Getting Things Done

7 min read

What is GTD?

The Getting Things Done (GTD) method is a personal productivity/system-management framework created by David Allen and popularised in his best-selling book Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity (2001). (Wikipedia). The latest revision is from 2015.

At its core, the idea is this: your mind is not well-suited to remembering or tracking all the “stuff” you have to do, the commitments you’ve made, ideas you might follow up, etc. It gets cluttered, and that mental “background noise” reduces your clarity, increases stress, and harms productivity. (blog.hptbydts.com)

Instead, GTD encourages you to capture all “open loops” (all tasks, ideas, commitments) into a “trusted external system” (paper, digital tool, whatever works), clarify what the next action is, organise that action into appropriate categories/lists, reflect (review regularly) and then engage — i.e., do the work based on context/time/energy. (Getting Things Done®)

The method emphasises five steps:

1. Capture — gather everything that’s on your mind. (Getting Things Done®)
2. Clarify — decide what it means, what’s required, what’s next. (Motion)
3. Organise — put things where they belong (calendar, list, someday/maybe, reference). (Wikipedia)
4. Reflect — review your system frequently (especially weekly review) so the system remains current and trusted. (Wikipedia)
5. Engage — choose what to do in the moment, based on context/time/energy and do it. (float.com)

A key metaphor Allen uses is “mind like water”: when your mind is free of the burden of reminding itself about everything, it can respond appropriately to input (tasks, demands) with calm, rather than oscillating between overload and distraction. (Wikipedia)

Another core concept is that of “open loops” or incompletes — commitments or tasks you haven’t clearly defined yet. These loops consume mental energy until they’re either captured and clarified or resolved. (The New Yorker)

In sum, GTD is less about “prioritising” in the traditional sense (what’s most important) and more about control + clarity: get everything out of your head, get it organised, review it reliably, and then you can make smart choices about what to do, when. (Wikipedia)

A short history of GTD

Here are the key milestones and context in the development of GTD:

• David Allen’s consulting and executive coaching practice: Allen developed his methods over years of coaching knowledge-workers and corporations. (Motion)
• The book Getting Things Done published in 2001. (Wikipedia)
• The method’s ideas evolved in the 1990s and earlier: Allen and his organisation refined the approach in real-world practice before publishing. (Getting Things Done® Forums)
• Subsequent editions and further work: The GTD mechanism and brand have grown (e.g., re-edition in 2015 to reflect changes in information technology) and Allen’s company (the David Allen Company) offers training/certification. (Getting Things Done®)
• GTD gained strong traction especially among knowledge workers, tech professionals and bloggers. For instance, in 2005, the magazine Wired called it “a new cult for the info age”. (Wikipedia)

In effect, GTD emerged as a response to the increasing complexity faced by knowledge workers: demands from email, projects, multiple obligations, fast-changing contexts. The method sought to bring structure in a chaotic environment.

Documented effects / evidence for GTD

What does the research or commentary say about the actual effects or benefits of GTD? Here’s a summary of what is known — and admitted limitations.

What evidence exists

• A paper by Francis Heylighen & Clément Vidal (2008) titled “Getting Things Done: The Science behind Stress-Free Productivity” explores the scientific / cognitive science basis of GTD. They explain how GTD’s ideas map to theories of distributed cognition, cognitive load, and memory/attention. (ScienceDirect)
• Many secondary analyses/commentaries note that GTD helps reduce mental clutter, increase clarity, improve trust in one’s system, and thus reduce stress/enhance focus. For example, an article on IONOS says that by recording all tasks and commitments externally, your mind is freed to concentrate on the task at hand. (IONOS)
• Tool‐oriented guides (e.g., Wrike blog) summarise the method and claim that GTD offers “control” and “perspective” and helps manage workloads. (Wrike)

What kind of effects are reported

From practitioner reports and commentary (not always rigorous research):

• Better clarity on what needs to be done next, less time “thinking about what to do” and more time doing.
• Reduced anxiety around “forgotten” tasks or commitments because things are captured and processed.
• More consistent use of review processes leads to fewer surprises.
• Improved ability to choose what to work on when, based on context/time/energy, which can improve flow and engagement.
• Some users report improved productivity, less procrastination (because tasks are clearly defined and next actions identified).

Limitations & caveats

• There is relatively limited peer-reviewed empirical research that measures GTD’s effects in controlled studies (at least openly accessible). The Heylighen/Vidal paper provides conceptual/theoretical support but is not a large-scale randomized trial. (ScienceDirect)
• Implementation effort matters a lot: GTD is not just “make a list” – to gain full benefit you need discipline in capturing, clarifying, reviewing. If you skip steps (e.g., no weekly review) the system can degrade.
• GTD addresses individual systems of organisation; it doesn’t necessarily address broader organisational or team overload issues. Indeed, some criticisms say GTD is a “band-aid” for larger systemic problems of knowledge-work overload. (The New Yorker)
• Some practitioners find that the method is more helpful up to a point but doesn’t fully eliminate stress/overwhelm because other factors (culture, work volume, interruptions) still dominate.
• One has to customise the method: GTD gives the broad framework, but each person must choose tools, contexts, lists, review frequency, etc. So results vary widely.

What this means for you

If you adopt GTD fairly diligently, you can reasonably expect to see benefits in terms of:

• A clearer mental state (fewer nagging “must-remember” items racing around your head).
• Better clarity on next actions and therefore fewer “stuck” moments where you don’t know what to do next.
• Improved confidence/trust in your system — if you know that every commitment is “captured somewhere” you’re less likely to worry you're forgetting something.
• Better ability to choose what to work on when (context/time/energy-aware) rather than always responding to emergencies.

But you should not expect GTD to automatically fix organisational dysfunctions, massively increase output overnight, or replace strategic thinking. It is a tool for the individual (or perhaps small team) to manage commitments and work flow better.

Why GTD still matters

In an age of ever-increasing distractions, rapid communication, interruptions, multiple devices and contexts, the GTD method remains relevant because:

• It emphasises externalising what your mind is otherwise trying to track. This aligns with cognitive science about limiting working memory and reducing decision fatigue.
• It offers a timeless, tool-agnostic workflow. Whether you use pen & paper, a simple list app or a full task-manager, the same basic steps apply. (Allen emphasises you can even start with paper.) (Wikipedia)
• It brings together “doing” (execution) with “reviewing” (reflection) and thus helps ensure that you’re not just busy, but engaged in the right things.
• For knowledge-workers (software developers, consultants, managers, etc.) who face a constant influx of “stuff” (emails, meetings, tasks, ideas) the ability to regain control and perspective is compelling.

GTD and ADHD: Structure for the Distractible Mind

One of the most interesting modern conversations around GTD is its relevance for people with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). ADHD is often described as a condition of executive-functioning differences — difficulties with planning, working memory, initiation, and follow-through. In other words, the same brain systems that GTD was designed to support.

GTD’s core promise — to “get things out of your head and into a trusted system” — resonates strongly with many people who have ADHD. The process of capturing every open loop externally and clarifying the next physical action can dramatically reduce the mental noise and anxiety that come from trying to juggle dozens of half-formed tasks in working memory. For some, this simple act of externalising tasks can bring a sense of calm and control that was previously elusive.

However, GTD also assumes a level of consistent system maintenance: emptying your inbox, conducting weekly reviews, and updating lists regularly. Those steps can be challenging for individuals with ADHD, who may struggle with sustained attention and routine. Coaches who work with ADHD clients often recommend adapting GTD rather than applying it verbatim — simplifying the number of lists, setting up environmental cues or alarms to trigger reviews, and shortening feedback cycles so that wins are more immediate.

There’s limited academic research directly studying GTD as an ADHD intervention. A 2008 paper by Francis Heylighen and Clément Vidal (ScienceDirect) described how GTD aligns with cognitive-science principles of reducing cognitive load and offloading working memory, but no controlled trials have yet measured its effectiveness in ADHD populations. Nonetheless, anecdotal evidence and ADHD coaching literature (for example, from ADDitude Magazine and ADHD-focused productivity consultants) consistently highlight GTD-style techniques — especially the “two-minute rule” and the practice of breaking large projects into concrete, next-action steps — as useful tools for increasing follow-through and reducing overwhelm.

In short: GTD can be a powerful framework for ADHD minds, but only when adapted with compassion and flexibility. For some, it offers the structure their brain craves; for others, the maintenance overhead becomes a new source of friction. The key is to treat GTD not as a rigid system, but as a menu of cognitive supports — external capture, clear next actions, contextual organisation — from which to build a system that works with, not against, one’s natural rhythms.

Conclusion

GTD isn’t a magic bullet, but it is a well-constructed, thoughtful method for managing the flood of commitments, ideas and tasks that knowledge-workers face today. It draws both from commonsense principles (write things down, decide next actions) and from cognitive theory (reducing working-memory load, externalising reminders). The documented evidence suggests it can improve clarity, reduce stress around task management and boost productivity — especially when properly implemented.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by “everything you have to do”, or always carrying mental-tabs of tasks and reminders and feeling you’re forgetting things or working inefficiently, GTD gives a structured way out: capture, clarify, organise, review, engage.

Would you like me to pull together a detailed GTD checklist or template (e.g., for Qt app developers or knowledge-workers) from the GTD method — perhaps customised for your context of software/tech work?

Disclosure: This article was mostly written by AI, but fact-checked and revised by a human.