Action:

1. Organized activity to accomplish an objective
2. The most important work or activity in a specific field or area

Next actions are the next physical steps you need to take to move a project. When you look at a project it can often be difficult to determine where to start. That’s why you take time to define what the next action would be. Most projects can be vague and abstract, such as “tidy the house.” But where do you start? What do you do next? Without deciding on a next action, it can often be difficult to see how to move a project forward, or to even start it. Taking the house tidying project as an example again, it would typically be broken down into individual room mini-projects. Maybe on a to-do list you would simply put down to clean the bedroom. However, where to start with that? The next physical action could be to clear the floor of all rubbish and clothes. Next, it could be to dust and finally you would hoover up.

Next actions are not always immediately obvious. Putting down a next action of “ring John” might seem simple enough, until you realize you don’t have his number. You can’t action this task, it’s not the next physical step. The next action ends up being to search for his number instead. Though the GTD approach of defining your next actions can mean more thought and time with planning, when it comes to actually working on your projects your path to completing them is much more clear.

For detailed information on defining your next actions read my guide.

Context

1. The circumstances in which an event occurs; a setting
2. That which surrounds, and gives meaning to, something else

GTD encourages the use of contexts to break down long and expansive to-do lists. Without them where would you start? What would you choose to do at any particular time? By breaking down your lists according to different settings and situations, it becomes a simple matter of selecting a list appropriate to your current context. For instance, if you are near a phone, you only need look at those next actions that require you to make a phonecall.

This also means that it stops you from being distracted by next actions that are not relevant to your current circumstances, for instance, you don’t have to look at home contexts when you are at work.

Contexts can be as simple or as complicated as required. The basic @computer (GTD contexts are typically represented with a @ symbol) can be further split down to @internet and @email contexts if necessary.

Review:

1. to examine with an eye to criticism or correction
2. going over a subject again in study so as to fix it in the memory

The weekly review in GTD is one of the key elements, and also one of the hardest to implement efficiently. While most aspects of GTD are open to individual interpretation, the review is the one element that David Allen is clear on. Despite your best intentions, stuff always slips through. The review is the one definitive period in your week to catch up on these leaks and process them.

The weekly review also allows you to re-focus your mind on your system and keep it fresh. People take it for granted that they can implement an organizational system and it will just work. Normally, however, it becomes stale, out of date and eventually falls apart. The weekly review gets you focused and keeps the important things at the forefront of your mind.

What should you do in a weekly review? On a basic level you must process any loose paper, receipts, reference materials, etc then review your calender. You should also review all your next-actions lists, project lists, waiting on lists and someday/maybe lists. The ultimate purpose is to clear your mind and bring your GTD system up to date.

Stuff:

1. property, as personal belongings or equipment; things.
2. worthless things or matter: to clean the stuff out of a closet.

Stuff is everything bouncing around our heads, in letters, voicemails and notes that don’t have places for them. They are not formed into something actionable and the desired outcome is far from clear.

All that stuff rattling around in your thoughts - get new batteries from the shops, go grocery shopping, pay the bills, fix the TV - just induces stress and anxiety and slowly but surely bogs your productivity down.

That’s where GTD comes in. It encourages you get all this stuff out of your head. If you put it down in a system you trust, your mind can be confident enough to rely on it for “remembering” projects.

Organization:

1. Something that has been made into an ordered whole
2. An organized structure for arranging or classifying
3. Orderliness by virtue of being methodical and well organized

GTD allows for you to organize your thoughts into actionable projects and encourages you to get everything off your mind. The mind is not an organizing tool, you can’t rely on it to remind you about things when you need it to, it doesn’t neatly put everything into neat little compartments; you need a system that takes all this content out of your mind and organizes it for you, whether it be on paper or on a laptop.

The system needs to be quick and simple to use. There is no motivation to use something that is a burden. You want to be able to take it out and write down your thoughts in seconds (yes, seconds!). If you have to wait for something to boot up, go through loads of menus to get where you want or flick through hundreds of pieces of paper then the system will fail.

Likewise, the system needs to be accessible. Thoughts can occur at any time. If you are walking down the street or sat in a cafe how are you going to make notes if your system is so cumbersome you had to leave it at home? Similarly it should not be overly reliant on technology.