He borrows a simile used in martial arts termed "mind like water".
The goal of the control processes in GTD is to get everything except the current task out of one's head and into this trusted system external to one's mind. The workflow is the center of the control aspect. Perspective Īllen emphasizes two key elements of GTD- control and perspective.
Some are designated "GTD Enabled", meaning Allen was involved in the design. ) Many task management tools claim to implement GTD methodology and Allen maintains a list of some technology that has been adopted in or designed for GTD. (In fact, Allen advises people to start with a paper-based system. : 204 Implementation īecause hardware and software is changing so rapidly, GTD is deliberately technologically-neutral. One selects which task to work on next by considering where one is (i.e., the "context", such as at home, at work, out shopping, by the phone, at one's computer, with a particular person), time available, energy available, and priority. : 191 Finally, a task from one's task list is worked on ("engage" in the 2nd edition, "do" in the 1st edition) unless the calendar dictates otherwise. Multi-step projects identified above are assigned a desired outcome and a single "next action". Next, reflection (termed planning in the first edition) occurs.
It just means applying the "capture, clarify, organize" steps to all one's "stuff". : 27 Emptying one's inbox does not mean finishing everything. Do not put clarified items back into the inbox. : 122 Do not use one's inbox as a "to do" list.
Allen first demonstrates stress reduction from the method with the following exercise, centered on a task that has an unclear outcome or whose next action is not defined.