GTD

GTD, or Getting Things Done, is a personal productivity methodology developed by David Allen. Introduced in his 2001 book The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, GTD provides a framework for capturing and organizing tasks and commitments to reduce mental clutter and improve focus.

The central idea is to move tasks out of the mind and into an external trusted system. The core five-step workflow comprises capture, clarify, organize, reflect, and engage. By processing inputs—emails, ideas, reminders—into concrete next actions or projects, a person can decide what to do without rereading the entire list.

Key concepts include next actions (the immediate next physical step), projects (outcomes that require more than one action), contexts (lists grouped by where or how actions can be performed), and an organized structure such as inboxes, lists for next actions, Someday/Maybe, and a Tickler file. The two-minute rule—if a task takes two minutes or less, do it now—appears frequently, though it is one of several heuristics used in GTD.

Implementation often includes regular reviews, especially a weekly review to update the system, confirm next actions, and recycle or archive completed items. Tools vary widely, from paper journals and folders to digital apps and cloud-based solutions. The method is designed to be tool-agnostic.

Reception and criticism: GTD is widely used and has been influential in productivity culture. Supporters credit it with reducing stress and increasing clarity; critics argue that the setup and maintenance can be time-consuming or impractical for some workers, and that outcomes depend on sustained discipline and honest task definition.