How the GTD (Getting Things Done) Productivity System Works is Why It's So Great

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Getting Things Done® (GTD®) is the proven path for getting in control of your world, and maintaining perspective in your life. Much more than a set of tips for time management and organization, GTD is a total work-life management system that transforms overwhelm into an integrated system of stress-free productivity. David Allen, inventor of the GTD methodology, is widely recognized as the world’s leading expert on personal and organizational productivity.

Getting Things Done is a time-management method, described in a book of the same title[1] by productivity consultant David Allen. It is often referred to as GTD.

The GTD method rests on the idea of moving planned tasks and projects out of the mind by recording them externally and then breaking them into actionable work items. This allows one to focus attention on taking action on tasks, instead of on recalling them.

First published in 2001, a revised edition of the book was released in 2015 to reflect the changes in information technology during the preceding decade and incorporate recent scientific research supporting the system's claims regarding how the mind functions.[2]

Allen first demonstrates stress reduction from the method with the following exercise, centered on something that has entered your life that has an unclear outcome or where the next action is not defined. (Allen calls these sources of stress "open loops," "incompletes," or "stuff.")[1]:13

Pick an "incomplete": What most annoys, distracts, or interests you?
Write down a description of the successful outcome in one sentence. What is your definition of "done"?
Write down the next action to move toward the desired outcome
Notice how you feel after the exercise compared to before it.
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."[1]:14 The system in GTD requires you have within easy reach an inbox, a trash can, a filing system for reference material, several lists (detailed below), and a calendar. These tools can be physical or electronic as appropriate (e.g. a physical "in" tray or an email inbox).[1]:88 As "stuff" enters your life, it is captured in these tools and processed with the following workflow.[1]:27

Workflow[edit]

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.[3] (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,[1]:106 each item is clarified[1]:122 and organized[1]:141 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[1]:27
Empty your inbox or inboxes daily or at least weekly ("in" to empty).[1]:122 Don't use your inbox as a "to do" list. Don't put clarified items back into the inbox.[1]:27 Emptying your inbox doesn't mean finishing everything. It just means applying the "capture, clarify, organize" steps to all your "stuff."[1]:27

Next, reflection (termed planning in the first edition) occurs. Multi-step projects identified above are assigned a desired outcome and a single "next action."[1]:191 Finally, a task from your task list is worked on ("engage" in the 2nd Ed, "do" in the 1st Ed) unless the calendar dictates otherwise. You select which task to work on next by considering where you are (the "context", e.g. at home, at work, out shopping, by the phone, at your computer, with a particular person), time available, energy available, and priority.[1]:204