Getting Things Done

Its one enduring insight, that the mind is for having ideas and not for holding them, matches what is known about working memory limits and is worth more than the rest of the productivity genre combined. Externalising commitments is a skill that transfers to any job or life stage.

The chapter guide

Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them, so get every commitment out of your head into an external system you trust and decide the next physical action for each one.

1. Stage 1: Capture (collect every open loop into trusted external buckets)

   Empty your head of everything that has your attention into inboxes outside your mind.

2. Stage 2: Clarify (is it actionable, and if so what is the very next physical, visible action?)

   Process each captured item to a decision, defining concrete next actions rather than vague topics.

3. Stage 2 sub: the two-minute rule (if it takes under two minutes, do it now)

   Anything faster to do than to track should be done immediately during processing.

4. Stage 3: Organize (projects list, next actions sorted by context, waiting-for, someday/maybe, calendar hard landscape, reference filing)

   Park every clarified item in the correct list so that nothing lives anywhere but its proper place.

5. Stage 3 sub: contexts (@phone, @computer, @errands, @agendas)

   Sort next actions by the tool or place required, so you can act on whatever is available now.

6. Stage 3 sub: the tickler file (43 folders for date-deferred paper and reminders)

   File future-dated items in day and month folders and check the day’s folder every morning.

7. Stage 4: Reflect (the weekly review, plus daily calendar and list reviews)

   Once a week, get current: empty inboxes, review every list and project, and re-establish trust in the system.

8. Stage 5: Engage (the four-criteria model: context, time available, energy available, priority)

   In any moment, choose what to do by filtering on where you are, how long you have, how much energy you have, and what matters most.

9. The threefold model of daily work (doing predefined work, doing work as it shows up, defining your work)

   Name the three modes of work so you can notice which one you are in and choose deliberately.

10. The six horizons of focus (runway actions up through 50,000-foot purpose and principles)

    Review your commitments at six altitudes, from next actions to life purpose, to keep them aligned.

11. The natural planning model (purpose, outcome visioning, brainstorming, organizing, next actions)

    Plan any project the way your mind naturally does, ending with a concrete next action.

12. Mind like water, open loops, and the ‘trusted system’

    Uncaptured commitments consume attention, and only a system you genuinely trust lets your mind relax.

13. Getting the in-basket to empty (inbox zero as the processing standard)

    Process every inbox to empty regularly so nothing lurks unexamined.

Scorecard

Universality

3 of 5

Evidence

3 of 5

Reread value

3 of 5