Getting Things Done Using To-Do App

This post is about how to structure your To-do app as per the Getting Things Done (GTD) framework.

After trying out various tools-Notion, Evernote, Todoist-to apply GTD methodology, I decided to go with Microsoft To-Do based on:

• Simplicity
• Free of Use
• Ease of Use
• Allows creation of a group to categorise lists

You can use any other To-do app or note tracking tool that lets you create groups and let you add lists to those groups.

In addition, the Microsoft To-Do app has feature of:

• setting weekly reminders, and
• adding multiple steps to a task if there are more than one action items for the respective task.

I still use Notion for storing reference documents and links as it is good at that, and a calendar for tracking meetings.

Prerequisite

• Install Microsoft To Do or any To-do app
• Being aware of Getting Things Done (GTD) methodology

GTD Overview

Getting Things Done (GTD) book has been a game changer for me in terms of productivity and time management.

The most important takeaway, as per me, from the book are:

• Your mind is great at creating stuff, but it’s terrible at tracking it. It is best to outsource tracking to a note tracking tool
• To be productive you need to think clearly, and for that, you have to capture all the “open loops”-unfulfilled commitments one has made to oneself-outside your mind. This frees the mind to do naturally what it does best - think about things rather than of things.

Getting things done requires two basic components:

1. Outcome. Defining what “done” means
2. Action. What “doing” looks like

The Five Steps of Mastering GTD Workflow

1. Capture. Collect what has your attention
2. Clarify. Process what it means
3. Organize. Put it where it belongs
4. Reflect. Review frequently
5. Engage. Simply do.

Let’s see how we can achieve all the above by properly structuring your To-do app.

Structuring To-do app for GTD framework

1. Create Groups

   Start by creating groups (capturing buckets in GTD terminology) to categorise your action items. Use the following categories as default, and adjust as per your need:

   

2. Create Lists Per Group

   Each category can have multiple To-do lists for structuring and organizing your action items

   

   Other important categories To-do list

   

   For each project, you can add multiple steps in Microsoft To-Do app

   

3. Weekly Review

   The weekly review is all about the following three steps:

   1. Get clear

      • Collect Loose Papers and Materials

        Gather all miscellaneous paper-based materials into your in-tray

      • Get IN list/tray to Zero

        Process completely all outstanding paper materials, journal and meeting notes, voicemails, dictation, and emails

      • Empty your head

        Put in writing and process any uncaptured new projects, action items, waiting for’s, someday maybe’s, etc

   2. Get current

      • Review all the action list

      • Review upcoming calendar entries

      • Review Project (and Larger Outcome) Lists

   3. Get creative

      • Review Someday Maybe List

      • Be Creative and Courageous by adding new ideas to your lists

   You can structure each item of the weekly review group as a multistep action item. Also, you can add a note to remind you of the activities to perform for each item of the review process, as shown below:

   

Email

For email, for ease of maintenance, it’s better to track inside the email system that you use rather than moving emails to your to-do app.

Make use of labels to organize the action items. You can start with the following labels:

Add @ and use capital letters for these labels to make them appear at the top.

Summary

A to-do app is good for tracking action items, and you can efficiently manage your life by just putting a little extra initial effort into structuring and organizing your lists.

Having said that, it’s best to complement the to-do app with a calendar application for tracking meetings, events, and reminders.