PDF Summary:Getting Things Done, by David Allen

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• He incorporates the rise of digital technology and the ubiquity of apps designed to help you organize and schedule your life. The digital world compounds the problem of being overloaded with tasks and information while also offering more tools to deal with it. The author doesn’t list any specific apps or software, but he builds more flexibility into his advice about organizing with paper and digital tools.
• He addresses a broader audience of people seeking help organizing their lives. The original version was geared more toward executives and professionals. The revised version acknowledges that everyone is overloaded with tasks and information—in large part because we’re living simultaneously in the real and digital worlds—and needs help gaining control of life’s many demands.
• He takes a gentler approach to instructing readers on how to implement the program. Some readers of the original version felt that the GTD program was too overwhelming to take on; while the author doesn’t remove anything from the program, he emphasizes the fact that implementing it will be a long-term process, and that any pieces of the program you can put into practice will be...

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Established time management tools were developed to organize life the way it used to be.

• Calendars are only effective at organizing a portion of your life.
• To-do lists and prioritizing strategies can’t keep up with the high volume and wide range of tasks most people have.

You need a system that can accommodate today’s faster pace of life and the information that comes from all directions. A modern organization system needs to incorporate minuscule daily tasks as well as big-picture goals, and it needs to be simple enough to save more time and energy than it requires.

Organize Your Life From the Bottom-Up

Many organizational systems promote organizing your life from the top-down, first determining your goals and values, then breaking that down into the projects and tasks that fall in line with them.

However, a top-down approach often leads to three problems:

1. You can easily get too distracted by urgent demands to even stop and think about your big-picture goals.
2. You may be so overwhelmed by your day-to-day demands that the thought of incorporating big-picture goals is daunting and stressful.
3. Your big-picture goals and values are...

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• Paper notebooks, note cards, or pads
• Physical in-trays
• Emails or text messages
• Digital or audio note-taking systems/apps

Whatever type of container you use, make sure that it is always with you so that you can capture something as soon as the thought enters your head.

There are three requirements for a successful capture system:

1. Capture every open loop. If you still have things floating around in your head, you won’t have the mental energy to sort through and empty your containers (that’s the next step).
2. Have as few capturing buckets as possible. If you have too many, the system will get unmanageable and you won’t be able to go through the containers regularly.
3. Empty your containers regularly. If your containers get backlogged, things get lost and your brain won’t trust your system, so it will keep reminding you of things even after you’ve captured them. You don’t have to complete the tasks in order to empty the containers—you just have to clarify and organize them.

Step 2: Clarify

Before you can organize all that you’ve captured, you need to **decide the intended outcome for each item, then figure out the immediate next...

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1) Define your purpose and principles. Your purpose is the intention of the project, and your principles create the boundaries.

Your purpose in going to dinner is to celebrate a birthday, and the principles or boundaries might include how nice the restaurant will be and its affordability and convenience.

2) Envision your outcome. Once you’ve determined that you're planning a project and why you’re planning it (your purpose), you naturally begin to envision what it’ll be like. This is the physical feel, look, and sound of the project.

For dinner, you might envision your group of friends sharing food and laughs around a big outdoor table.

3) Brainstorm. Now that you have the vision, your brain wants to figure out how to make that vision a reality. In random order, your thoughts will bounce around to what you need, who you need to talk to, and how you can accomplish these tasks.

In the context of dinner, this includes questions like “Is the restaurant open?” “What time should we go?” and “Is there gas in the car?”

4) Organize. After the swirl of brainstorming thoughts, you naturally begin to organize them based on components (logistical tasks to...

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If you travel a lot or work remotely, you may also want a portable office with a briefcase, satchel, or backpack as well as necessary folders and workstation supplies (we’ll get into those in the next section); don’t lose valuable opportunities to be productive when you’re in transit and unprepared.

Get The Right Tools

You need a handful of supplies in your workspace to make this system go.

In addition to whatever you choose to use for capturing, organizing, and maintaining your lists (such as planners, notebooks, a computer, tablet, and/or phone), you’ll need:

• Calendar for tracking date-specific actions and reminders (you can keep using whatever calendar you currently use; once you start using the GTD system you’ll get a better sense of whether you need a different type of calendar)
• File folders for organizing projects and general reference materials
• Automatic labeler for file folders
• Paper-holding trays for your in-tray, out-tray, work-in-progress tray, and/or read-and-review tray
• Pen or pencil
• For organizing and filing papers:
  • Paper clips
  • Rubber bands
  • Scotch tape
  • Stapler
  • Sticky notes
• Plain...

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• This isn’t about throwing everything away. This system is designed to allow you to keep everything you want to keep, as long as it’s either the way you want and in the place you want it or it has been captured.

Beware of Capturing Pitfalls

Capturing is a big job, and it’s easy to get tripped up along the way. There are several common capturing issues that you can avoid.

First, if an item is too big to physically fit in your in-tray, simply write a note on a piece of paper to represent it (it’s good practice to date it, too) and put that in your in-tray. If your pile of papers is too big to fit in your in-tray, make stacks around the in-tray and just be careful that it’s clear that they’re “in” and they don’t get mixed up with other documents.

Second, when you come across things that you immediately know you won’t need, trash it on the spot. However, if you have any doubt, just put it in your in-tray and rest assured that you’ll have time to assess it during the clarifying stage; clarifying requires a different mindset, and you don’t want to let yourself get caught up in that right now. For now, just focus on capturing everything as quickly as possible....

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The only exception to this is if you’re the rare person who’s more effective and efficient when you multitask. Some people can only make a decision about an item if they briefly shift their attention to something else and then come back to it. If this is you, take two or three items out at a time, but be sure to make a decision about each one within a minute or two of pulling it out.

Rule #2: Never Put Anything Back Into the In-Tray

Another key to getting through your in-tray is to force yourself to process each item when you pull it out. Don’t put anything back in the in-tray or to the side undecided, or else you’ll finish emptying your in-tray and still have another pile to go through.

Research proves that “decision fatigue” is real—people lose a little bit of their limited brain power and energy with every decision they make. Paradoxically, making the decision to leave an item undecided wears away at your mental energy without achieving anything productive.

Non-Actionable Items

Items that don’t require any immediate action can go into the:

1. Trash
2. Reference pile
3. Pending pile

Trash: You probably threw away a lot of stuff while capturing,...

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There are multiple locations where you can keep your general-reference material, based on the content.

• General-reference filing holds a broad range of material, so keep this culled, organized, and current so you can find what you need when you need it. You can have a paper-based file folder (or filing drawer or cabinet, for big projects) or a digital storage system. The nature of many projects will require you to have both paper-based and digital filing because you’ll get materials in both forms.
• Large-category filing may be necessary for large projects that encompass dozens of folders or huge documents. You can use an entire filing drawer, filing cabinet, or digital database to hold this material. Alphabetize this material or organize it in some other easily searchable way because of the large volume.
• Contact managers store people’s contact information as well as other notes like birthdays, hobbies, anniversaries, and names of family members. In a professional context, you might also have a hiring date, goals, and performance-review dates associated with each person. Depending on your preference, you can keep this information in a paper-based file...

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During your Weekly Review, you’ll:

1. Capture and clarify
2. Update
3. Innovate

Step 1: Capture and Clarify

Your Weekly Review is the time to go through a smaller version of the massive capturing and clarifying process you undertook to implement the GTD system.

Go through all your pockets, your purse, your briefcase, your desk drawers, your countertops, and your car. Gather every loose item—from meeting notes to business cards to flyers from your kid’s school—and put them in your in-tray.

Now work through that in-tray, as well as your email inbox, text messages, and voicemails. Review everything that’s collected there since the last time you went through it.

Finally, capture everything else that’s floating around your head. Use the list of triggers in part 2 of Chapter 5 to jog your memory.

Step 2: Update

Your system won’t work if it gets clogged up with old items and isn’t up-to-date with all your current ones.

Customize your Weekly Review to fit your preferences and organizational style, but at least do the following:

1. Review your Next Actions list to check off any items you’ve completed. Check your reminders and identify next...

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Criteria #3: Energy

You have only so much physical energy and brainpower, so be realistic about your energy level and choose an action that matches. If you’re working on something mentally demanding, you’ll eventually reach a point of diminishing returns; although you might be able to push through, you’re not going to get the most productivity for your time and effort.

Instead, switch to a task that requires less effort, like calling your sister about her visit or changing your flight reservation (pull out your “Brain Gone” list). This is a great way to continue being productive while still giving your brain a rest—you’ll feel more accomplished (and perhaps energized) than if you’d stepped away from everything.

Criteria #4: Priority

Once you’ve narrowed down your options, the big question is: What’s the biggest priority? There’s no objective answer to this question because it factors in your various roles, responsibilities, goals, and values.

In order to prioritize, consider what category of work a task falls into, which we’ll explore in the next model, as well as your six horizons, which we’ll talk about in the following model.

The Threefold...

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1. Setting up meetings: If you need input from other people involved to brainstorm or determine how to move forward, you’ll have to set up a meeting and your action item might be “email team” or “send meeting request.”
2. Gathering information: If you need more information about how to move forward, decide how you’ll get that data (for example, talking to someone, reviewing documents, or doing online research) and create your action item accordingly.

Type #2: Capturing Random Thoughts

When you’re working on a big project like planning a conference or a vacation, you’ll get ideas at random times—when you’re making dinner, driving to pick up your kids from school, or watching TV. Don’t lose these ideas or let them float around your head taking up space.

Be diligent about capturing project ideas in any way you can, whether you jot them down on paper, make a note in a phone app, or text or email the idea to yourself. Then, make sure each one gets into your in-tray.

From there, if the idea is an action item then put it on the appropriate list. If it’s simply an idea you want to revisit later, put it with your project support materials or another logical...

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Every time you take on a new task, you’re making an agreement with yourself. And every unfinished task on your to-do list feels like a broken agreement; too many unfinished tasks causes you to lose trust in yourself.

Keep your trust and confidence in yourself high with these strategies:

1. Don’t make the agreement. Many people have a habit of taking on commitments that aren’t that important to them because they underestimate how much they already have on their plate. The capturing process makes you more consciously aware of your workload, so you can make well-informed decisions about whether or not to make future agreements. Make fewer commitments to reduce your stress.
2. Complete the task. To get rid of the nagging feeling you have about a task, just do it. You’ll get it off your list and off your mind, plus you’ll get a psychological boost from the feeling of accomplishment, which will jump-start momentum to complete more tasks. Although it can be overwhelming, seeing everything you’ve captured on a list might actually inspire you to get moving.
3. Renegotiate the agreement. As soon as you make an agreement with yourself that you’re going to do...

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The Benefits of Asking, “What’s Next?”

Too often, people come away from meetings or discussions knowing only that something generally needs to happen, but they have no clarity on the next action or who’s responsible for it.

Always decide the next action—and force that decision in group settings—to boost productivity by committing to progress from the start instead of waiting until you’re up against a deadline.

Besides increasing your chances of making progress on a task, there are several benefits to simply asking the question, “What happens next, and who’s responsible?”

First, the question brings clarity. When you decide the next action, you also have to decide whether it’s worth your time, energy, and resources. You must decide if you’re serious about making this happen, and if you know what you’re getting into.

Second, the question brings accountability. You know the next action; now who’s going to do it? Many companies’ collaborative cultures make it easy to avoid assigning responsibility or blame, but someone needs to be tasked with the action in order for it to get done.

Third, the question brings productivity. It’s harder to avoid doing a...

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Experience Total Focus Through Flow

Flow is the state of being totally engaged and performing at your peak; athletes call it being “in the zone.”

The GTD program facilitates several conditions that are necessary to experience flow:

• You must be working on just one activity. The goal of GTD is to clear your mind so you can focus on one task at a time.
• You must have clear goals in mind. The GTD system requires you to define projects, desired outcomes, and next actions, so you know the purpose behind each activity you engage in.
• You must receive some form of feedback. The GTD program helps you see and track your progress on your actions and projects lists, which is a form of feedback.

When you achieve flow, you experience:

• Total concentration
• A sense of being in control
• Clarity of your goals
• Little to no self-consciousness
• No sense of time
• Intrinsic motivation

Once you’ve experienced flow, you’re likely to be drawn to repeat the activity. In other words, if you experience flow while doing a task at work, it’s going to motivate you to do it more.

Psychological Capital: A State of Stress-Free...

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Once you have a handle on all your action items, you can focus on the reasons behind those actions—the projects. Your projects are tied to your various roles and responsibilities, so this focus on Horizons 1 and 2 helps you ensure that every demand on your time aligns with your values and goals.

You’ve achieved Tier 2 mastery when:

• You have a complete and updated Projects list. At this level, create a project to address anything that’s pulling at your attention, even relatively subtle and abstract issues like improving a relationship.
• You have a complete and current list of your roles, responsibilities, and interests in all areas of your life. When you have and review this list, identify improvements you want to make within those roles and responsibilities and turn those into projects.
• You’ve tailored the GTD system to fit your lifestyle, needs, and life direction beyond daily tasks. At this point, you’ve internalized the practices and elements of the GTD system and use the system without thinking about it.
• You respond to challenges in life by leaning more heavily on the GTD system, rather than straying from it. You recognize that...