# Once upon a time ![cat](Bancho.jpg) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- # GTD? Whut? i) a personal productivity system, by David Allen, originally from 2001. A bit of a fad and cult in the early 2000s. Now an object of ridicule by fans of newer systems and approaches. ii) a way to juggle eggs without dropping most of them iii) a way to look busy while fiddling with unimportant things ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- # Goal of this talk An understanding of a bare-bones core of the GTD system that one can build upon. You adapt GTD to your life, as you want. There are no rules. There is no "GTD police". _Whatever works for you is good._ ![cat](Box.jpg) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- # What is GTD for? Making sure you know when you can ~~write backup software~~ watch TV with worrying about work. \ Remembering everything you've promised to do. \ Sleeping better, without worrying you forgot to pay your bills. \ When things go bad, staying calm by knowing exactly what you can defer until later, without making a bad situation worse. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- # What is GTD _not_ for? Impressing your employer by getting more things done than anyone else. Working every moment you're awake. \ \ \ _Caveat: Most people _think_ this is what GTD is actually for._ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- # Core concepts inbox – all new things land here (email, text messages, ...) next actions – one-step things you've decided to do next projects – multi-step things you've decided to achieve waiting-for – things you're waiting for to happen someday/maybe – things you might want to ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- # Additional parts calendar – for things tied to a time and/or date pending & support – things you may need for next actions, current projects filing system – things you don't want to lose journal – things you want to remember ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ~~~dot digraph "xxx" { distraction [style=filled color="#eeeeee"] email [style=filled color="#eeeeee"] bill [style=filled color="#eeeeee"] thought [style=filled color="#eeeeee"] bug [style=filled color="#eeeeee" label="bug report"] inbox [shape=box style=filled color=green label="Inbox"] projects [shape=folder style=filled color="#f1d592"] pending [shape=folder style=filled color="#f1d592"] filing [shape=folder style=filled color="#f1d592" label="filing \n system"] next [shape=note style=filled color="cyan" label="next \n actions"] wastebasket [shape=cylinder style=filled color="#ff0000"] someone [shape=octagon style=filled color="#eeeeee" label="Someone else \n does it"] you [shape=octagon style=filled color=pink label="You do it"] distraction -> inbox email -> inbox bill -> inbox thought -> inbox bug -> inbox inbox -> you inbox -> next inbox -> projects inbox -> wastebasket inbox -> pending inbox -> filing inbox -> someone projects -> next next -> you [label="do"] } ~~~ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- # Processing inboxes * for each item, what needs to be done? * nothing? file away, discard, or delegate * is it quick to do? * if so, do it at once * otherwise put in next actions, or amend project appropriately ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- # List of next actions * a _physical_ action ("write", not "think about") * thinking is part of planning! * but "draft outline of plan for..." is an action * it's clear what you need to (which widget to crank) * duration fairly short; MUST be doable in one sitting * you're committed to doing it * does not depend on anything, can be done immediately * it's clear when it's done * it's clear which projects the action belongs to, if any * maybe split into "contexts" such as "at work", "at home", "errand" if list gets long ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Draft five acceptance criteria for "scap apply-patches", put them in the task, and ask Antoine, others in RelEng for feedback. - [`https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T269153`](https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T269153) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- # Project list A project is anything that takes more than one next action to finish, but will be finished in a year. TIP: define criteria for when the project is finished, when it's started. TIP: define projects by describing a world where it's finished. "When this project is finished, we own a house, it has been repaired, and passed by a construction inspector, we've moved in, and have no more access to the old place, and no longer pay rent for it." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- # The weekly review * process all inboxes * review all projects, next actions, calendar, someday/maybe, pending&support, journal entries, and everything else in your system * think deeply what you may be missing from your system: any new projects that should be added? any persistent worries that keep bothering you? * for each project, have at least one next action, possibly only one * an energetic sense of calm ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- # Getting started * Big bang: collect everything from everywhere into one big inbox pile. * Slow start: Pick one project or start a next actions list. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ![](gtd-first-inbox.jpg) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- # SEE ALSO * [Getting Things Done](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Getting_Things_Done) (Wikipedia) - [`https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Getting_Things_Done`](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Getting_Things_Done) \ * [Original GTD book](https://www.librarything.com/work/1844807) (LibraryThing) - [`https://www.librarything.com/work/1844807`](https://www.librarything.com/work/1844807) \ * [Making it all work: improved sequel](https://www.librarything.com/work/5438958) (LibraryThing) - [`https://www.librarything.com/work/5438958`](https://www.librarything.com/work/5438958) \ * [GTD For Hackers](https://gtdfh.liw.fi/) (by Lars) - [`https://gtdfh.liw.fi`](https://gtdfh.liw.fi) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- # Legalese Copyright 2021 Wikimedia Foundation This content is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International ([CC BY-SA 4.0][]) licence. [CC BY-SA 4.0]: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ --- title: "Getting Things Done" subtitle: "A productivity system" author: "Lars Wirzenius" date: "2021-02" ...