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# 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: lists of things

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"
...