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For example, many people might put “get mom a Mother’s Day gift” on their Next Action list when it really should be on their Projects List. In GTD, Projects are nothing more than multi-task commitments to a desirable outcome that has more than one physical action that can be described in a way that I know exactly when it is “done.”Ī project can be as “small” as a two step project with a discernible completion. Now on to the more difficult GTD concept – the Project. Any time I start to feel swept away by work, I try to see whether I’ve accurately identified the things I can do right now (as well as everything else I don’t need to do right now) to bring that project one step closer to completion.įor me, the next action has been the linchpin for making Getting Things Done work. Turning “to-dos” into a list of atomic activities has benefits that go beyond gains in productivity and “effectiveness.” You can also lower stress and start to reclaim control of runaway projects just by looking in front of your nose. When things get hectic, it’s affirming to know that all I need to do is one, single thing-the next thing-to get closer to completion. Learning to identify the absolute next physical action that will keep a project moving has been a godsend to the way I think about, plan, and execute my work. In my journey with GTD, my best takeaway has been the idea of the next action. Let’s start with the easy one – the next action. This is especially true in information technology because projects are typically associated with big, complex, tasks and projects in GTD can be much smaller. Next actions seem to be pretty straightforward for most people but projects really seem to blow their minds.
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Many people who are new to GTD struggle to understand the difference between a Project and a Next Action.