He includes context as one of four primary factors to use when deciding what action to do next at any given moment. I do think the examples of possible implementations that David Allen used in the book and in his talks have aged in places, but I don’t believe the foundations of the methodology have aged at all.

And I’m interested in reading about how others view it. But now you’ve made me want to read the book again. Keeping your system manageable ensures you’ll actually use it.My answer is no, I don’t think it has aged. When done right, GTD is a powerful methodology that can be used to get all of your projects and tasks under control. When my brain is fried at the end of the day (or hasn’t started up in the morning) I can still get things important done. I have a filter in Todoist called “Quick Wins” where I’ll throw my low energy, 5 minute tasks. Or a document I need to write in Word that will take a high amount of energy and take more than 30 minutes. This could be an email that will take a low amount of energy and take 5 minutes to complete. This is where I’ll combine my cognitive and/or physical energy level with a tool or resource and a certain period of time. This is similar to suggestion number 3, but acknowledges the different levels of cognitive energy necessary for web browsing vs research. When I split my Internet list into Internet - Research and Internet - Web Browsing, I can pick and choose. My Internet Next Actions list can also get overloaded as I find articles I want to read, things I want to buy, or stuff I need to research. By being honest about what I can and can’t do (or what I do or don’t want to do) I’ll be sure I can meet expectations.Įxample of Next Actions lists in Todoist 4. When it comes to managing expectations, internal expectations (things I expect of myself) and external expectations (things expected by others) can be negotiated too. If I have a good boss (which I do) I might share with them that I need to deprioritize something and ask for their input on deciding what can wait. If a work project is an “extra” project, sometimes I’ll decide to decrease or remove my involvement in the project. Renegotiating my level of commitment to personal tasks can be a lot easier than work tasks, but it’s not impossible with work tasks.

If I’m ok with not doing something that week/month/year, I might move it to a Someday/Maybe list or just delete it all together. If I get to the end of the week/month/year without completing this task, will I be ok with that? I sometimes use the following thought to help me assess this: If my lists are still out of control after doing the action above, I look at each of the remaining tasks and make sure I’m clear on what my commitment level is to the task. Assuming my list is current, meaning I’ve actually captured all of my tasks, I can check off any tasks that are done, that I’ve delegated or decided not to do, or that are no longer relevant. When I feel that my list is getting too long, I make sure the list is still accurate and current. Here are 5 ways that I keep my lists manageable. If you’ve been practicing GTD for a while, one of the things that might be a challenge is dealing with long Next Actions lists.

Gtd contexts