Getting Things Done

Getting Things Done (GTD) is a productivity framework developed by David Allen and popularised in his book of the same name. Getting Things Done has instructions for capturing and organising tasks.

The framework describes a number of steps:

1. Capture: Any time you think of a task that you can't or won't complete immediately you should capture it in one of your task inboxes. Our brains are for having ideas, not for storing them. Capturing tasks will ensure that you don't forget about them and if done consistently it will alleviate that nagging feeling of wondering if you forgot something or what you forgot because you know that you can just look through your task management system to find it. Capturing tasks should be quick and easy whenever you think about them so you can get back to the thing you were otherwise working on when you thought of the task.
2. Clarify: When you have captured your tasks you should clarify them so you know what to do with them if anything. Tasks that were captured in a hurry may not always be written in a very clear way. They should be clarified so you don't have to deliberate over their meaning or how to approach them later on.
3. Organise: Organise tasks by the projects they belong to and the contexts in which you would like to do them so you can find them again at the best time to do them.
4. Review: Review the system and its contents frequently to make sure it stays relevant as your life and your priorities change.
5. Engage: Go and do stuff.

Getting Things Done is a very popular productivity framework. Many apps or services for task management can be adapted to GTD, and some are even built around the framework.

External resources

• The book Getting Things Done by David Allen
• Summary of Getting Things Done by Todoist