The GTD workflow: a primer

• A. Get Things Ticked off Daily
• B. Getting Things Done ✓
• C. Goals, Tasks, and Deadlines
• D. Guided Time Management Design

Why: GTD stands for Getting Things Done, a productivity methodology developed by David Allen that focuses on capturing, clarifying, organizing, and reviewing commitments so the mind is free to focus on action.

• A. To create a detailed schedule for every hour of the day
• B. To track how much time each task takes
• C. To free your mind from holding unfinished items in memory ✓
• D. To impress colleagues with a organized task list

Why: GTD is built on the idea that the brain is better at having ideas than holding them. Writing commitments down in a trusted external system frees mental energy for thinking and acting rather than remembering.

• A. Organize
• B. Review
• C. Capture ✓
• D. Engage

Why: The GTD workflow begins with Capture, where you collect everything that has your attention into inboxes. The later steps are clarify, organize, reflect, and engage.

• A. Schedule it for later in the week
• B. Add it to a someday/maybe list
• C. Delegate it to someone else
• D. Do it immediately ✓

Why: The two-minute rule says that if an action takes less than two minutes, you should do it right away, since recording and tracking it would take as long or longer than completing it.

• A. The final goal of a long-term project
• B. The physical, visible activity needed to move a project forward ✓
• C. A task you plan to do at some unspecified future date
• D. A reminder to review your calendar each morning

Why: A next action is the specific, concrete, physical step required to move something forward. Defining next actions makes it clear what to do when you sit down to work, rather than leaving tasks vague.

• A. To immediately decide what action each task requires
• B. To collect everything that has your attention into trusted external containers ✓
• C. To organize projects into priority order
• D. To review completed tasks at the end of the week

Why: Capture means gathering all the open loops, commitments, and ideas that occupy your mind into trusted collection points (inboxes) so your brain can stop holding them. Deciding and organizing happen later in the workflow.

• A. Only work-related deadlines
• B. A sudden idea for a birthday gift for your sister ✓
• C. Tasks you have already completed today
• D. Items you have already filed in your reference folder

Why: GTD advocates capturing anything that has your attention, including personal ideas, reminders, and commitments of all kinds. Completed tasks and already-filed reference material no longer need capturing.

• A. Fewer tools reduce the cost of software subscriptions
• B. Having a few reliable inboxes means you know where to look, which builds trust in the system ✓
• C. Multiple tools make it impossible to sync data
• D. GTD forbids the use of digital tools for capture

Why: The system only works if you trust that nothing is lost. Consolidating into a few reliable inboxes (such as a notebook, phone app, or email inbox) makes it easier to empty them regularly and trust that you have not missed anything.

• A. Hold it in memory until you reach your destination
• B. Write it down immediately in a trusted capture tool, such as a voice memo, when it is safe to do so ✓
• C. Ignore it unless it is urgent
• D. Send yourself an email with the full plan while driving

Why: GTD emphasizes getting thoughts out of your head as soon as possible. Using a safe method like a voice memo lets you capture without taking your attention off the road, and it prevents the idea from being forgotten or nagging at you.

• A. Only once a year during a major review
• B. Regularly, so that the inboxes are kept empty and processed in a timely way ✓
• C. Only when they become physically full
• D. Only when a task in them becomes urgent

Why: Inboxes are meant to be temporary holding areas. Emptying them regularly, typically daily, keeps them trustworthy and ensures that captured items are clarified and organized rather than piling up and creating anxiety.

• A. How long will it take to complete?
• B. Is it actionable? ✓
• C. Who should I delegate it to?
• D. Which project category does it belong to?

Why: Clarifying begins by determining whether an item requires any action. If it is not actionable, you either trash it, incubate it (someday/maybe), or file it as reference. Only actionable items move on to the next question about the next action.

• A. Call the dentist to schedule a cleaning
• B. Draft the quarterly budget proposal
• C. A newsletter about gardening tips you might read someday ✓
• D. Email Sarah the revised agenda

Why: A newsletter you might read someday requires no action right now, so it is non-actionable. It should be trashed, filed as reference, or placed on a someday/maybe list. The other three items each require a concrete action.

• A. The final outcome you want to achieve
• B. The first concrete, visible physical activity needed to move the item forward ✓
• C. The deadline by which the task must be finished
• D. The project the task belongs to

Why: The next action is the specific, physical, visible activity required to move something forward. Defining it clearly prevents procrastination because you always know what to do next, such as 'Call John to confirm the meeting time' instead of the vague 'Handle the meeting.'

• A. Add it to a waiting-for list
• B. Schedule it for later in the week
• C. Do it immediately ✓
• D. Assign it to a project folder

Why: The two-minute rule states that if an action takes less than two minutes, you should do it right away. The overhead of tracking, scheduling, and revisiting such a task costs more time than simply completing it.

• A. Reviewing your own notes from last week's meeting
• B. Researching a topic you personally need to understand
• C. Waiting for a colleague to send you the client files they promised ✓
• D. Deciding which restaurant to book for dinner tonight

Why: When you are waiting for someone else to complete an action, the item belongs on a Waiting For list. GTD treats delegated or dependent actions as tracked commitments so you remember to follow up, rather than as tasks you personally perform.

• A. To assign tasks to team members more efficiently
• B. To define the specific physical or concrete step needed to move the project forward ✓
• C. To create a detailed budget for the project
• D. To estimate the total number of hours the project will take

Why: A next action is the concrete, visible physical step required to advance a project. Defining it clearly tells you exactly what to do next, rather than leaving the project as a vague goal.

• A. Any task that takes longer than one hour to complete
• B. A single action that can be finished in one sitting
• C. Any outcome you want to achieve that requires more than one action step ✓
• D. A recurring activity scheduled on a calendar

Why: In GTD, a project is defined as any desired outcome requiring more than one action to complete. Length of time is not the defining factor; the number of steps is.

• A. Schedule it for later in the week
• B. Add it to a waiting-for list
• C. Delegate it to someone else
• D. Do it immediately rather than tracking it ✓

Why: GTD's two-minute rule states that if an action takes two minutes or less, you should do it right away. Tracking and scheduling it would take longer than completing it.

• A. So that managers can monitor employee productivity
• B. To ensure every commitment is captured and nothing falls through the cracks ✓
• C. To limit the number of projects you are allowed to start
• D. To automatically prioritize tasks by deadline

Why: A complete, trusted projects list ensures that all open commitments are recorded outside your head, so your mind can focus on doing work rather than remembering it.

• A. @Computer
• B. @Home
• C. @Phone ✓
• D. @Errands

Why: Contexts in GTD group actions by the tool or location needed to complete them. Making a phone call requires a phone, so @Phone is the most fitting context.

• A. To complete all outstanding tasks in your inbox before the week ends
• B. To get your system current and trusted by reviewing, updating, and clarifying all open commitments and projects
• C. To assign new tasks to team members for the coming week
• D. To archive completed projects and delete old reference material

• A. Emptying all in-trays and collection points such as email and notes
• B. Reviewing your calendar for the past and upcoming weeks
• C. Reviewing your Someday/Maybe list for items to activate
• D. Completing as many next actions as possible before the review ends

• A. Because the system is only valid if it is reviewed at least once a day
• B. Because your commitments and priorities constantly change, and an unreviewed system becomes outdated and untrustworthy
• C. Because software tools require periodic updates to function correctly
• D. Because regular reviews are needed to satisfy productivity certification requirements

• A. Delete the project, since it clearly isn't moving forward
• B. Move the project to the Someday/Maybe list without further thought
• C. Define the next visible, physical action required to move the project forward
• D. Wait until the project's deadline approaches before deciding what to do

• A. The Daily Review replaces the Weekly Review once you become experienced with GTD
• B. The Daily Review focuses on the current day's calendar, next actions, and waiting-for items, while the Weekly Review keeps the entire system current
• C. The Daily Review is for reviewing finished work, while the Weekly Review is for planning new work
• D. The Daily Review is optional, while the Weekly Review must be done without exception

• A. To collect every open loop into a trusted inbox
• B. To decide, based on context, time, energy, and priority, which action to take next ✓
• C. To review weekly projects and update long-term goals
• D. To clarify the meaning of each item in your inbox

Why: Engaging is about choosing what to do in the moment. GTD suggests using four criteria: context, available time, available energy, and priority. Collecting, clarifying, and reviewing happen in other stages of the workflow.

• A. The date the task was originally captured
• B. The length of the task description
• C. Context: the tools, location, or people required to do the action ✓
• D. How much you enjoy the task

Why: GTD's first criterion for choosing an action is context, meaning where you are and what tools or people you have access to. This filters out actions you cannot physically do at the moment.

• A. Urgency, importance, cost, and delegation
• B. Context, time available, energy available, and priority ✓
• C. Inbox, next actions, projects, and someday/maybe
• D. Capture, clarify, organize, and reflect

Why: Allen describes four criteria for choosing action: context, time available, energy available, and priority. Urgency and importance are related but are not part of Allen's formal four-criteria list. The other options describe other GTD stages or lists.

• A. So you can avoid making decisions altogether
• B. So your mind is free to focus on the chosen action rather than worrying about what you might be forgetting ✓
• C. So you can complete tasks in the order they were added
• D. So you never have to revisit your priorities

Why: A trusted system holds all your commitments outside your head. When you trust it, you can focus fully on the current action without nagging anxiety that something important is slipping through the cracks.

• A. Working through your inbox from top to bottom regardless of location
• B. Scanning your next-actions list, noting you are at your desk with 30 minutes and moderate energy, and choosing a fitting task ✓
• C. Rewriting your entire project list before starting any work
• D. Doing whichever task someone asks you to do first

Why: Confident engagement means using your lists and current conditions to pick a suitable next action. Choosing based on context, time, energy, and priority, as in the scenario, reflects the GTD approach.

• A. To schedule every task on a calendar with a specific time slot
• B. To collect everything that has your attention into trusted external containers so your mind can let go of holding it
• C. To delegate all incoming tasks to other people
• D. To rank all tasks by priority from most to least important

• A. Who else has already worked on this?
• B. Is it actionable, and if so, what is the very next physical action?
• C. How much will this cost to complete?
• D. Can this wait until next year?

• A. Add it to a someday/maybe list
• B. Schedule it for later in the week
• C. Do it immediately rather than tracking it
• D. Assign it to a team member

• A. To celebrate completed tasks with a reward
• B. To rewrite all of your project goals from scratch
• C. To get your system current and trusted by reviewing lists, projects, and calendar
• D. To eliminate all open commitments before the weekend

• A. Scattered notes are illegal in most workplaces
• B. A single trusted place reduces the mental load of wondering whether you've captured something and where it is
• C. Multiple notes take up too much digital storage
• D. Only one inbox can be synced with a calendar app