A step-by-step guide to implementing GTD and accomplishing more.
I worked for 10 hours today. I had a short lunch break and a coffee. I felt exhausted. I looked at my to-do list and I was only halfway through.
“What have I been doing the entire day!? “— I’d ask myself.
This used to be my typical day. I was feeling frustrated.
When I came across David Allen’s Getting Things Done (GTD) system, I decided to give it a try.
Once I’ve implemented it, I’ve progressed with my to-do’s and started working on reaching my goals. My day-to-day output improved, and I feel more accomplished at the end of the day.
If you’ve been struggling with the same problem, try this methodology, and you’ll begin to see the improvements. In this article, I share how I’ve introduced and customized the GTD system. After reading this story, you’ll know how you can do it, too.
How I’ve Implemented the GTD System
The GTD method is a mix of a personal productivity system and a time management system. While the original system has many benefits, I realized I needed to adjust it to make it work for me.
Here’s the overview of my step-by-step approach to help you get started:
Step 1: Choose the right tool
It can be a paper system or a digital tool. The digital ones are more functional. They allow you to search, edit, attach media files, easily move tasks from folder to folder as well as add labels and priorities.
There are multiple online tools for task management and productivity, such as Trello, Notion, TickTick, and Todoist. I’ve opted for the latter one due to its user-friendly interface and easiness of use.
When selecting the tool, the main criteria should be:
- Accessibility on multiple devices: The main idea behind GTD is to capture everything as soon as it comes to mind. Having access to the system on any device allows you to do it.
- Price: Many tools allow only a limited number of boards and/or entries, so you might require a paid version to get unlimited access.
- Intuitive feeling: Do you like it? Is the interface friendly to you? Would you use this tool every day?
Do your research before choosing your tool, but don’t stress it — you can always switch to another one if you’re not satisfied.
Step 2: Capture everything in your inbox
Once you’ve selected the tool, start by filling up your inbox. The main idea is to take everything out of your mind and register it externally.
It can be tasks, thoughts, errands, shopping list items, appointments to make or attend, plans, places to travel, content to consume, your life goals and bucket list, etc. Think about any projects or online courses you wanted to start. Include all your ideas in the inbox, even just the notes.
I recommend taking a few days for this task. Don’t rush it — sometimes sleeping on it and starting fresh the next day helps you gather your thoughts.
This is a one-time exercise. After that, you’ll capture and sort your inbox daily, and it won’t be so time-consuming. Every day when the idea pops up, enter it into the system. You’ll deal with it during the daily review (step 5).
Step 3: Sort your inbox
Once you fill up the inbox for the first time, start sorting the tasks into relevant folders/columns. There are no guidelines on which ones to use. It depends on what you do, your priorities, and what you want to achieve.
Start with the generic names, such as work, personal growth, content to consume, family & friends, health & fitness, notes, and add more later.
Here are the folders I use:
Go through your inbox entries one by one. Ask yourself a question: When am I going to do this task?
- Exact date: add the date to your task and move it to your calendar.
- No exact date (short-term): if the task needs to be done soon, move it to the respective folder, e.g., work or health. Always add a sub-task as the first step. It can be as simple as “think about which tools to use”.
- No exact date (long-term): when the task is for the future (for example, a bucket list entry), move it to the “sometime/maybe” folder.
If the task can be done within five minutes, do it right away. If your entry doesn’t require any action, move it to the “notes” folder (if the information is helpful) or delete it.
Let’s do a few examples:
- “Write an article on how to implement GTD”. I don’t have a date, but I want to do it soon. I move it to the “work” folder and add the first step “think about the structure of the story”. I can also set the date for this first task.
- I’ve recently read an article and wrote the quote of Hannah Arendt: “Where all are guilty, nobody is”. This is not an actionable task, but I want to save it, so I move it to the “notes” folder.
- “Try scuba-diving in Australia”. I can move it to the folder “places to visit” or “sometime/maybe”. I’d go with the first one to keep all the travel spots in one folder, but there is no right answer. Do it the way it works for you.
Step 4: Customize your system
This step is optional and helps you adjust the system for yourself.
You might realize you’re missing some folders or columns while sorting your inbox for the first time. Feel free to add and rename them as you see fit.
Take advantage of the functionality the tools offer. Use hashtags, labels, colors, and priorities to navigate through your tasks. Don’t overcomplicate it — use the ones you find most suitable.
I use priority levels to highlight the most critical tasks. I also use the labels “this week” for the urgent tasks without an exact date, “goals for 2022” to have an overview of my goals, and “writing” to quickly access all tasks related to my job, article ideas, and Medium.
Step 5: Review regularly
After you sort your inbox for the first time (step 3), you’ll only have to do daily and weekly reviews.
The daily review aims to clean up your tasks from the inbox you accumulated throughout the day. Find the best time to do it. I prefer to do it the first thing in the morning when I sit at my desk.
For the weekly review, go through all the folders and reflect. Delete unnecessary or completed tasks and assign the dates for the new ones. I do it every Monday morning, but you can also do it on the weekend.
During your daily review, follow the approach from step 3. Don’t forget to include the first step for your tasks. Thinking in advance eliminates obstacles and allows you to take action when you start working on it.
Key Takeaway
The GTD method helps you keep track of all the tasks — from daily ones to your life goals. However, the system is complex and requires time and effort for a proper setup.
Here’s my step-by-step approach to implementing it:
- Choose the right tool for you (digital or paper).
- Capture everything in the system (tasks, ideas, projects).
- Sort your inbox and move your tasks to your respective folders.
- Customize your system to ease the navigation through your tasks.
- Review regularly to stay up-to-date with your tasks and not miss anything.
Start using the system, and you’ll increase your productivity and accomplish more every day and in life. With this system, you’ll no longer waste time on unimportant tasks.
Reach out to me if you need any help. I’m not a GTD coach and only share my personal experience using the system.
This article was originally published on my blog on Medium.com. Cover photo by Jeroen den Otter on Unsplash.