4 Rules For Defining Your Next Actions

June 18th 2007

One of the reasons we get bogged down with a project is because we don’t have our next actions worked out properly. In GTD a next action is literally the next step you need to take to move a project forward. But when problems arise it it can be a straight forward matter of not having the right next actions worked out, to a major issue of how you have them defined in your mind and on your system. Below are 4 rules for writing down air tight next actions.

The next action must:

Begin with a verb to emphasise what the action is
Clearly and precisely describewhat you need to do
Specify what the end result should be
Include times, dates and deadlines as appropriate.

Begin with a verb
Verbs typically express action, whether it to read a paper, write a review, phone a friend, and so on. Below are a few more to give you some ideas:

Call
Email
Draft
Wait on
Gather
Find
Research
Meet
Get
Practise
Give

Without a verb you just end up with something ambigious like “meeting on Tuesday” and that’s without even taking into account the other rules. What are you doing with this meeting? Does this next action just involve you turning up or do you have to write notes for it? The verb defines what you are actually doing.

Be clear and precise
A next action is exactly that. There is no room for lack of clarity or fuzzy thinking. The next action needs to be clear and precise so that when you read it you know what is expected. For example, “ring up friends” is not specific (though note it does begin with a verb). How will you be arranging it? What are you planning on doing with them other than hanging out? Are you just going to turn up and hope for the best? “Ring friends to discuss meeting in town outside Starbucks” is much more specific but it can go even further. Which friends are you ringing? Are you just ringing up a random number and hoping for the best?

Specify the end result
Quantify the next action so you know exactly when you have achieved it. Providing you have followed the previous two rules this should be much easier to define. If it doesn’t have a clear end result how will you know when to stop? Using the friends example again the target could be to ring x number of friends, you could even have a specific list of friends in mind. This action now becomes “ring Simon, Sarah and Emma to discuss meeting in town… agree concrete arrangements for time and venue” The next action is not complete until you have rang all those friend and you have all agreed when and where you are meeting.

Add times, dates and deadlines
While it’s not always possible to stress that action A be done at this time and action B be done at that time, where practical it is important to have a picture of when you will be doing something and the sort of time-scales you will be dealing with. Taking the previous example it could be altered to “ring Simon, Sarah and Emma to discuss meeting in town, ideally outside Starbucks on Saturday at 12.30PM. Concrete arrangements must be agreed by Friday at 6PM” This next action now has a focus because you have to do it before the Friday and rather than contacting all your friends blind you have all the (preliminary) information you need.

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