Clarifying an item

The two questions

For every item in your Inbox, ask: What is it? and Is it actionable?

If it is not actionable

• Someday/Maybe for ideas you might do in the future.
• Reference for information you may need again.
• Delete it if you do not need it.

If it is actionable

• If it takes more than one step, make it a Project and add its first Next Action.
• If it is a single step and takes about two minutes, GTD suggests doing it right away.
• Otherwise move it to Next.
• If someone else has to act first, move it to Waiting For and note who and what you are waiting for.

Add structure

Assign an Area and a Context, and a Reminder Date if you want to be reminded on a particular day. Items in Reference do not take a Project or a Reminder Date.

Save without deciding

You do not have to decide right now. Choose Save and leave in Inbox to keep your notes, Context, Areas, Project and reminder date and leave the item in your Inbox. Ctrl+Enter does the same. Your original Thought is not changed. The outcome buttons, such as Next or Waiting For, still save your changes and move the item out of the Inbox.

If you leave the page with changes you have not saved, NextAction warns you before it throws them away.

Thought and Notes

A Thought is the words you typed when you captured the item, kept exactly as written. Notes is where your own detail goes as you clarify. If you captured only a title, there is no separate Thought, and Clarify tells you so.

When it needs more than one action

Choose Make this a project under the outcome buttons. You can add the first action on the next screen. See Projects.

A Next Action is a physical step

Write it as the very next thing you would do, starting with a verb, such as "Call the plumber about the leak" rather than "Plumber".

Notes and your original Thought

While you clarify you can edit the short description and add notes. Your original Thought is kept exactly as you captured it.