As a fan of David Allen's Getting Things Done (GTD) methodology, I spent several days searching for software to help me implement GTD. I couldn't find a package I admired. All of the free or open source software seemed bloated and cumbersome. Then I realized: GTD isn't complicated and to implement it effectively, one must use the simplest tools.

Intended Users

This workbook is constructed for individuals familiar with David Allen's Getting Things Done methodology and who want a simple workbook to implement GTD. If you do not know the methodology, you should read David Allen's Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity (ISBN: 0670889067). Users must be proficient with OpenOffice.org's Calc spreadsheet software to get full use of this workbook.

So I wrote this simple Calc workbook and am making it available to you free of charge.

How do I use the workbook?
The workbook is composed of three sheets: Task List, Someday-Maybe and Metadata.

• The Metadata sheet holds your contexts, project titles and waiting on... entries. You must define contexts and project titles before you begin working with them. Contexts of "Telephone", "Computer", "Library" and "Home" are included to get you started. "Return Call" is included in the "Waiting On" column. You can add and delete contexts, project titles and waiting on entries at any time.
• You enter and list your tasks on the Task List sheet. Choose the "Project" and "Context" from drop-down menus. The "Priority", "Due by", "Completed" and "Waiting On" fields are optional. Use the Task field to describe your actionable item. (Remember that you can post URLs into Calc and the software will hyperlink them.)
• The Someday-Maybe sheet is for ideas that are not developed into projects/tasks or items you have not committed to execution. Dummy data on this sheet should make it self-explanatory, but if you need more help, see chapter 7 of Getting Things Done.

When you are ready to begin doing the tasks on your list, use the sort function of Calc (Data > Sort...) to list your tasks according to project, priority, context and/or due date. When you've completed a thing, mark it as "Done" in the Completed field, or delete it from your spreadsheet (highlight, then Edit > Delete Cells...). You can also use filtering to show a subset of your spreadsheet.

Note on fonts
The spreadsheet was optimized for display with the freeware DejaVu fonts, but they are not required to use the spreadsheet.

Who created this spreadsheet? How can I contact the creator?
David Fisco created this spreadsheet. Feel free to contact him.

Will the spreadsheet be updated?
Probably. All updates will be available on this site.

Changelog and Downloads

2010-02-25 20:22:56: Version 1.1 released

2010-02-25 19:50:47: Added "Someday-Maybe" sheet

2010-02-25 16:29:41: Removed annoying macro confirmation dialogue

2010-02-20 21:21:23: Re-ordered fields on Summary page

2010-02-20 21:20:50: Renamed "Things" to "Tasks".

2010-02-20 17:51:30: Added "priority" field.

2007-01-23 12:31:43: Version 1.0.1 released

GTD and Getting Things Done are registered trademarks of David Allen & Co.