{"id":4821,"date":"2011-03-03T12:00:03","date_gmt":"2011-03-03T20:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gtdtimes.com\/2011\/03\/03\/"},"modified":"2014-10-18T17:55:10","modified_gmt":"2014-10-19T00:55:10","slug":"details-that-make-your-life-easier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2011\/03\/details-that-make-your-life-easier\/","title":{"rendered":"Details that make your life easier"},"content":{"rendered":"

David Allen was asked how much detail is needed when listing next actions. His answer gives a look at the psychology of GTD, and why it’s about more than the lists:<\/p>\n

\n

The purpose of having the granular next action on a list is to define what “doing” looks like and where it happens, so you can finish your thinking about what to do about the commitment (outcome, project, etc.) That said, another reason for the granularity on the action lists is to subvert the procrastination that potentially shows up because of a pre-conscious insecurity about success. As in, “I don’t want to step into something I don’t think I can control.” If the enormity of the next action causes you to falter, then it’s advantageous to define a smaller, doable chunk. For example, “draft plot ideas” instead of “draft great American novel.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

<\/span><\/span>For more on this topic, see this excellent article in The New Yorker<\/a> that mentioned David’s book Getting Things Done<\/a>, and the value of the GTD approach.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Detailed next actions prevent procrastination<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,32],"tags":[22,745,29,69,28,100,109,114,122,123,125],"class_list":["post-4821","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-david-allen","category-productivity-tips","tag-getting-things-done","tag-david-allen","tag-gtd","tag-implementing-gtd","tag-getting-started","tag-tips-and-tricks","tag-gtd-best-practices","tag-next-actions","tag-productivity","tag-projects","tag-tasks","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDetails that make your life easier<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Detailed next actions prevent procrastination\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2011\/03\/details-that-make-your-life-easier\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Details that make your life easier\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Detailed next actions prevent procrastination\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2011\/03\/details-that-make-your-life-easier\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Getting Things Done\u00ae\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gettingthingsdone\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-03-03T20:00:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-10-19T00:55:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"GTD Times Staff\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@gtdtimes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@gtdtimes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"GTD Times Staff\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2011\/03\/details-that-make-your-life-easier\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2011\/03\/details-that-make-your-life-easier\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"GTD Times Staff\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/#\/schema\/person\/52d8dfa5db8d4e8792586794625c12a4\"},\"headline\":\"Details that make your life easier\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-03-03T20:00:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-10-19T00:55:10+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2011\/03\/details-that-make-your-life-easier\/\"},\"wordCount\":180,\"commentCount\":2,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Getting Things Done\",\"David Allen\",\"GTD\",\"Implementing GTD\",\"Getting Started\",\"Tips and Tricks\",\"GTD Best Practices\",\"Next Actions\",\"Productivity\",\"projects\",\"Tasks\"],\"articleSection\":[\"David Allen\",\"Productivity Tips\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2011\/03\/details-that-make-your-life-easier\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2011\/03\/details-that-make-your-life-easier\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2011\/03\/details-that-make-your-life-easier\/\",\"name\":\"Details that make your life easier\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-03-03T20:00:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-10-19T00:55:10+00:00\",\"description\":\"Detailed next actions prevent procrastination\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2011\/03\/details-that-make-your-life-easier\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2011\/03\/details-that-make-your-life-easier\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2011\/03\/details-that-make-your-life-easier\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Details that make your life easier\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/\",\"name\":\"Getting Things Done\u00ae\",\"description\":\"David Allen's GTD\u00ae Methodology\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Getting Things Done\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/gtd-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/gtd-logo.png\",\"width\":370,\"height\":338,\"caption\":\"Getting Things Done\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gettingthingsdone\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/gtdtimes\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/gtdtimes\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/groups\/2328651\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/#\/schema\/person\/52d8dfa5db8d4e8792586794625c12a4\",\"name\":\"GTD Times Staff\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4df22f74cebc078fff6e9f4d8e6e74a980295dec0849d6ab2d6b303ee0c92030?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4df22f74cebc078fff6e9f4d8e6e74a980295dec0849d6ab2d6b303ee0c92030?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"GTD Times Staff\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/author\/webadmin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Details that make your life easier","description":"Detailed next actions prevent procrastination","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2011\/03\/details-that-make-your-life-easier\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Details that make your life easier","og_description":"Detailed next actions prevent procrastination","og_url":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2011\/03\/details-that-make-your-life-easier\/","og_site_name":"Getting Things Done\u00ae","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gettingthingsdone\/","article_published_time":"2011-03-03T20:00:03+00:00","article_modified_time":"2014-10-19T00:55:10+00:00","author":"GTD Times Staff","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@gtdtimes","twitter_site":"@gtdtimes","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"GTD Times Staff","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2011\/03\/details-that-make-your-life-easier\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2011\/03\/details-that-make-your-life-easier\/"},"author":{"name":"GTD Times Staff","@id":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/#\/schema\/person\/52d8dfa5db8d4e8792586794625c12a4"},"headline":"Details that make your life easier","datePublished":"2011-03-03T20:00:03+00:00","dateModified":"2014-10-19T00:55:10+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2011\/03\/details-that-make-your-life-easier\/"},"wordCount":180,"commentCount":2,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/#organization"},"keywords":["Getting Things Done","David Allen","GTD","Implementing GTD","Getting Started","Tips and Tricks","GTD Best Practices","Next Actions","Productivity","projects","Tasks"],"articleSection":["David Allen","Productivity Tips"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2011\/03\/details-that-make-your-life-easier\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2011\/03\/details-that-make-your-life-easier\/","url":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2011\/03\/details-that-make-your-life-easier\/","name":"Details that make your life easier","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2011-03-03T20:00:03+00:00","dateModified":"2014-10-19T00:55:10+00:00","description":"Detailed next actions prevent procrastination","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2011\/03\/details-that-make-your-life-easier\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2011\/03\/details-that-make-your-life-easier\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2011\/03\/details-that-make-your-life-easier\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Details that make your life easier"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/","name":"Getting Things Done\u00ae","description":"David Allen's GTD\u00ae Methodology","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/#organization","name":"Getting Things Done","url":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/gtd-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/gtd-logo.png","width":370,"height":338,"caption":"Getting Things Done"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gettingthingsdone\/","https:\/\/x.com\/gtdtimes","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/gtdtimes\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/groups\/2328651\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/#\/schema\/person\/52d8dfa5db8d4e8792586794625c12a4","name":"GTD Times Staff","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4df22f74cebc078fff6e9f4d8e6e74a980295dec0849d6ab2d6b303ee0c92030?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4df22f74cebc078fff6e9f4d8e6e74a980295dec0849d6ab2d6b303ee0c92030?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"GTD Times Staff"},"url":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/author\/webadmin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4821","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4821"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4821\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4821"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4821"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}