check your list of things to do \u2018at work\u2019 or \u2018out shopping\u2019 while you\u2019re in those locations.<\/p>\n It is absolutely essential that you do a weekly review of everything on each of your lists. In his book, David Allen says the weekly review is a \u201ccritical factor for success\u201d. Why? It\u2019s simple: the longer you let things in your inbox pile up, the harder it\u2019s going to be to deal with it all. Processing only 15 items is much easier than processing 50, or 500!<\/p>\n Regularly reviewing your lists is what makes or breaks the system. If you don\u2019t do it, things will start to slip through the cracks. You\u2019ll forget to add something to the next actions list, or you\u2019ll forget to remove the things that should no longer be on the list.<\/p>\n Here are a couple of things you should check for each time:<\/p>\n Bonus points:<\/strong> You can also use \u2018trigger lists\u2019 during your review to help you remember open loops that you might have forgotten to add to your inbox. A trigger list is just a list of words that \u2018trigger\u2019 you to remember things. You could set one up for work: \u2018boss, coworker, incomplete projects, people waiting for my response..\u2019, one for home: \u2018housework, pets, kids, partner..\u2019, one for things you\u2019re studying, or for a hobby you have.<\/p>\n Phew! Your system is in place, you\u2019re becoming comfortable with processing your inbox, and you\u2019ve started knocking things off your list like a pro. Awesome.<\/p>\n Relish the peace of mind you\u2019ve gained from creating a system that gives you 100% confidence in your to-do lists.<\/p>\n This is a lot<\/em> to take in, but it\u2019s worth investing in for a very good reason: If you can get it to work for you, then it can change your life.<\/p>\n Luckily for you, it\u2019s become super popular over the years, which means lots of people have written about it. Here\u2019s a list of resources you can use to learn more, gain inspiration, or find ways to adjust it to work for you:<\/p>\n![\"man](\"https:\/\/zenkit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/man-on-top-of-mountain.jpeg\" "\\"man")
<\/p>\n
\nWhat Is GTD?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\nHow Does GTD Actually Work?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n
\nCapture\u200a\u2014\u200aWrite It All Down<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"woman](\"https:\/\/zenkit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/writing-down-notes.jpeg\" "\\"woman")
<\/figure>\n
\nClarify and Organize\u200a\u2014\u200aProcess Your Inbox<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"pens,](\"https:\/\/zenkit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/pens-on-desk-1.jpeg\" "\\"pens,")
<\/figure>\n![\"chart](\"https:\/\/zenkit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/decision-tree.png\" "\\"chart")
\n
Is it actionable?<\/h3>\n
Does it take more than one step to complete?<\/h3>\n
How long will it take to complete?<\/h3>\n
Can someone else do\u00a0it?<\/h3>\n
Does it need to be done on a specific date or\u00a0time?<\/h3>\n
\nReflect\u200a\u2014\u200aWeekly\u00a0Review<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"man](\"https:\/\/zenkit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/man-staring-at-notes.jpeg\" "\\"back")
<\/figure>\n\n
\nEngage\u200a\u2014\u200aDo All the Things!<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"people](\"https:\/\/zenkit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/business-handshake.jpeg\" "\\"a")
<\/figure>\n
\nExtra Resources<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n
\nFinal Thoughts<\/strong><\/h2>\n