science

Getting Things Done

Getting Things Done is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Getting Things Done rather than just read about it. In short: Getting Things Done (GTD) is a personal productivity system developed by David Allen and published in a book of the same name. GTD is described as a time management system.

Key takeaways

Getting Things Done belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Getting Things Done to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Getting Things Done from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Getting Things Done (GTD) is a personal productivity system developed by David Allen and published in a book of the same name. GTD is described as a time management system. Allen states "there is an inverse relationship between things on your mind and those things getting done". The GTD method rests on the idea of moving all items of interest, relevant information, issues, tasks and projects out of one's mind by recording them externally and then breaking them into actionable work items with known time limits. This allows one's attention to focus on taking action on each task listed in an external record, instead of recalling them intuitively. 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.

Themes Allen first demonstrates stress reduction from the method with the following exercise, centered on a task that has an unclear outcome or whose next action is not defined. Allen calls these sources of stress "open loops", "incompletes", or "stuff".

The most annoying, distracting, or interesting task is chosen, and defined as an "incomplete". A description of the successful outcome of the "incomplete" is written down in one sentence, along with the criteria by which the task will be considered completed. The next step required to approach completion of the task is written down. A self-assessment is made of the emotions experienced after completing the steps of this process. He claims stress can be reduced and productivity increased by putting reminders about everything one is not working on into a trusted system external to one's mind. In this way, one can work on the task at hand without distraction from the "incompletes". The system in GTD requires one to have the following tools within easy reach:

An inbox A trash can A filing system for reference material Several lists (detailed below) A calendar (either a paper-based or digital calendar) These tools can be physical or electronic as appropriate (e.g., a physical "in" tray or an email inbox). Then, as "stuff" enters one's life, it is captured in these tools and processed with the following workflow.

Workflow

The GTD workflow consists of five stages. The workflow is driven by five steps: capture, clarify, organize, reflect, and engage. (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, each item is clarified and organized by asking and answering questions about each item in turn as shown in the gray boxes in the logic tree diagram. As a result, items end up in one of the eight 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 one wants 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 one's calendar Empty one's inbox or inboxes daily or at least weekly ("in" to empty). Do not use one's inbox as a "to do" list. Do not put clarified items back into the inbox. Emptying one's inbox does not mean finishing everything. It just means applying the "capture, clarify, organize" steps to all one's "stuff". Next, reflection (termed planning in the first edition) occurs. Multi-step projects identified above are assigned a desired outcome and a single "next action". Finally, a task from one's task list is worked on ("engage" in the 2nd edition, "do" in the 1st edition) unless the calendar dictates otherwise. One selects which task to work on next by considering where one is (i.e., the "context", such as at home, at work, out shopping, by the phone, at one's computer, with a particular person), time available, energy available, and priority.

Implementation Because hardware and software is changing so rapidly, GTD is deliberately technologically neutral. (In fact, Allen advises people to start with a paper-based system.) Many task management tools claim to implement GTD methodology and Allen maintains a list of some technology that has been adopted in or designed for GTD. Some are designated "GTD Enabled", meaning Allen was involved in the design.

Perspective Allen emphasizes two key elements of GTD—control and perspective. The workflow is the center of the control aspect. The goal of the control processes in GTD is to get everything except the current task out of one's head and into this trusted system external to one's mind. He borrows a simile used in martial arts termed "mind like water". When a small object is thrown into a pool of water, the water responds appropriately with a small splash followed by quiescence. When a large object is thrown in the water again responds appropriately with a large splash followed by quiescence. The opposite of "mind like water" is a mind that never returns to quiescence but remains continually stressed by every input. With a trusted system and "mind like water" one can have a better perspective on one's life. Allen recommends reflection from six levels, called "Horizons of Focus":

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Getting Things Done

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Getting Things Done claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Getting Things Done before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Getting Things Done ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Getting Things Done

In research: Getting Things Done appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Getting Things Done in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Getting Things Done is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2001 non-fiction books, Management books, Penguin Books books, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Getting Things Done outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Getting Things Done in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Getting Things Done means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Getting Things Done out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Getting Things Done in simple terms?

Getting Things Done (GTD) is a personal productivity system developed by David Allen and published in a book of the same name. GTD is described as a time management system.

Why does Getting Things Done matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Getting Things Done?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Getting Things Done.