GTD examples. David Allen's GTD system for increased productivity. All things need to be written down in one list

How to get things in order. The Art of Stress-Free Productivity
Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

Book cover How to get things in order

Author David Allen
Genre Business
Original language English
Original published
Translator Yulia Konstantinova
Publisher Mann, Ivanov and Ferber
Release
Pages 416
Carrier book, file
ISBN

Getting Things Done, GTD(translated from English- “getting things done”, but more often and incorrectly - “how to put things in order”) - a technique for increasing personal effectiveness created by David Allen and described by him in the book of the same name, the first edition of which was published in 2001 and has been translated into 23 languages .

GTD is based on the principle that a person should free his mind from remembering current tasks (there are exceptions in cases where several tasks on different projects are interrelated) by transferring the tasks themselves and reminders of them to an external medium. Thus, the human mind, freed from remembering what needs to be done, can concentrate on performing the tasks themselves, which must be clearly defined and formulated in advance (“what is the next action to be taken?”). Contrary to popular belief, GTD does not refer to time management, criticizing it for its narrow focus and limited effectiveness.

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    ✪ Getting Things Done (GTD) by David Allen - Animated Book Summary And Review

    ✪ DAVID ALLEN - HOW TO GET THINGS DONE - Part 1/2 | London Real

    ✪ Getting Things Done Summary by David Allen (get Book Summary PDF in link below)

    ✪ Getting Things Done by David Allen (Study Notes)

    ✪ BECOME ORGANIZED IN 3 WEEKS WITH GTD - STEP 1!

    Subtitles

Prevalence

  1. collection;
  2. treatment;
  3. organization;
  4. review;
  5. actions.

Allen uses the analogy of "altitude" to illustrate his second major model - six-level performance review model, to see the perspective of tasks and assignments. Ascending line:

  1. current affairs;
  2. current projects;
  3. range of duties;
  4. coming years (1-2 years);
  5. five-year perspective (3-5 years);
  6. life.

Rising to a bird's eye view, everyone can consider the “big picture” of their affairs.

Allen recommends a weekly review at various levels. The insight gained from these reviews allows one to manage personal priorities, which in turn prioritize whether and when to complete specific tasks and assignments collected during the workflow management process. During the weekly review, a person analyzes the contexts of tasks and arranges them into appropriate lists. Examples of grouping similar tasks include making a list of necessary phone calls or a list of errands that need to be completed in the Center. The rules for generating contextual lists can be determined by the presence of a tool or the presence of a person/group with whom something needs to be discussed or introduced.

Allen emphasizes that the first two models are sufficient to gain control and vision in most tasks and projects. However, there are some cases that require deeper thought and reflection. For this, the third main model is used - natural planning method. While in workflow management one does " horizontal focusing" on the implementation of individual tasks, in the natural method of planning is done " vertical focusing»on planning projects and thinking through topics. The planning model consists of 5 stages:

  1. defining purpose and principles;
  2. vision of desired results;
  3. organization;
  4. determining the next specific action.

GTD facilitates this process by storing, tracking, and using detailed information related to the task being performed. Allen suggested that many of the failures we experience were caused by insufficient “upfront” planning (that is, while still figuring out what needed to be achieved and what specific actions were needed to achieve it). It is important to think through this in advance, creating a sequence of actions that can be completed without returning to planning. Allen argues that our mind's "reminder system" is ineffective and rarely reminds us of what we should and can do. this moment and in this place. Therefore, information about “next specific actions” that are contextually related to a given moment and place can serve as external support that ensures that we give ourselves the right reminders in right time. Since GTD is based on maintaining additional records, it can be considered an implementation scientific theories distributed cognition and extended mind.

A brief description of GTD from Allen's book, Ready for Anything:

Get everything out of your head. Make decisions about required actions when a task arises - not when it requires an emergency termination. Organize reminder notes about your projects and planned activities into appropriate categories. Maintain this system, replenish it and review it so often that in the future you can trust even your intuitive choice of action (or non-action).

Principles

Basic principles of GTD:

Collection

Productivity without stress begins with the process of unloading the mind, which consists of fixing everything more or less important on paper or other media - what Allen calls basket: a physical mailbox, an electronic mailbox, a voice recorder, a laptop, a pocket computer, or a combination of these. The point is to get everything more or less important out of your head and onto a convenient medium for later processing. All bins must be emptied (processed) at least once a week. Allen does not insist on any particular collection method, but emphasizes the importance of emptying the basket regularly. Any storage location (physical, email, tape recorder, laptop, PDA, etc.) is acceptable as long as it is processed regularly.

Treatment

The cart is processed strictly according to the following algorithm.

  1. We start with the top element of the basket.
  2. We make one element at a time (and never return anything back)
    • If the element requires an action:
      • Do this (if it takes less than two to five minutes), OR
      • We delegate this to someone, OR
      • Let's put this aside.
    • If the element does not require an action:
      • We leave this in the reference information, OR
      • Throw it away OR
      • On the “maybe someday” list.

If the action takes less than two to five minutes, it should be done immediately. The two-minute rule is based on the approximate time it takes to formally defer an action.

Organization

To keep track of items awaiting attention, Allen recommends using a set of lists.

  • The following actions- For each element that requires attention, decide what is the next action that can be physically performed. For example, if there is an element “Write a project report”, the next action could be: “Write a letter to Mikhail with a proposal for a meeting” or: “Call Marina to find out the requirements for the report.” Although an item may require quite a few steps and actions, there will always be something that must be done first, and that step should be described in the next action list. It is preferable that these steps be organized by the context in which they can be done (for example, “in the office,” “on the phone,” or “in the store”).
  • Projects- Every open loop in life or work that requires more than one physical action to achieve a goal becomes a project. Projects need to be monitored and reviewed periodically to ensure that each project has a next activity associated with it so that the project moves forward.
  • Deferred- When an action has been delegated to someone or when some external event is expected before a project can move forward, this is tracked in the system and periodically it is checked whether an action is required or a reminder needs to be sent.
  • Someday/maybe- Things that will be done at some point, but not right now. For example, “learn Chinese” or “have a pool party.”

A calendar is important for keeping track of appointments and assignments; however, Allen recommends that the calendar be reserved only for those things that must be done by a specific deadline, or for meetings and errands with a set time and place. And things should be recorded in lists of next actions, not in a calendar.

The last key organizing component of GTD is the document system. The document system should be easy, simple and interesting. Even a single piece of paper, if needed for reference purposes, should get its own folder if the existing folders are not suitable for it. Allen proposes a one-dimensional, organized in alphabetical order, a document storage system in order to quickly and easily recover the necessary information.

Review

Action lists and reminders will be of little use unless reviewed at least daily, or as often as possible. Given the time, energy and resources available at the moment, you need to find the most important task that can be done immediately and do it. If you have a habit of putting off your business, everything will end up in what you do. simple tasks and avoid difficult ones. To solve this problem, you can do the actions from the list one by one, similar to how the cart is processed. GTD requires at least a weekly review of all activities, projects and pending items to ensure that any new tasks or upcoming events are entered into the system and that everything is up to date.

Actions

Any organizational system is useless if it spends too much time organizing tasks instead of actually doing them. As David Allen argues, if such a system is made easy to perform necessary actions, then a person will be less inclined to put them off or become “overloaded” with too many “open loops.”

Means and techniques

43 folders

Allen suggests organizing your documents using a system called "43 folders." Twelve folders are used, one for each month, and an additional 31 folders are used for each day of the next 31 days. The folders are organized to help remind the user of the activities that need to be done that day.

Folders and binders

Allen mentions in his book that for convenient search and structuring information, it is better to use folders, so that all documents related to one project will be in one place. This allows you to find faster necessary documents. Even if only one document relates to a project, it is still better to put it in a folder, since new documents on this topic may appear.

Looking for ways to work less and get more done? Have you taken on two dozen projects and lost control of the situation? Maybe you're just tired: work, home, fitness, healthy lifestyle, friends, parents, family, children?

In this case, David Allen and his GTD method can help you. This is an anti-stress vaccine that will teach you how to manage time and consciousness.

The essence of the GTD method

David Allen has developed and tested a personal effectiveness strategy aimed at obtaining maximum benefits with minimal effort. He described a way to effectively allocate time between important and necessary activities. The name of his method – Getting Things Done (GTD) – translates as “bringing things to completion,” although the meaning is more suitable “how to put things in order.” The principles are simple:

1. All unfinished tasks are transferred from your head to an external drive. Information is collected and recorded in a list. Everything is included: even the smallest thing. The list should be available at any time; you should constantly look at it.

2. Explanations are written down so as not to waste time thinking about the problem in the future.

3. A system of list reminders is created. They need to be updated regularly (daily, weekly): cross out completed tasks and add new ones. Control is carried out: horizontal - over the entire to-do list; vertical – for each specific case (what has been done and what are the prospects).

To optimize your work, set a specific time and date for completing the task. Use a planner or calendar. Listen to what David Allen has to say. Perform all actions sequentially.

Shall we practice?


1. Transfer. Highlight in your thoughts and write down on paper in one sentence the first situation/task/project that pops up in your head. It doesn't matter whether the aspiration concerns professional activity, family or individual. It should look like a successful result of the work. For example:

· Go on vacation to the Maldives together/with the whole family;

· Launch a factory/chain of stores in Chelyabinsk;

· Bake cake/pancakes according to grandma’s recipe.

2. Explanations. Write down specific physical action, which must be implemented to advance in this project. What can you do right now? Where to go? Who to call? What to write? Who should I talk to?

· Call the travel agency to select route options;

· Send a prepared request by email;

· Buy flour, butter, eggs at the ABC store.

3. Think about what he recommends doing.
David Allen. What changed after a moment of reflection? As a rule, isolating a specific task not only increases control over it, but also allows you to relax. Because a specific image of the desired result has been formed, the first steps towards achieving it have been outlined, and the necessary resources have been identified.

Think not about the problem, but about ways to solve it

Thinking and defining tasks is your intellectual work. The productivity of intellectual work is determined by the answer to the question: “What are the expected results of the work?” The more clearly defined the outcome, the higher your intellectual productivity.

The problem turns into a specific problem that needs to be solved. The process is broken down into simple steps, the nearest of which is executed immediately. A person does not go through tasks one after another: I want to learn to sing someday, I need to urgently complete a project, pick up a child from kindergarten. He takes the list and steps along the path of performing specific actions:

· To learn to sing, you need to call a tutor - it will take 2 minutes. I'm calling right now;

· For the project, I need to go to the store to buy materials according to the list in order to make a model tomorrow, and I’ll pick up the child on the way.

Thanks to the GTD system, your head is not filled with feverish thoughts about unfulfilled projects. The list is already in front of you. You can relax and proceed to the next step.

It's like being in a supermarket

You can walk around and keep in mind the products you need to buy all the time. It takes all your strength, but anyway, something will be forgotten, or you will gain a lot of extra stuff.

Or you can come to the store with a list written on paper (smartphone): in this case, brain resources are spent only on optimizing the process. Having looked at the list and seen milk there, you go and buy it, paying attention to the variety, manufacturer, date of manufacture, price. This brings more benefits to health and the family budget.

When the result is determined, the person moves in the right direction, constantly asking himself the question: “What is the next step to take to get closer to the goal?”

Turn intangible thoughts into physical actions

David Allen offers a set of auxiliary tools that allow you to free your brain from routine to work on global projects. The list of tasks can be stored using for example:

  • diary;
  • trays for paper sheets;
  • folders with stickers;
  • electronic organizers or planners;
  • task managers (see our).

Many huge projects consist of a collection of small actions, each of which takes 1-2 minutes. In this case, you just need to do it and forget it. This is the two-minute principle - one of the key ones in GTD. Turn it into a habit - with the help of a simple tracker (we wrote about such).


The electronic version of David Allen’s book “Getting Things in Order” can be downloaded from the following links: bookscafe.net, KnigoPoisk, FB2LIT.

Moreover, if the majority electronic libraries offer an introductory fragment with a link at the end, from which you can download the entire book after payment (price from 170 to 400 rubles), then bookscafe.net offers two of David Allen’s 7 books for free.

You can study modern life hacks in time management in our.

An excellent selection of free self-improvement tools: planners, organizers, diaries, checklists - follow the link “40+ lists that will help you put things in order in your life.”

You can buy the paper version of the book “How to Get Things in Order” in online stores: Ozone, Labyrinth, book24.

Conclusion

Have you been dreaming of learning how to manage your life for many years? The time has come. Make a breakthrough: increase your own efficiency, make it easier for yourself to complete any work. Free your mind from routine, become a creative person.

Get started today. Don't just read the book, use GTD techniques. Personal practical experience is more useful than dozens of books read. Set yourself a goal: 40 days of using GTD. Why 40? Because it is during this time that a person manages to master, become involved, and appreciate new activity. The GTD method optimizes intellectual work in the professional and personal sphere. There will be order in affairs, there will be order in the head and in life.

So. What's your next step?

The Path to Productivity and Peace of Mind with GTD

The material is published with minor abbreviations.

Getting Things Done orGTD literally translates to “getting things done.” In further material, for convenience, we will mainly use the American abbreviation GTD, which is often used in Russian-language materials about this system. – approx. ed.

Getting Things Done is a time management technique that has taken the world by storm since it was first introduced back in 2001. It was created by David Allen after years of research and practice in productivity techniques. GTD remains popular to this day throughout the world. If you're new to GTD, this guide will introduce you to the basic principles.

What is GTD?

Getting Things Done (GTD for short) is much more than just a way to achieve success. It's the basis for organizing and tracking your tasks so you can structure them so you know exactly what you need to get things done.

GTD forces you to add both context and structure to tasks, thereby creating space to work on them.

“Your mind is designed to entertain ideas, not to hold them in your mind.” - David Allen

The basic concept of GTD is that your brain is great at generating new ideas, but has a hard time retaining them in memory. For example, it remembers that you need to buy a gift for your mom's birthday next week, but instead of reminding you of it when you pass by your favorite store, it just sends out the feeling that you should buy something... for someone...

When used correctly, GTD is a reliable system that helps you organize your vague ideas, whims, inspirations and late night musings and turn them into action. The idea is that once you trust your system, your brain will stop trying to keep track of everything, thereby reducing stress and freeing up resources for more productive things. Sounds amazing, doesn't it?

How does GTD work?

GTD relies on a series of lists that you use to organize everything that comes to mind. To implement GTD, you need to capture and process the incoming “stuff” in 5 steps.

Fixation: Collect whatever catches your attention. Everything that appears before your eyes and seems important, from letters requiring action to brilliant ideas that come to you in your soul. You can use a laptop, a smartphone app, or even a dedicated personal email account. What you liked, what you need to remember for work - write it down. Make sure you check your inbox regularly.

Clarification: Process the incoming material by setting its value. Ask yourself if this is something that needs to be done. This is a very quick step that you need to do regularly. Below I'll demonstrate how to quickly process inboxes using a simple decision tree.

Ordering: Place the item in the appropriate area. Mark it as background information, add to your calendar, task management app, or simply move to trash. You can also add "context" here. I'll talk more about this later, but in short, contexts are a way of labeling tasks based on the person, place, or thing you need to do something. "Office" or "home" are common location contexts. "Phone" or " Email" are normal contexts.

Reflection: let's evaluate the incoming data. Review your lists—every one of them—and make adjustments if necessary. Do a weekly review to clear your lists and your mind. Failure to reflect regularly means things pile up and the whole system breaks down.

Interaction: Just do it. This step is the easiest of all if you have set up your system well! If you regularly complete the first 4 steps, you will be 100% confident that the things on your list are what you need to do to make lasting progress toward your goals.

The following are your lists: " Inbox», « Next actions», « Waiting», « Projects" And " Some day" These lists form the basis of the GTD system. Every thing that needs your attention goes into your Inbox, then moves on to other lists using steps clarifications And ordering. How you process and sort these lists determines which things you act on and which you don't.

Recording – write everything down

Inbox- the place where everything you record is collected. It's your brain's inbox—emails, phone calls, ideas that popped into your head during your commute, requests for someone to babysit on the weekend... everything. Some people use a laptop to record, others use apps or a recording device. It doesn't matter what you use or how many of them you have (you may have multiple inbox lists). All that matters is that you have a place to capture ideas no matter where you are.

When you first start using GTD, you must capture everything that is on your mind or scattered throughout your life. Write down everything you need or want to do, everything that has been on your mind over the past few days or weeks. In GTD language they are called " open hinges». Open hinges- these are the things that sit in the back of your mind, the things you remember when you can't sleep at four in the morning, everything that constantly bothers you. This is your opportunity to close those loops and let them stop taking up space in your head. Add everything to your inbox.

Clarify and organize - declutter your inbox

This is the key to the operation of the entire system. Once you have recorded all your thoughts, processing them is your next step. This is where you study everything you've captured, then refine and organize it. It may take a while to go through everything you've added to the list after the first brain dump, but once you're done, it will be much easier from there. The more often you work on it, the less effort it will take.

So, how to actually process your inbox? Here's a helpful decision tree to help you:

New thing. Action? No -> add to cart/list "someday". Yes -> next point. In one step? No -> to Project. Yes -> next point. More than two minutes? No -> do it! Yes->next point. For me? No->wait until... Yes->next point. By a certain date? No->Add to Next Actions Yes->To Calendar

It's much easier than it looks, I promise!

You process a new item in your inbox by asking yourself a series of questions about it:

Is this action?

Is it done in one step?

Will it take more than 2 minutes?

Should I do this, or can I delegate it to someone else?

Does this need to be done on a specific date or time?

That's all. Your response determines which list your item is added to. If it is not added to the list, do it immediately, either postpone it or delete it.

Is this action?

This means whether you need to do anything to remove an entry from the list. If not, you should move it to one of three places: trash, links, or the “someday” list. Things that don't require your attention go into the trash.

Things that are useful or informative but don't require any action (like a recipe you want to save or an informative article you might need one day) should be posted to the appropriate place as a link.

Finally, if something might require action someday but not now, it is added to the "someday" list. These are things you want to remember, but don't want to clutter up your "next actions" list with. Things like "Explore Japanese” or “write a book” can be found here.

Is it done in more than one step?

In GTD " project" is anything that requires more than one action. When your list " Inbox» contains several related tasks, create a separate one project to manage them. Add the project name as an item to your projects list and select one action item from that list to add to your next action list.

How long will it take to complete?

If something can be done in 2 minutes or less, you should do it right away. The idea is that if it takes less time, it's easier to do it yourself rather than delegate it or put it off until later. This includes sending a helpful email to a co-worker or sending a funny cat message to your mom.

If it takes more than 2 minutes, you should figure out if you can do it yourself or if you should hand it over to someone else.

Can anyone else do this?

If you can easily delegate an item to someone else, do so. If you want to create a reminder to do so later, you should add the item to the waiting list.... Things you can add to the waiting list include things that are blocked for some reason - you need a response to a sent email before you can proceed, or you're waiting for delivery. Always note the date the item was added to this list so you can keep track of the correct time.

If you can't delegate something, you need to add it either to the calendar or to your next action list, preferably using a context tag.

Does this need to be done on a specific date or time?

If something has a specific date or time, then you should add it to your calendar. This includes things like dentist appointments, meetings and flights. Don't include anything you want to finish on a specific day, just what needs to be done. As a result, your calendar will be clutter-free, making it more useful.

If something requires you to do something but doesn't have a specific date, you should add it to your next action list. It contains actions that need to be completed as soon as possible. Everything on this list should be a physical, visible action—“email John about booking a party venue” rather than “plan a party.” Exactly this important rule in GTD.

Labeling something as a physical, visible action lowers the barrier for you to begin a task. In terms of mental effort, it's much easier to "call Jennifer to book a babysitter for Thursday night" than to "arrange a babysitter visit," even though they're technically the same thing.

Ideally, you should add a context tag to the items in your next action list. The context tag tells you where you need to be, what tools you need, and/or who you need to complete the task. Examples of context tags: “shopping”, “at work”, “with children”, “phone” or “computer”. Other contexts you could use include the time you have, how much energy you have, or priority.

If you can view your next action list, sorted by context, then you can easily check your list of things to do “at work” or “at the store.”

Reflection - Weekly Review

It is absolutely essential that you do a weekly review of everything on each of your lists. In his book, David Allen says that the weekly review is “crucial to success.” Why? It's simple: the longer you let things pile up in your inbox, the harder it will be to deal with it all. Processing only 15 inboxes is much easier than processing 50 or 500!

Working with your lists regularly is what makes or breaks the system. If you don't do this, everything starts to leak. You will forget to add something to the next action list, or you will forget to remove things that should no longer be on the list.

Here are a few things you should check every time:

  • Every project should have the following action.

    • Each thing on your next action list should be something you want to do in the next week. If not, move it to your list someday or delete it completely!

    Maybe something on your list will move onto your next action list someday. Hooray!

Bonus Points. While browsing, you can also use "trigger lists" to help you remember open loops that you may have forgotten to add to your inbox. A trigger list is just a list of words that “trigger” you to remember things. You can set up a list like this for work: “boss, colleague, incomplete projects, people waiting for my response...”, for home: “ Homework, pets, children, partner..”, for subjects you study or for hobbies.

It's time to achieve your goals!

Ugh! Your system is in order, you're getting more comfortable handling your inbox, and you've started doing the things on your list like a pro. Amazing!

Feel the peace of mind that you get from creating a system that gives you 100% confidence in the implementation of your plans.

I will reveal some secrets of efficiency in life and business...

A small cheat sheet on how to sort things out and start living effectively!

David Allen personally invites you to training in Moscow. I must say that his books have sold more than 2 million copies!
And his system really works!

Your life will not be the same if you get acquainted with the GTD system!
I remember being very impressed by David Allen's performance!

We grab onto a thousand things, trying not to forget about everyday little things along the way; we often forget about the goal, but we remember the inevitably approaching deadlines.

Sometimes the fear of an avalanche of tasks literally paralyzes the brain and apathy, procrastination, and depression set in. Work at such moments moves slowly, it seems that even the mouse cursor is barely crawling across the monitor.

This situation is all the more dangerous more people works in a team, especially when it comes to a development team.

The idea to invite to our conferenceDavid Allen, although unexpected, was not accidental. Personal, at first glance, the concept of GTD gives good recommendations for each developer individually and the development process as a whole. Of course, the GTD method is not as tailored to the software development process as agile, but nevertheless, it can complement it or become the first step towards a team’s transition to an agile development methodology. What is it like, GTD for a programmer?

Let's divide the application of GTD principles in development into two blocks: personal, when we are talking about an individual, and team, when we are talking about a company or group of developers. In general, the principles are the same, but it is much more difficult to implement them in a team, since there is guaranteed to be sabotage and resistance from employees or the team lead.

No man is an island

One of the basics GTD method- the principle of moving tasks from human memory to external source. Thus, the human brain stops worrying about keeping all plans in mind, from minor to global, and begins to concentrate on the tasks that are truly important at the moment and their implementation. Some say that the GTD method is effective for freeing up personal space and finding a balance between work and, for example, hobbies or family. However, from the point of view of a practical developer, GTD is needed, first of all, to maintain a balance between work and... work.

Programmers, system architects, and project managers are constantly juggling multiple priorities, tasks, or projects. Often circumstances preclude the implementation of one task, so you need to be able to quickly adapt. Such rushing from project to project often gives rise to stress, but not the kind that arises from unloved work, but stress as a physiological and emotional phenomenon. The higher the level of anxiety, the more difficult it is to cope with the assigned tasks. This is where GTD comes to the rescue.

Installing filters on the to-do list

First of all, you need to set limits by choosing the main one among all the tasks. By leaving the main thing, you free up time and energy and create momentum for action with much less effort than when you keep all the little things in your head. There is a routine, there are important projects, there are plans for the future. At the same time, in all of these categories there is an important thing. To select it, you need to perform several steps:


  • select started but not completed tasks;

  • choose the cases that cause the most concern;

  • choose things that you don’t want to do and that are constantly put off;

  • choose routine tasks, including household ones.

As a rule, the main thing is found first three groups. Accordingly, priority attention should be given to disturbing and unfinished matters - after all, it’s not for nothing that accurate translation of Getting Things Done - “bring things to completion.”

Streamlining communication

It doesn’t matter whether he is a freelancer or a programmer, works remotely or in a team, he is constantly in the field of communication: calls from customers, questions from management, requests from users and colleagues, information messages from SDK suppliers, etc. These communications cannot be called insignificant, but you need to be able to handle them competently .


  • Stop checking your email every 5 minutes - set pop-up alerts that you can glance at out of the corner of your eye. Place your mail in folders and read it as it is updated at a particular moment.

  • Divide all communications by context: Skype, mobile calls, landline phone, communication via email, etc... Allot a certain time for communication within each channel.

  • Check work and personal chats. Perhaps, if your new employee writes to you endlessly or an old colleague asks you the same work questions, you should ask them to prepare questions, set aside time for communication and clarify all the difficult points.

  • Watch your web browser. Developers often look at specialized topics on forums or specialized sites. There they are faced with interesting topics and discussions that have nothing to do with the current task. It's better to postpone reading really interesting topic, using bookmarks in the browser or special utilities for storing links (for example, the Pocket add-on, which can also be installed as an application on mobile device and synchronize bookmarks).

  • Keep a notebook and/or app where you write down all tasks with urgency and importance tags. GTD for business management introduces the concepts of time, context (place), and action. To properly prioritize tasks, imagine a simple filter, like in Excel, for example. Assign each task a time parameter (by hour or time of day), location (home, work, street, gym, store, etc.). And then divide the tasks approximately like this: “request comments on the technical specifications - work - 14:00” or “call the tire shop - street - evening.” There are many applications for such notes: from the task scheduler in Windows, which you can use for your purposes, to Evernote, Rainlendar and carefully written reminders on your smartphone.

The confidence that you have such a list is guaranteed to reduce anxiety and help you focus on solving each of the tasks.

There are more global problem, which also affects developers of any type of employment. Today, almost every week new tools, guides, and utilities for developers are released, and every now and then there are messages about new versions of frameworks, new libraries and even new programming languages. All this information arouses extreme interest among professionals, and sometimes even captivates and forces them to try something new (create a simple mobile app, write “Hello, world!” on Brainfuck or create a new open source project). There is only one way out: distribute interests according to their significance in relation to current projects, short-term and long-term goals. Focusing on one task makes it possible to increase personal productivity, free up time and start learning new information.

5 optimization steps

The GTD method identifies five stages of working on a to-do list.

Collection of information.You need to collect all the tasks - just take and write down in pen or in a text file all your routine, unfinished, global affairs. At the same time, it is important to remember that, for example, behind the task “Write a report in Fast Report for Snowman LLC” there are several important and requiring attention subtasks: collecting requirements from the client, drawing up and approving technical specifications, requesting an array of data for testing the report, etc. ... It is necessary to write down absolutely all tasks - a little later you will group them.
Pay attention not only to those projects that are in memory, but also to those that are on the computer - often there is no less chaos there than in thoughts. It is worth dividing files into folders corresponding to each project, separating personal documents from work ones.

Processing process.Process the information according to the scheme proposed by GTD: if something is already being done, you need to continue it to the end, if you can do it in less than two minutes, do it right away.

Classic GTD processing algorithm

From the point of view of working on a key project for you, it is important to take into account several nuances.


  • Postpone non-urgent tasks, for example, studying non-core materials that are in no way related to the current work.

  • If possible, delegate tasks, for example, to colleagues or freelancers. If you write code quickly and efficiently, but are not very good at creating a website, advertising or design, turn to the professionals. Even if it's your own project, investing in someone else's quality work will quickly pay off.

  • Learn to say no. This is perhaps one of the most difficult skills: there will always be dozens of friends whose Windows has crashed, an error has crept into the code, requires Android firmware and is begging for an iPhone jailbreak. These small tasks take up a lot of time. If you don’t want to spoil your relationship, find several available manuals on the Internet and send links to those in need.

Organization of the list.After the first two and most difficult stages have been completed, it is necessary to organize work with tasks. Here you can use simple rule: Divide your time into weeks, review the list at the end of the week and create a new one. All tasks should be divided according to deadlines and priority. To manage tasks, you can use any of the applications you like: mobile OneNote and Evernote, Asana, Redmine, Google Calendar, and so on...

At this stage, the main thing is to pay a lot of attention to working with the current or several projects. To do this, you can use mindmaps, which will reflect all stages of work in the form of a visual map structure, according to which you will move through the project. There are many paid and free applications with interesting features for creating mindmaps. We like convenient, free and Russified , in which we created an approximate view of an unfinished map that does not pretend to be true:

Part 1

Part 2

You should not divide tasks into simple and complex, you need to do everything in order, then the time will be distributed rationally.

Review of what has been done.At this stage, it is necessary to note what has been done, analyze the reasons for failures, and create a plan for the next stage (for example, a week).

The actual action.Tasks should be completed based on available resources: effort, time, place of execution, as well as the established priority. If you lack some resource that will appear later to quickly solve a problem, try to reschedule the task until a means of better execution becomes available. For example, if you are refining a desktop application and to make some changes you need an updated SDK that your company has not yet purchased, but is planning to purchase in the near future, make those changes that can be made in the current version, and add the task for the remaining changes to the folder or a file with tasks for the future. Of course, finding ways to solve a problem using available means reveals you as a professional, but it requires a large and not always justified investment of your time and effort.

Here are some tips on how to use GTD principles whether you are a developer in a team or working independently.


  • Plan your project from the beginning, and not as you work, break it down into solvable subtasks.

  • Highlight individual stages of work on the project and mark the importance and urgency of the work.

  • Complete every task without leaving it for later. Even if you only know the long way to solve a problem, solve it. With further refactoring, it will be possible to get rid of the suboptimal solution.

  • Periodically review task lists to review what has been accomplished and change plans.

  • Focus on one task at a time - this way you will save time and effort.

  • Allocate time for each stage and pay maximum attention to it: requirements gathering, development, unit testing, etc..

GTD cannot be implemented in one day - first some individual elements appear, then rules are formed, and finally a habit and tangible results appear. The main thing is not to stop. By the way, it’s a good idea if you can transfer some of your GTD skills to the team you work with - this can significantly optimize work within the company.

There is safety in numbers

Although GTD is typically aimed at an individual, it is also applicable to a team, where it is important to be able to define a project vision, goals, identify projects and distribute areas of responsibility. Moreover, in many organizations, perhaps the closest entity to GTD logic already exists and is successfully used - the Gantt chart. The Gantt chart very accurately reflects the project's need for resources, tasks and subtasks, the approximate time for completion of each task, the start and end dates of work on the task, stages of the project, which can start only after the completion of the previous stage and the release of the required resources.

However, often all the work on drawing up a resource and employment diagram is in vain. Linking GTD with software development, Robert Peake, GTD evangelist and CTO of the consulting company David Allen, who led technical projects and understands the topic hardly worse than the CEO himself:


“I've seen so much time, energy and money wasted on complex Gantt charts only to be destroyed with the first snap of a manager's fingers. Any company that relies on ABC priority codes and tight reins for programmers in order to remain in the rearguard of software development will be bitterly disappointed."

It also reveals the essence of the concept. The fact is that it is aimed not so much at planning, but at the ability to return to the point of failure. Let us explain in more detail. There are moments in the life of any person and any team when they deviate from their intended goals and all activities plunge into chaos. This can happen both for external reasons and for reasons related to individual internal influences: a temporary change in the course of project development, the emergence of a new investor with a new vision, a break for urgent work (for example, preparation for an exhibition). The task of GTD in a team is to easily return to the point at which it was necessary to deviate from the work plan and continue to act as before.


“The mind sweep component of GTD is quite simple, David (Allen) often refers to it as a kind of memory dump for “mental RAM.” It's like you're periodically checking with your own brain to see what's holding your attention and pull it out and look at it. It's like you collect these lists of possibilities (projects and next steps) that serve as a safety net for you to make sure that whatever you do, you do it right and coupled with the two minute rule (if you can do something in less than in less than 2 minutes, do it - approx. lane) and thinking aimed at the next action, gives you a static snapshot of your working state, with which you can easily return to the moment when you interrupted.

There are four main activities in a development team, which themselves act as elements of the team GTD.


  1. Regression testing - already corrected sections of the source code are tested, as well as the functionality of the functionality associated with the changed code. As part of Extreme Programming, it exemplifies GTD in terms of repeatability, revision, and unambiguity.

  2. Working with documentation - creating and testing documentation allows you to transfer important knowledge and tasks to paper. Neither users, nor testers, nor developers need to keep them in mind - if necessary, you can refer to the documentation and clarify an unclear point or find an answer to a question about the operation of the program.

  3. Code refactoring is the process of improving code without changing functionality. Adherents of extreme programming carry out periodic refactorings in order to improve program performance, its understanding and code readability. There are companies and teams that avoid refactoring. In most cases, this is due to fears that changes to the code will lead to a crash in the system. As a rule, this approach leads to stagnation and obsolescence of the program.

  4. Brainstorm. A process that occurs in one form or another in any team. This is just a collection of information and ideas. During brainstorming and as a result of it, mindmaps can also be created.

In most cases, a programmer at work performs many more tasks than simply writing code. Moreover, the more experience and qualifications he has, the more diverse tasks he is assigned. At some point, a crisis occurs when responsibilities and obligations begin to burden the employee and significantly reduce his productivity. Obviously, this can and should be dealt with, and not with directive methods and repressive measures, but with the help of GTD, which is aimed at an evolutionary change in the approach to work. Numerous reviews from those who have tried this method talk about significant difficulties at the beginning and no less significant successes at the end of the process. After all, they say it takes 21 days to form a habit. Why not try it?

P.S.: You can listen to a free online presentation by the author of the GTD method, David Allen, and ask him questions during the conferenceNovember 17 (Tuesday) at 19:15 Moscow time. He will talk about the GTD approach to solving the problem of information overload and share the latest research in the field of human productivity.


According to the latest Productivity Scan conducted by Life Architect, GTD methodology allows you to increase personal productivity and efficiency by at least 20%.

GTD® has proven its effectiveness both for personal use and for organizations operating in the most different areas. It is successfully used by both top management and new employees of companies included in the TOP 50 of the Fortune list.

Why is it difficult to keep everything in your head?

Our short-term memory is similar to a computer's RAM - it is needed to work with current tasks, and its volume is extremely small. At the same time, we are able to process on average, and work well only with 1–3. At the same time, the volume of information vying for our attention is constantly growing. Author of Getting Things Done, David Allen, repeats: “Your mind is for creating ideas, not storing them.” And this is one of the goals of his approach.

About internal obligations

According to the author, the main source of stress and negative emotions- these are unresolved or broken obligations to oneself or others (in the original Allen calls them open loops). Depressing thoughts are even more difficult to bear than the awareness of the amount of work we have to do. You can learn more about the connection between cognitive functions, planning and unfinished tasks.

“Any shoulda, coulda, or should commitment that is only in the mind creates irrational stress that is impossible to get rid of, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”