My Getting Things Done and Todoist system
What GTD and Todoist offer me
Ultimately, I see my interpretation of the GTD methodology as a tool to maximise intentionality. It enables me to:
Decide what tasks to do at any given moment.
Keep track of all the open loops in life, big and small.
Be present and in the moment when engaging with life.
Confidently make decisions about what to commit to and what to drop in life.
CCORE
What are the operational principles behind it? Think of the acronym CCORE:
Capture
Clarify
Organise
Reflect
Engage
I use the app Todoist for this process.
Capture
All ideas must be captured. I use my ‘inbox’ in Todoist to capture all tasks/ideas/information that need processing.
‘Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them.’
Offloading your mind of all its responsibilities into a trusted, functional, and effective system reduces anxiety and frees up mental bandwidth, allowing you to be present with whatever you’re doing.
Clarify & Organise
I see these two as part of one step.
Figure out whether the item in your inbox is actionable or not. Is it a task or is it reference information?
If it’s a sub-2-minute task, then do it straight away.
It’s quicker and more efficient to complete the task immediately than it is to sort and schedule it.
If it’s a longer task, I decide whether it is part of an active project, or to be stored away into a ‘someday/maybe’ list.
A project is a desired outcome that requires a sequence of tasks to be completed.
An active project is a project that is currently being focused on.
A someday/maybe list contains tasks and ideas that may be acted upon in the future.
All projects must have clearly defined outcomes so you know what to work towards. Success must be defined. This could either be a certain end goal or a way of being (this needs work).
I also include some things that aren’t technically projects. Things that can’t be technically completed. Things
I personally don’t use a specific list named ‘someday/maybe’. Rather, all tasks/ideas are placed into ‘Areas’ (as defined by the PARA method) and are categorised as ‘someday/maybe’ by default. These ‘Areas’ are individual sections under ‘My Projects’ in Todoist. I then have a Todoist label called ‘Active Projects’ which isolates all the projects I’m currently focusing on.
I don’t store tasks/ideas that I don’t see myself doing. To begin with, I think it’s best to store most, if not all, tasks/ideas. As you use the system more, you will become better at realising what your priorities are and what projects you can commit to at some point. This makes it easier to discard tasks/ideas that will likely never be acted upon.
To me, my someday/maybe list is more of a ‘someday soon’ list. I intend to do all tasks that I store. To minimise clutter and maintain focus, I only store these types of tasks. My mind tends not to fixate on projects that I may or may not do at some point in the future, but rather on those that I will likely do relatively soon (within the next few years). For that reason, a someday/maybe list doesn’t reduce my anxiety, free up bandwidth, or increase mental clarity.
For all active projects, create a next action.
Projects can often seem overwhelming. The number of tasks to do in a project, the order in which they’re completed, and the numerous decisions that need to be made throughout the process all contribute to a feeling of anxiety. This process is massively simplified by finding a single next action to complete. All the mental energy spent thinking or worrying about an entire project can be either saved or funnelled into a single next action. When I think of the GTD system in a nutshell, the first thing that comes to mind is ‘have an active projects list and write down the next action for each one’. To me, this is the most important aspect of the system.
In my system, all tasks are prioritised. This is not part of the GTD methodology, but I find it instrumental in deciding what to do in any given moment. I use Todoist ‘filters’ to achieve this. They colour-code tasks.
Red tasks are the most important tasks to get done as soon as possible.
I either schedule these or set them as ‘week goals’ as soon as I can.
Projects that are either more meaningful to me or more time-sensitive tend to have red tasks within them.
Orange tasks are any other tasks in active projects.
Review these regularly to find the most important tasks to do. Promote these to red.
Blue is for someday/maybe tasks or ideas that will be promoted to active projects once space frees up.
Someday/maybe tasks are grey by default.
If it’s an appointment or task that must be carried out at a specific time, put it in your calendar.
David Allen also uses a ‘Waiting For List’, which contains tasks that others must do before you can proceed with a project.
This is one of my Todoist labels.
The list doesn’t get much love in my system. My tasks and work rarely involve other people at the moment.
If your work depends on other people, it can be beneficial to have a separate list for tasks that they’re responsible for. Every so often, you can look through this list, chase who needs to be chased, and continue with your projects. Having these tasks buried within your tasks makes them harder to sort and prioritise. It creates additional unwanted noise. It momentarily makes you think they’re your tasks to complete.
If the inbox item is non-actionable, store it in your ‘reference information’ file or discard it if not needed.
Reflect
For me, this is the place where I check progress on all my active projects and prioritise their next actions for the week. A good frequency for me to run through my Todoist projects, tasks, and priorities is weekly. I’ve got into a nice little routine of doing my reflection in my local wall’s cafe on Saturday mornings before my climb. What do I do each week?
I make sure all my active projects have the correct next action and clear outcomes.
I check or create all the priorities for my next actions. They will be placed either into the red or orange filter.
I review my red tasks and see which to promote to my week goals.
If a project is stalling, I will either up the priority of its next action or demote the project’s status from active to someday/maybe.
I think about whether my weekly actions are aligned with my year goals and vice versa. For example, if one of my year goals is to hike the Brienzergrat trail in Switzerland, but I’m not doing any running or cycling to improve my cardio and foot strength, then something needs to change with either my weekly actions or year goals! To have faith in the system, your day-to-day actions must align with your long-term vision. It’s okay to change your goals to bring these two into harmony. In fact, it’s an essential ongoing process.
I review my weekly routines, such as my training programme. I check if any changes need to be made.
I check through my ‘habits to form’ label on Todoist to see if I’ve been consistent with those tasks. Once the habit is formed, I tick them off the list. If it’s no longer a habit I wish to form, its label is removed and it sinks back down into someday/maybe.
I check my ‘Waiting on People’ label to see if I need to chase anyone. My partner still hasn’t sold her piano that’s been sitting at my parents’ for the last 9 years. A public shaming has now been deemed necessary.
I run through some of my someday/maybe tasks. It’s too time-consuming to review all of them in one sitting. I keep a digital bookmark of where I left off and continue from there. Here’s what I may do when reviewing those tasks: I delete any that I never see myself doing, I promote some to active projects, and I reorganise.
Throughout my reflection, I naturally discover new tasks that need to be added to their various homes.
If I feel the need, I use freeform journaling to process thoughts or generate new ideas.
Diagnostic questions
The questions below check your progress with implementing the GTD method.
Do you capture all the items that come along your way? This means that all tasks, events, reminders, ideas, projects, and information have a way of being input into your system.
Do you have a good system in place for clarifying and sorting these items? You want to make it clear what these things that you’re capturing are, and place them in their appropriate homes.
Do you have a good reflection system in place?