What It Means
Getting Things Done, usually shortened to GTD, is a system for managing work and personal commitments created by David Allen and set out in his bestselling book of the same name. It runs on five steps: capture, clarify, organize, reflect and engage. You get everything that has your attention out of your head and into a system you trust, decide what each item needs, and then work from that system.
Try It: Walk Through the Five GTD Steps
Step through the five stages of GTD. At Clarify, answer the question for something on your mind.
Capture
Collect everything that has your attention, big or small, into one place you'll check: a notebook, a list, an inbox.
Clarify
Is it actionable?
Pick an answer.
Decide the next action. If it takes more than one action, it's also a project.
Then it's trash, reference, or something to hold for later.
Organize
Put a reminder of each item where it belongs, such as your list of next actions or your projects.
Reflect
Review and update the whole system often enough that you trust it.
Engage
Use the system to choose what to do now, with confidence.
How People Say It
- "I need a proper GTD brain dump this weekend."
- "What's the next action on that?"
- "Put it on the someday list for now."
The Breakdown
The five steps, as the official GTD site describes them
- Capture. Gather everything that has your attention, written or recorded, into a collection tool you'll come back to.
- Clarify. Ask of each item whether it's actionable. When it is, decide the next action, and treat it as a project when it needs more than one action. If it isn't, it's trash, reference, or something to put on hold.
- Organize. Park reminders of each item in the place it belongs.
- Reflect. Look over the whole system regularly and bring it up to date, which is how you get your focus and sense of control back.
- Engage. Choose what to do next from your lists, knowing nothing important is sitting outside them.
What the clarify step does with each item
| Your answer | What happens to it |
|---|---|
| Actionable, one step | Decide the next action |
| Actionable, more than one step | Decide the next action and add it as a project |
| Not actionable, not needed | Trash |
| Not actionable, worth keeping | Reference |
| Not actionable, not for now | Put it on hold |
Short version to try today. Spend 15 minutes writing down everything on your mind that needs doing, big or small. Then go through the list once and write the next action beside each item that's actionable.
Where It Comes From
David Allen created Getting Things Done and published it as a bestselling book of the same name. The official site, gettingthingsdone.com, describes GTD as the shorthand brand for both the book and the work-life management system it teaches.
Good to Know
The five steps work as a loop. Reviewing and updating the whole system in the reflect step is what keeps your lists current enough to trust when you pick what to do next, so when a list has gone stale, capture and clarify again before you work from it.
FAQ
What are the five steps of GTD?
Capture, clarify, organize, reflect and engage. You collect what has your attention, decide what each item means, park reminders in the right places, review the system, and then act from it.
What does GTD stand for?
Getting Things Done, the name of David Allen's book and the system it teaches.
What is a next action in GTD?
It's the next concrete step you'd take to move an item forward. In the clarify step, every actionable item gets one, and anything that needs more than one action is also a project.
Do It in Buhata
Tasks
Capture each next action as its own task in Buhata Tasks, then look over the whole list at the start of every week.
Open BuhataRelated Terms and Categories
- Weekly review
A regular session, usually weekly, where you clear your inboxes, bring your lists and calendar up to date and decide what matters next.
- Brain dump
Writing down everything on your mind, tasks, worries and ideas, in one sitting so you can sort it afterward instead of holding it in your head.
- Tickler file
A set of 43 folders, 31 for the days of the month and 12 for the months, where you file papers and reminders to reappear on the date you need them.
- Inbox zero
An email method from Merlin Mann's 2006 series on 43 Folders: work the inbox down to empty on a regular schedule and keep it that way.
Sources
Getting Things Done, "What is GTD" (gettingthingsdone.com)
Last updated .