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You need three lists.
âInboxâ, âGoalsâ, âActionsâ.
On the inbox list, write things that you worry about, that you want to have done, that are rattling around in your head, stressing you out, or that other people tell you to do.
Then, for every item on that inbox list, decide if you can and want to do anything about this thing. This is very important. The whole reason the inbox exists in GTD is so we can be more intentional in what we take on and what we nope out off. There are things that we just canât change.
If you canât do it, just scratch it out from the inbox list and move on.
If you can do something, write the end goal on the goals list. When is it done? Letâs say you need to change the broken lightbulb in the bathroom. âHave a working bathroom lightâ is the goal so write that.
Also, on the âactionsâ list, write the very next thing that needs to happen. You donât need to plan the whole thing out, just the next thing. Even so, this can be the most difficult part.
Do you need a new bulb, and you have the money, and you know where to buy lightbulbs? For example, I know a larger grocery store that stocks them, so I would put âBuy lightbulb next time I shop for groceriesâ on the list. Or, if you need to borrow a stepladder, it might be âEmail Alice and ask her if I can borrow her stepladderâ. Or, if your sister is great at fixing lightbulbs and you already have the extra bulb, it might be âAsk Carol to change the bulb when she comes to visit, the 26thâ
Then scratch that out from the inbox list and move on to the next thing.
If you find this step to be difficult, you can take that as a sign that GTD is right for you. The type of person that can have a âTODO listâ that just says vague stuff like âlightbulb, taxes, carwash, makeup, casseroleâ and then easily do those things, GTD is overkill for them. If, instead, youâre the type of person for whom itâs agony to have to sit down and be like âBut what do I do about this?â then GTD was made for you.
It is going to get way faster and easier the more you do this, the more you practice it. And, itâs a sign that you really needed to do it; that lightbulb wouldnâtâve gotten changed until you actually decided what the next step was. Sitting down with these lists wasnât a waste of time for you, it was an invaluable decision-making tool, without which you wouldâve been stuck on those goals for way longer.
Now, how fine-grained you need to break things down is different from person to person. Break things down in a way that works for you. For example, letâs say you wanna write an app: if you write apps all the time you can get by with just âwrite such-and-such appâ; if you are writing your first app you are going to need to break it down in much more detail. Same goes for everything, even if itâs stuff that other people think are just normal or automatic, like washing the dishes. Break it down to a level of steps that work for you, and remember, you only need to figure out the next step, not the whole thing.
Now, you should have an inbox list thatâs all crossed out, a goals list you can refer to, and a list of actions you can work from. If you have a sprawling chaotic mind, this is also where GTD shines, because you now have a bookmark of everything in your life. You know that whatever youâre working on is fine to work on, without you forgetting something or losing your place in your other projects. If other stuff floats into your mind, quickly write it down on the inbox list and get back to work.
The three main takeaways from this lesson is:
This might be enough for many people. Time to get to workâ„
For more tools, see the GTD overview:
speed hacks and shortcuts, such as the legendary âtwo minute ruleâ
But, donât get overwhelmed as youâre first starting out. Itâs better to just get going.â„