Getting Things Done: a practical GTD guide

## What Getting Things Done is

Getting Things Done (GTD) is a method of personal organization developed by David Allen. It helps you manage commitments across work and life: an unfinished proposal, a repair at home, an idea, a promise, or a decision you keep postponing. The method is presented in Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, first published in 2001 and revised in 2015.

For each unfinished commitment, decide what it means and record the next step somewhere you will check. You can then consult your reminders when you need them instead of trying to remember every detail.

Separate the work you have agreed to do from ideas you might pursue later. Record what you are waiting for from other people, keep information you will need, and discard the rest.

Sources: What is GTD? and the publisher's book page.

## The five steps of the workflow

GTD divides the workflow into five steps. First collect what has your attention. Then decide what each input requires and put the reminders in the right place. Review those reminders regularly and use them to choose what to do. You do not need to plan a whole project just to capture an idea.

1. CaptureCollect what has your attention.
2. ClarifyDecide what each input means.
3. OrganizePlace the reminders where they belong.
4. ReflectKeep your system current.
5. EngageChoose and take action.

You will move between these steps throughout the day. A new request needs capturing; an unclear note needs a decision. During a review, you may remember a commitment you have not recorded yet.

Read more: David Allen on choosing which workflow step needs your attention.

## Capture: collect what needs attention

Capture anything you may need to act on, decide about, or return to. That includes requests, worries, ideas, observations, and small promises. A capture can be rough: “workshop venue,” “reply to Renata,” or “desk chair.” You can decide the meaning later.

Use a small number of inboxes you can reliably process. A note on your phone, a physical tray, and a digital inbox can work together if you know where each one is and empty them regularly. When a commitment arrives in a conversation or meeting, record enough context to understand it afterward.

The inbox is a place for undecided inputs. Capturing “learn Italian” makes the idea available for a later decision; it does not automatically make it an active commitment.

Read more: starting small and building the GTD habits.

## Clarify: decide what happens next

Work through your inbox one item at a time. Ask what it is and whether it calls for action. An email, note, or document is an input; it may contain several commitments or none. Read enough to decide.

Source: the official inbox clarification guide.

The two-minute rule

When processing an input, if the necessary next action can be finished in about two minutes, doing it immediately often costs less than recording and reviewing it. For a longer action, delegate it when appropriate or add a reminder to your action list or calendar.

This rule helps you process inputs efficiently. If you spend the whole morning on whatever arrives, you may never make room for the work you deliberately chose. You can decide to do a longer task now; recognize that you have moved from clarifying into doing.

Read more: when to use the two-minute rule.

## Organize: put reminders where you will use them

Organize reminders according to the decision you made and how you will need to see them. If you mix ideas, appointments, actionable tasks, and useful reading in one list, you have to sort them mentally every time you look.

Next Actions

Available actions you can take when circumstances allow. Example: email the venue to ask whether the room is available.

Projects

Outcomes that take more than one action. Example: workshop venue confirmed. Supporting notes and future steps can sit with the project.

Waiting For

Results you expect from other people. Write what you are waiting for, from whom, and when you requested it. Example: Renata's room availability confirmation.

Calendar

Time-specific commitments, day-specific actions, and information you need on a particular day. Keep actual dates clear so you can trust them.

Someday/Maybe

Possibilities you may reconsider without committing to them now. Review them to activate, keep, or remove them.

Reference

Information worth retrieving: a receipt, a policy, notes, or a link. Store it where you can find it without making it look like work you promised to do.

Use context to make available actions easier to find. “Computer,” “Errands,” and a person's name can describe a tool, location, or conversation you need. Keep your categories useful enough to guide a real choice.

Sources: the official paper organizer guide and the official Outlook guide on Someday/Maybe.

## Projects and next actions

In GTD, a project is an outcome that requires more than one action, usually achievable within a year. Record that outcome and the next physical, visible action you can take. At your review, check the outcome for progress; when it is time to work, use the action as your starting point.

“Think about the website” does not tell you where to begin. “List the questions the pricing page must answer” does. For work that involves thinking, describe what you will write, decide, or examine first.

Keep future, dependent steps in the project support material. A step that requires an unanswered email is not available yet. During a review, check whether each active project has an available next action, an explicit waiting item, or a dated commitment that explains how it will move.

Sources: linking next actions and projects and the official guide on project outcomes.

## Engage: choose what fits this moment

Once your reminders are current, use four criteria to choose an action: context, time available, energy available, and priority. First see what is possible in your situation, then decide which of those options matters most.

Priority involves judgment. A list can show your options and constraints; you still consider commitments, consequences, and the larger results you care about. If the same important project keeps losing to small tasks, reserve time for its next action.

Source: the official guide to choosing what to do.

Notice which kind of work you are doing

Your day includes work you planned, work that appears unexpectedly, and work to define your work, such as processing inputs. Make room for all three. When you accept a new interruption, consider which existing commitment will move and whether you need to renegotiate it.

Read more: David Allen on the threefold nature of work.

## Reflect: review your commitments

Update your lists when you finish an action, a date changes, or a new commitment arrives. Check your calendar and relevant actions during the day. Once a week, review the full set of commitments, including projects and items you are waiting for.

If the review turns up a task that will take a while, record it and decide when to do it. Then continue reviewing the rest of your commitments.

Choose a repeatable time and a quiet place. The length depends on your backlog and responsibilities. If you miss a week, begin with what has changed: the calendar, unprocessed inputs, and active projects. Continue until your reminders give you a trustworthy view again.

Sources: the official weekly review checklist and the guided weekly review.

## Plan a project from purpose to action

For a project that still feels unclear, David Allen's Natural Planning Model offers five angles: purpose and principles, the desired outcome, brainstorming, organizing, and next actions. Use enough planning to make the project workable.

Work on the part of the plan that is holding up the project. For the workshop, that might mean agreeing on its purpose before choosing a venue, or assigning the next action once the purpose is settled.

Read more: an application of the Natural Planning Model.

## Connect today's actions to a larger direction

GTD's Horizons of Focus help you review commitments at different scales, from today's actions to long-term direction. A project can support a goal, while an ongoing responsibility such as health needs attention even when there is no project to finish.

Purpose and principles

Why you do what you do and the values guiding your choices.

Vision

What a successful future could look like.

Goals and objectives

Specific results that move you toward that vision.

Areas of focus

Responsibilities you maintain, such as health, family, finances, or your team.

Projects

Outcomes with a finish line that require several actions.

Actions and calendar

The things you can do and the commitments attached to dates.

“Health” can remain an area of focus for years; “create a sustainable exercise routine” has a finish line; “ask the gym about class times” is an action. These perspectives deserve different kinds of reminders and review.

Source: Horizons of Focus and priorities.

## One open loop, from capture to completion

Suppose you need to book a venue for a workshop. A note saying “workshop venue” is enough to capture the concern. To act on it, decide what a completed booking requires and who needs to do what.

1. Put “find a venue for the workshop” in Inbox, with the date and expected group size if you know them.
2. Create the project “Workshop venue booked.” Add the constraints and the point at which you will consider it complete.
3. Add “Email Renata about room availability on 18 November for 12 people” to Next Actions.
4. After sending the email, complete that action and record “Renata: room availability and quote” in Waiting For, with the request date.
5. If the reply is missing at your review, decide whether a follow-up is needed. If it arrives, complete the waiting item and identify the next available action.
6. After approval and booking confirmation, mark the project complete and keep the useful documents in Reference.

After you send the email, the project is waiting for Renata. When she replies, update the waiting item and decide what you need to do next. If the workshop date changes, update the project and any reminders affected by it.

## Practice the method in Self OS

In Self OS, use Inbox for incoming material; Next for available actions; Waiting for dependencies; Someday for possibilities; Projects for outcomes; and References for supporting information.

Today helps you choose a focus for the day. Treat that focus as a selection from your commitments and keep it adjustable when circumstances change. Reviews give you a place to review the inventory and record decisions; Goals connect projects to broader results; People organize relationship context.

Connect your agent

Open your space and sign in with the code sent to your email. In config → user → API keys, create a key for your agent and copy the secret when it appears. Choose Codex, Claude Code or Cursor, download install-self-os.sh and run the tutorial command. The shell installer prepares all seven Self OS skills and the API client, which uses curl. Configure the key separately and run the local connection check. Then start a new agent conversation. The check confirms the connected identity without changing your lists. The agent can perform the actions allowed by the permissions you grant it.

To let the agent create captures, enable Write GTD on its key. For a first task, ask the agent to capture “find a venue for the workshop” in Inbox. Then clarify the outcome and next action as in the example above. Check the result in your space before moving on.

Your calendar continues to hold appointments and other commitments that depend on a real date or time. Keep it in your review routine alongside Self OS.

If an AI agent helps organize your space, give it clear outcomes and constraints. It can help draft a next action, connect information, and identify a missing follow-up. Verify that proposed actions match your commitments and that a recorded completion reflects what happened.

## Set up your first system

Start with the commitments you already have. Choose where to collect them, process a batch, and schedule a review.

• Choose your collection points. Pick the inboxes you will check and stop scattering new commitments across places you never review.
• Capture the current backlog. Walk through work and personal matters. Record the unfinished things that keep returning to your attention.
• Clarify a manageable batch. For each input, choose a destination, a desired outcome when needed, and a next action when you are committing to act.
• Review and act. Look at the calendar, choose from the available actions, and book your first weekly review.

After a few days, look for friction. If captures are accumulating, make processing easier. If you keep avoiding a task, clarify its next action. If the lists feel implausible, renegotiate what is active. Add a category only when it helps you retrieve or choose something.

Try using your lists to choose the next action. If you still have to search through scattered notes to work out what you promised, move those commitments into the system.

## Common sticking points

## Go deeper with David Allen's book

Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, by David Allen, is the main reference for the method. The original edition appeared in 2001; the revised edition was published by Penguin Books in 2015. Look for the edition and translation available in your region.

Read it alongside your own practice. Clarify real inbox items as you study the workflow; review an actual project when you study project planning; use your current commitments when you explore the broader perspectives. The examples in this guide were written for Self OS.