GTD Next Actions: The Art of Defining What's Actually Doable

You stare at your task list. “Work on API integration” sits there, mocking you. It’s been there for three days. Every time you see it, you feel a vague sense of dread, skip it, and do something easier instead.

The problem isn’t motivation or discipline. The problem is that “work on API integration” isn’t actually a task – it’s a project disguised as one. Your brain can’t engage with something that vague because it doesn’t know what “doing” it even looks like.

This is where GTD’s concept of “next actions” becomes transformative. For the complete methodology, see our Getting Things Done Guide. This article focuses specifically on the art of defining what’s actually doable – the single most important skill for turning your lists from guilt-inducing clutter into an engine of progress.

What Makes a Next Action “Next”

David Allen defines a next action as “the next physical, visible activity that would move something toward completion.” Every word in that definition matters:

Physical: Something you can actually do with your body. Type, call, walk, write, click. “Think about” or “figure out” don’t count – they’re mental states, not actions.

Visible: Someone watching you would be able to see you doing it. “Decide” is invisible. “Write three options on the whiteboard and circle one” is visible.

Next: The very next step, not step three or step ten. If you can’t start the action right now (given the right context), there’s a step missing before it.

The Difference It Makes

Compare these task formulations:

The vague versions require thinking before doing. The next actions can be started immediately. That difference compounds dramatically across a day’s worth of tasks.

The “What’s the Next Action?” Question

Allen’s clarifying question is simple but powerful: “What’s the next action?”

Ask it ruthlessly. Ask it every time you capture something. Ask it during your weekly review. Ask it when you’re staring at a task and feeling resistance.

The question forces your brain to shift from outcome thinking (“I need to ship this feature”) to process thinking (“What would I literally do first?”). That shift is where overwhelm transforms into clarity.

Walking Through the Question

Let’s say you captured “Prepare for performance review.” Here’s how the question unfolds:

1. “What’s the next action?” → “I need to gather my accomplishments from the past quarter.”
2. That’s still vague. What’s the next action? → “I need to check my Git commits.”
3. More specific. What’s the next action? → “Open terminal and run git log --author=me --since='3 months ago' --oneline”

That third version is something you can do in the next ten seconds. The first version would have you staring at a blank document wondering where to start.

Common Next Action Mistakes

Too Vague

Problem: “Work on project” or “Handle email” require thinking before doing.

Fix: Add a verb that describes a physical action and an object you’re acting on. “Draft the first two paragraphs of the project proposal” or “Reply to the three flagged emails in my inbox.”

Actually a Project

Problem: “Implement user authentication” has dozens of steps hiding inside it.

Fix: If something takes multiple sessions or has multiple sub-tasks, it’s a project. Create it as such and ask: “What’s the next action to move this project forward?”

Missing Context

Problem: “Call John” – but you need his number, which is at work, and you’re at home.

Fix: Either include the context (“Call John at 555-0123”) or assign a context tag so the action only appears when you can actually do it.

Requires a Decision First

Problem: “Book flight” – but you haven’t decided which dates work.

Fix: Make the decision the next action: “Check calendar for available travel dates and pick departure date.” Then “Book flight” becomes doable.

Next Actions for Developers

Code work has its own patterns. Here are developer-specific examples:

Debugging

• Not: “Fix the timeout bug”
• Next action: “Add logging to the API call in userService.ts:47 to capture response time”

Feature Development

• Not: “Build settings page”
• Next action: “Create SettingsPage.tsx component with empty shell and route”

Code Review

• Not: “Review Sarah’s PR”
• Next action: “Open PR #247 and read the description to understand the change scope”

Learning

• Not: “Learn React hooks”
• Next action: “Read the useState docs on react.dev and build a counter component”

Documentation

• Not: “Document the API”
• Next action: “Write JSDoc for the createUser function with param types and return value”

The pattern: start with what you’d literally type or click first.

Capturing Next Actions in Your System

The GTD inbox is where raw thoughts land. But raw thoughts need processing into next actions before they become useful.

During Capture

When you capture “meeting with product team,” that’s fine as a raw capture. But before it goes on your calendar or action list, process it:

• What’s the meeting about? → “Discuss Q2 roadmap”
• Do you need to prepare? → Yes
• What’s the next action? → “Review Q2 feature list and flag two concerns to raise”

Quick Syntax for Estimates

Adding time estimates to next actions helps with scheduling:

• Reply to Sarah re: meeting times 5m
• Draft intro paragraph for blog post 25m
• Debug auth timeout with console logging 45m

The time estimate acts as a commitment device – if you know something takes 5 minutes, you’re less likely to put it off.

Context Tags

Assign actions to contexts where they can actually be done:

• @computer – needs your dev machine
• @calls – needs phone access
• @low-energy – can do when tired
• @deep-work – needs focus time

When you filter by context, every visible item is immediately actionable.

When You’re Stuck

Sometimes the question “What’s the next action?” draws a blank. That’s information. It usually means one of these:

You don’t know enough yet: The next action is research. “Google how to set up OAuth with GitHub and read the first tutorial.”

There’s a decision to make: The next action is deciding. “List three options for the data model and pick one.”

You’re waiting on someone: The next action might be a follow-up. “Email Mike to check if he finished the API spec.”

The project isn’t clear: Back up and clarify the outcome. “Write one sentence describing what ‘done’ looks like for this project.”

Getting stuck isn’t failure – it’s feedback that something needs clarifying before you can act.

The Compound Effect

Defining next actions seems like a small thing. But consider:

• A vague task list with 50 items contains maybe 10 things you can actually start right now
• A next-action list with 50 items contains 50 things you can start right now

The difference isn’t just productivity – it’s psychology. When everything on your list is doable, looking at your list feels empowering instead of overwhelming. You spend less energy managing your tasks and more energy doing them.

Next Moves

1. Audit your current task list: Pick five items and ask “What’s the next action?” for each. Rewrite any that don’t pass the physical-visible-next test.

2. Build the habit: For the next week, before adding anything to your list, clarify the next action. The few seconds this takes saves minutes of staring later.

3. Review weekly: During your GTD weekly review, scan for stalled items. If something hasn’t moved, the next action probably isn’t clear enough.

The question “What’s the next action?” is the engine that makes GTD work. Master it, and your lists become a source of clarity rather than stress.

Want the complete GTD system? Read our Getting Things Done Guide to learn the five-step workflow and build a trusted system from the ground up.