GTD Glossary

Confused by the various terms found in David Allen's writing

or used by members of the mailing lists? Hopefully this glossary will help.

Altidude

The different operational levels of our work, presented using an aviation

metaphor:

• 50,000+ feet Life
• 40,000 feet Three-to-five year visions
• 30,000 feet One-to-two year goals
• 20,000 feet Areas of responsibility
• 10,000 feet Current projects
• Runway Current actions

Buckets (Collection Buckets)

Context

Front-end Decision Making

Making a decision when you process an item in your collection system.

This means deciding the successful outcome and determining the next

action.

GTD

Getting Things Done.

Mind Like Water

An image from the martial art of karate (practiced by David Allen)

used to define the position of perfect readiness.

Next Action

Outcome

Project

Psychic Ram

Stuff

All the things you need to get done, now, later, someday, big, little

or inbetween. Anything you have allowed into your psychological or

physical world that doesn't belong where it is, but for which you

haven't determined the desired outcome and the next action step.

Stuff includes your email, letters and bills, requests from people,

notes taken in meetings, paper, objects.

Trusted System

The method by which you capture your stuff, define your projects

and next actions, record your appointments. Such a system

should not be in your head or relying on your memory. When things

are written down on paper or stored electronically, they are out of

your head and available for review and action.

Weekly Review

Widgets (Cranking Widgets)

Cranking widgets symbolises the sort of work where the job is clearly visible,

for example, process work in a factory. Knowledge work is different as the

work is not immediately visible and has to be researched and planned by the

knowledge worker. An outcome of the weekly review is an updated list of

Next Actions which should be as easy to do as "cranking widgets", for example,

Ring Bill regarding lunch, Buy software upgrade, Install new printer.