Getting things done (Allen)

Getting Things Done, or GTD, is David Allen’s personal workflow method for moving commitments out of memory and into a trusted external system. It helps clarify what each item means, where reminders belong and what action is appropriate now.

When to use it

Use GTD when tasks, email, ideas, meetings and unfinished commitments compete for attention, or when an existing list does not distinguish projects, next actions and reference material.

Origins

Management consultant David Allen developed GTD through decades of productivity coaching and presented it to a broad audience in Getting Things Done. The method combines familiar practices—capture, triage, filing, review and action—into a coherent workflow. Its central claim is practical rather than magical: the mind can focus more effectively when it is not being used as an unreliable reminder system.

What it is

The current GTD vocabulary describes five recurring practices:

Capture:

collect what has your attention.

Clarify:

decide what each item means and whether action is required.

Organise:

place reminders and support material in the right system.

Reflect:

review and update the system often enough to trust it.

Engage:

choose and complete appropriate work.

A project is any outcome requiring more than one action. The system therefore separates desired outcomes from the next visible, physical step that can move each outcome forward.