{"id":9895,"date":"2020-06-21T20:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-06-22T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=9895"},"modified":"2023-04-12T13:27:23","modified_gmt":"2023-04-12T17:27:23","slug":"gtd-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gtd-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"The Complete GTD Guide to A Productive Life"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Are you beginning the Getting Things Done system, and need a great GTD guide? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This GTD guide covers all the basics of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gtd-system\/\">GTD system<\/a>, as well as why you should be using it. In this GTD guide, you&#8217;ll learn what GTD is, why it works, and the benefits of using it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-your-gtd-guide-why-it-works\">Your GTD Guide: Why It Works<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Getting Things Done Animated Book Summary\" width=\"750\" height=\"422\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/6CBT7y-AJ90?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The Getting Things Done (GTD) program is designed to increase your productivity and effectiveness\u2014not so you can squeeze even <em>more<\/em> into your already <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/busy-lifestyle\/\">busy life<\/a>, but so that you can do things with less time, energy, and effort. <strong>When you feel in control of your life and your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gtd-to-do-list\/\">to-do list<\/a>, you can be present in each moment without the nagging feeling that there\u2019s something else you should be doing. <\/strong>When your mind is clear, you can focus and use your creative energy for the task at hand, and in your free moments, you can fully enjoy life without feeling guilty that you\u2019re not doing something \u201cproductive.\u201d&nbsp; This GTD guide shows you how and why to use the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/getting-things-done-program\/\">GTD program<\/a> to live organized and stress free. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The GTD program is meant to be a lifelong practice, and you\u2019ll continually graduate to more advanced levels of application. As you start to cement the strategies as habits, you\u2019ll reach new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/levels-of-mastery\/\">levels of mastery<\/a> to enhance your life and productivity in new ways: Once staying on top of your emails is second nature, use your skills (and newfound free time and energy) to take on a new hobby or strengthen your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/important-relationships\/\">important relationships<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the meantime, don\u2019t wait until you finish the book to start using the strategies\u2014put them into practice as you go. Practicing the skills will give you a richer understanding and help you dive deeper into the program.&nbsp;<br>Many readers regularly re-read this book and come away with something new each time. The program requires more habit changes than most people can fully implement all at once, so readers tend to absorb pieces at a time; after the first time through, start practicing the basics, and the next time you\u2019ll better understand the strategies for refining those basic skills. <strong>Each time you read the book, you gain a new level of understanding and practice. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-five-steps-of-the-gtd-guide\">The Five Steps of the GTD Guide<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Through the GTD system, you\u2019ll capture every task and reminder on lists, in files, and on your calendar. <strong>You\u2019ll be aware and in control of your entire workload so you can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/living-in-the-present-moment\/\">be fully present<\/a> in each moment without the nagging feeling that you should be doing something else.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The five steps of the GTD system are:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Capture <\/strong>all the problems and ideas that are taking your attention.<\/li><li><strong>Clarify <\/strong>what each one means and what you need to do about it.<\/li><li><strong>Organize <\/strong>the decisions and actions you\u2019ve clarified.<\/li><li><strong>Reflect <\/strong>on everything in front of you to choose what to tackle next.<\/li><li><strong>Engage <\/strong>with the task (get it done).<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>When you first start out, you\u2019ll have a large mental backlog of items to capture and process, and this will take a good amount of time. After you get through it once, you\u2019ll have all the items in the proper place. Then, on a regular basis (for example, daily), you\u2019ll step through the five steps to capture and process new items, then figure out what you want to do that day. This GTD guide can serve as a reference to walk you through the steps. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-use-the-natural-planning-method-to-plan-projects\"><strong>Use the Natural Planning Method to Plan Projects<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Always have a next action identified for each project you have, so that you\u2019re constantly making progress on your projects. Determining next actions on big projects can be daunting, but simply follow the same process you\u2019d use if you were planning something in your daily life, like a birthday dinner with friends.&nbsp;This approach is an important part of the GTD guide. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This approach is called the Natural Planning Method, and it consists of these steps:&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Define <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/your-life-purpose\/\">your purpose<\/a> and principles. <\/strong>Your purpose is the intention of the project, and your principles create the boundaries. If you\u2019re planning a birthday dinner, your purpose is to celebrate and the boundaries could be factors like how affordable you want the restaurant to be.&nbsp;<\/li><li><strong>Envision your outcome.<\/strong> Your purpose is your <em>why<\/em>, while your outcome is the <em>what<\/em>: What will a successful outcome look, feel, and sound like? You might imagine your dinner happening around a big outdoor table, with all your friends <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/advantages-of-laughing\/\">laughing<\/a> and sharing food. When you picture something and focus on it, it helps you create it and makes you more excited to achieve it.&nbsp;<\/li><li><strong>Brainstorm. <\/strong>This is the <em>how<\/em>. Your brain naturally wants to fill in the gaps to determine how to make your vision a reality. During this stage, you might question whether the restaurant is open today, what time you need to go, and whether there\u2019s gas in the car. Use <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/life-mind-map\/\">mind maps<\/a> or other <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-brainstorm-effectively\/\">brainstorming<\/a> techniques to jot down as many ideas as you can without judging or criticizing the ideas along the way.&nbsp;<\/li><li><strong>Organize.<\/strong> This is the step when you organize all the random thoughts, questions, and ideas from the brainstorming process. You\u2019ll naturally organize them based on logistics, priorities, and what needs to happen first: Call the restaurant to see if it\u2019s open and make a reservation, then invite the guests, then get yourself dressed and ready to go.&nbsp;<\/li><li><strong>Determine your next actions.<\/strong> Determine what can actually be done now, and who\u2019s going to do it. For dinner, your next action is to call the restaurant.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Implementing and mastering the GTD system is a lifelong process that helps you manage your day-to-day obligations while keeping your larger goals in mind.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First, master the principles and practices, cement them as habits, and gain control of your daily tasks. Once you reach this point, take a bigger-picture approach to managing and organizing your life; proactively initiate projects to improve areas of your life. <strong>Ultimately, you can leverage the GTD system to implement new habits, tackle bucket-list aspirations, and create the lifestyle you want.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-create-checklists\"><strong>Create Checklists<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>One final recommendation of the GTD guide is checklists. Use checklists in two ways to further keep your mind clear and stress-free.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First, <strong>create checklists for broad areas of your life\u2014<\/strong>like maintaining good physical health and keeping motivation and morale up among your team at work\u2014<strong>so that you can regularly review and confirm that you\u2019re still attending to that priority.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Checklist items like these often encompass items for your Projects list and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gtd-next-actions-list\/\">Next Actions list<\/a> (for example, creating an exercise regimen or planning a team-building activity), but as those particular tasks vary use your checklist to ensure you\u2019re staying on top of things in that general area.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Consider creating checklists that pertain to these areas of your life:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Career goals<\/li><li>Creative endeavors<\/li><li>Family&nbsp;<\/li><li>Finances&nbsp;<\/li><li>Health and well-being<\/li><li>Relationships<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Second, you can use checklists to help you remember a sequence of steps or the various components of something, the way you would use a recipe. Examples of this include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Instructions for fixing a recurring tech problem<\/li><li>Job duties when you\u2019re new to a position<\/li><li>All the steps of a new workflow you\u2019re implementing<\/li><li>Items to pack on every trip you take<\/li><li>Everything you need to review and update during your Weekly Review<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Keep your checklists current and relevant by creating them and tossing them whenever appropriate. (Shortform note: For more on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/advantages-of-checklists\/\">benefits of checklists<\/a> and how to create them, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/the-checklist-manifesto\">read our summary of <em>The Checklist Manifesto <\/em>here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are many GTD guides out there to help you on your journey to productivity. Use this GTD guide as a jumping-off point to learn even more about the GTD system. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Are you beginning the Getting Things Done system, and need a great GTD guide? This GTD guide covers all the basics of the GTD system, as well as why you should be using it. In this GTD guide, you&#8217;ll learn what GTD is, why it works, and the benefits of using it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":9944,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,14],"tags":[90],"class_list":["post-9895","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","category-management","tag-getting-things-done","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Complete GTD Guide to A Productive Life - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Are you looking for a complete GTD guide to help you get started in the Getting Things Done system? Look no further. This GTD guide is for you.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gtd-guide\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Complete GTD Guide to A Productive Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Are you looking for a complete GTD guide to help you get started in the Getting Things Done system? Look no further. This GTD guide is for you.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gtd-guide\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-06-22T00:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-04-12T17:27:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/gtd-guide-getting-things-done-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1706\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Carrie Cabral\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Carrie Cabral\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gtd-guide\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gtd-guide\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Carrie Cabral\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2ababb7c63a94ff5d2190f71dc417d56\"},\"headline\":\"The Complete GTD Guide to A Productive Life\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-06-22T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-04-12T17:27:23+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gtd-guide\/\"},\"wordCount\":1337,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gtd-guide\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/gtd-guide-getting-things-done-scaled.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Getting Things Done\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Lifestyle\",\"Management\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gtd-guide\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gtd-guide\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gtd-guide\/\",\"name\":\"The Complete GTD Guide to A Productive Life - Shortform Books\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gtd-guide\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gtd-guide\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/gtd-guide-getting-things-done-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-06-22T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-04-12T17:27:23+00:00\",\"description\":\"Are you looking for a complete GTD guide to help you get started in the Getting Things Done system? Look no further. This GTD guide is for you.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gtd-guide\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gtd-guide\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gtd-guide\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/gtd-guide-getting-things-done-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/gtd-guide-getting-things-done-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1706},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gtd-guide\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Complete GTD Guide to A Productive Life\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"description\":\"The World&#039;s Best Book Summaries\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"width\":500,\"height\":74,\"caption\":\"Shortform Books\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2ababb7c63a94ff5d2190f71dc417d56\",\"name\":\"Carrie Cabral\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e9aea3c95254368e6bf388b046b35bacb82e4167f4c62c0813620e3a4ec51126?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e9aea3c95254368e6bf388b046b35bacb82e4167f4c62c0813620e3a4ec51126?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Carrie Cabral\"},\"description\":\"Carrie has been reading and writing for as long as she can remember, and has always been open to reading anything put in front of her. She wrote her first short story at the age of six, about a lost dog who meets animal friends on his journey home. Surprisingly, it was never picked up by any major publishers, but did spark her passion for books. Carrie worked in book publishing for several years before getting an MFA in Creative Writing. She especially loves literary fiction, historical fiction, and social, cultural, and historical nonfiction that gets into the weeds of daily life.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/carrie\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Complete GTD Guide to A Productive Life - Shortform Books","description":"Are you looking for a complete GTD guide to help you get started in the Getting Things Done system? Look no further. This GTD guide is for you.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gtd-guide\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Complete GTD Guide to A Productive Life","og_description":"Are you looking for a complete GTD guide to help you get started in the Getting Things Done system? Look no further. This GTD guide is for you.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gtd-guide\/","og_site_name":"Shortform Books","article_published_time":"2020-06-22T00:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-04-12T17:27:23+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1706,"url":"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/gtd-guide-getting-things-done-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Carrie Cabral","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Carrie Cabral","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gtd-guide\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gtd-guide\/"},"author":{"name":"Carrie Cabral","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2ababb7c63a94ff5d2190f71dc417d56"},"headline":"The Complete GTD Guide to A Productive Life","datePublished":"2020-06-22T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2023-04-12T17:27:23+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gtd-guide\/"},"wordCount":1337,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gtd-guide\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/gtd-guide-getting-things-done-scaled.jpg","keywords":["Getting Things Done"],"articleSection":["Lifestyle","Management"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gtd-guide\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gtd-guide\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gtd-guide\/","name":"The Complete GTD Guide to A Productive Life - Shortform Books","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gtd-guide\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gtd-guide\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/gtd-guide-getting-things-done-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2020-06-22T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2023-04-12T17:27:23+00:00","description":"Are you looking for a complete GTD guide to help you get started in the Getting Things Done system? Look no further. This GTD guide is for you.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gtd-guide\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gtd-guide\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gtd-guide\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/gtd-guide-getting-things-done-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/gtd-guide-getting-things-done-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1706},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gtd-guide\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Complete GTD Guide to A Productive Life"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","name":"Shortform Books","description":"The World&#039;s Best Book Summaries","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Shortform Books","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","width":500,"height":74,"caption":"Shortform Books"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2ababb7c63a94ff5d2190f71dc417d56","name":"Carrie Cabral","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e9aea3c95254368e6bf388b046b35bacb82e4167f4c62c0813620e3a4ec51126?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e9aea3c95254368e6bf388b046b35bacb82e4167f4c62c0813620e3a4ec51126?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Carrie Cabral"},"description":"Carrie has been reading and writing for as long as she can remember, and has always been open to reading anything put in front of her. She wrote her first short story at the age of six, about a lost dog who meets animal friends on his journey home. Surprisingly, it was never picked up by any major publishers, but did spark her passion for books. Carrie worked in book publishing for several years before getting an MFA in Creative Writing. She especially loves literary fiction, historical fiction, and social, cultural, and historical nonfiction that gets into the weeds of daily life.","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/carrie\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/gtd-guide-getting-things-done-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9895","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9895"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9895\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98998,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9895\/revisions\/98998"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9944"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9895"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9895"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9895"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}