Getting Things Done (GTD)
David Allen’s five steps, capture, clarify, organize, reflect and engage, and where each one happens in Ring List.
Getting Things Done, from David Allen’s book, keeps everything you have to do out of your head and in a system you trust. It has five steps. Here’s where each one happens in Ring List.
1. Capture
Get every task down as it comes to you, without stopping to sort it. These make Inbox tasks:
- + on Today’s Plan, or the tray button at the top right of any other page.
- Nitepad, on a phone: write an idea down in the dark.
These do too, but with AI on, Claude puts each task in the list it fits:
- Talkpad: say what’s on your mind.
- Email to Ring List: forward an email.
- ✨ Tell Ring List: paste or say a whole paragraph (AI only).
2. Clarify
Open the Inbox (on Today’s Plan, the view button, then Inbox) and decide what each task means:
- Under two minutes? Do it now and tick it off. That’s the two-minute rule.
- Not needed? Delete it.
- Otherwise, reword it as the next thing you’d actually do, and put it away (next step).
3. Organize
| In GTD | In Ring List |
|---|---|
| Project | A list, or a section |
| Area | A group of lists |
| Next action | 🚩 Flagged |
| Context | A tag, like @errands |
| Waiting For | ⏳ Waiting on someone |
| Someday/Maybe | 🏝️ Someday, ❓ Maybe |
| Tickler | ⏰ Snooze until… |
| Reference | A plain list, or a note |
To put an Inbox task in a list, choose Add to a list… from its menu: on a phone, tap it and then ⋯; on a computer, right-click it. Tap a tag to see every task with it; save the search to open it again from the sidebar.
4. Reflect
Once a week, in All Lists, go through What’s Due and Waiting On, then look over your Someday and Maybe tasks. The weekly review walks you through it.
5. Engage
Choose what to do now: a few tasks in Today’s Plan, or open a tag’s saved search, like @errands when you’re out, and work from that.
Where Ring List differs from the book
- Inbox tasks stay out of your plan until you put them there, so what you capture doesn’t crowd your day.
- There’s no next-action switch. Flag each project’s next step with 🚩: it goes to the top of its section and into Top Priorities.
- Ring List is built around a daily plan, which the book is wary of. If you’d rather choose as you go, see Commit to a plan, or keep your options open.