A next action is something you could watch someone do.
A next action is the next physical, visible activity that moves something forward: a call, an email, a drive, a search. It starts with a verb, happens in one place, and needs no further thinking before it can begin. “Sort out the taxes” is not a next action; “call the tax advisor about the missing Q3 receipts” is. In Getting Things Done® every project has at least one next action, and the next actions list holds nothing else.
- A verbcall, write, search, drivenot: sort out, deal with, look into
- One place@calls · @computer · @errandswhere it can happen
- Visibleone motionsomeone could watch
Your next actions list says “taxes”, “website”, “Mum’s birthday”.
Each one is a topic, each one opens a decision the moment you read it, and the list becomes a list of decisions you have not made yet.
The list does not paralyse because it is long. It paralyses because it is not finished.
The steps
Take the item as written
“Taxes Q3.” Do not tidy it yet. The wording tells you what kind of thing it is.Ask what done looks like
If the answer takes more than one action, it is a project. The project gets a name; it does not go on the next actions list.Ask what the very next physical thing is
Not the most important thing, not the biggest. The first motion: a call, a search, a walk to the printer.Write it verb first, with its context
“Call Ms. Berger about the Q3 receipts — @calls.” It can now be done without reading it twice.
The proof
Clarify “taxes Q3”.
clarify({ inbox_id: "steuer-q3" })
Item “Taxes Q3” Outcome Q3 documents with the tax advisor → project Next action Call Ms. Berger about the missing Q3 receipts Context @calls · 10 min · energy lowReason: the item names an outcome, not an action. The first physical step is a call. The 10 minutes come from your measured @calls sessions.
What is actually there
Questions
What is the difference between a project and a next action?
A project is any outcome that needs more than one action: “Q3 documents with the tax advisor”. A next action is the single physical step you can take right now toward it. The project lives on the projects list, the action on the next actions list, and the weekly review checks that every project has one.
How specific does a next action have to be?
Specific enough that you could start it in the wrong mood without deciding anything first. “Email Elena” is not enough if you would still have to work out what to ask; “email Elena for the Q3 figures by Friday” is. The test is whether reading it twice changes anything.
What if I do not know the next action?
Then the next action is finding it out: a call to ask, a search, a ten-minute think with paper. That is a real, physical step and it goes on the list as one. Leaving the item as a topic because the answer is unclear is how topics pile up.
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A next action is something you could watch someone do.
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