gtd

name	gtd
description	GTD task management with Python CLI. Use for capturing, clarifying, organizing, and reviewing tasks following David Allen's Getting Things Done methodology with proper Horizons of Focus support.

<essential_principles>

GTD Core Workflow

1. Capture - Get it out of your head into the system
2. Clarify - Is it actionable? What's the next action?
3. Organize - Add context, energy, status, horizon labels
4. Reflect - Daily/weekly/quarterly/yearly reviews keep system trusted
5. Engage - Work from filtered lists, not full backlog

Running the CLI

All GTD operations go through the gtd CLI.

The gtd script is at scripts/gtd relative to this SKILL.md file (not the working directory). Derive the absolute script path from this file's location:

• If this SKILL.md is at /path/to/gtd/SKILL.md
• Then the CLI is at /path/to/gtd/scripts/gtd

# Derive path from SKILL.md location, then run:
scripts/gtd <command>

Setup is automatic: The CLI will detect if labels are missing and create them on first use.

Label Taxonomy (12 Fixed Labels)

Never create new labels. See label-taxonomy.md.

• Context: focus, meetings, async, offsite (where/when)
• Energy: high, low (cognitive load)
• Status: active, waiting, someday (workflow state)
• Horizon: action, project, goal (GTD altitude)

GTD Horizons of Focus

The system supports David Allen's 6 Horizons:

Horizon	Name	Implementation
Ground	Actions	horizon/action label via gtd CLI
H1	Projects	horizon/project label + project grouping
H2	Areas of Focus	Ongoing responsibilities without end dates
H3	Goals	horizon/goal label via gtd CLI
H4	Vision	HORIZONS.md at vault root
H5	Purpose	HORIZONS.md at vault root

Setup: Copy the template to your vault root:

cp references/horizons.md HORIZONS.md  # path relative to this SKILL.md

</essential_principles>

What would you like to do?

1. Capture something new
2. Process inbox (clarify items)
3. Find tasks to work on
4. Do a review (daily/weekly/quarterly/yearly)
5. Manage projects

Wait for response before proceeding.

Response	Command
1, "capture", "add something"	scripts/gtd capture "<text>"
2, "inbox", "process", "clarify"	scripts/gtd inbox then scripts/gtd clarify <id>
3, "list", "find", "work", "tasks"	scripts/gtd list --status active --context <context>
4a, "daily review"	scripts/gtd daily
4b, "weekly review"	scripts/gtd weekly
4c, "quarterly review"	scripts/gtd quarterly
4d, "yearly review"	scripts/gtd yearly
4e, "review status", "when did I"	scripts/gtd reviews
5, "projects"	scripts/gtd projects or scripts/gtd project list
5a, "create project"	scripts/gtd project create "<title>"
5b, "show project", "project details"	scripts/gtd project show "<title>"
5c, "delete project"	scripts/gtd project delete "<title>"

After determining intent, execute commands using scripts/gtd (path relative to this SKILL.md).

<quick_start>

# Derive GTD path from this SKILL.md location
GTD="scripts/gtd"

# Capture something (goes to inbox)
$GTD capture "Review PR for plugin architecture"

# See what needs clarifying
$GTD inbox

# Clarify an item (interactive)
$GTD clarify 42

# Add a pre-clarified action
$GTD add "Write RFE draft" --context focus --energy high --status active

# Add a project
$GTD add "Promotion to Senior Principal" --horizon project

# Add an action to a project
$GTD add "Schedule skip-level with director" --horizon action --project "Promotion to Senior Principal"

# Add a yearly goal
$GTD add "2026: Improve fitness" --horizon goal

# Find morning focus work
$GTD list --context focus --energy high --status active

# View projects with progress
$GTD projects

# Project management
$GTD project list                              # List all projects
$GTD project show "Promotion to Senior Principal"
$GTD project create "Launch sidekick MVP" --desc "Ship v1.0" --due 2026-06-30
$GTD project update "Launch sidekick MVP" --state closed  # Mark complete
$GTD project delete "Abandoned idea" --force   # Delete project

# Daily review
$GTD daily


 weekly


 quarterly


 yearly


 reviews


 
  -- 50
  --since 2026-01-15


  42

</quick_start>

<command_reference>

Command	Purpose
capture <text>	Quick capture to inbox
inbox	List items needing clarification
clarify <id>	Interactive clarification workflow
add <title>	Add a clarified task with labels
list [filters]	List tasks with optional filters
view <id>	View task details with GTD labels
done <id>	Mark task complete (single ID only)
update <id> [flags]	Update task GTD labels
comment <id> <text>	Add comment to task
due <id> [date]	Set due date (YYYY-MM-DD), or view if no date
due <id> --clear	Remove due date
defer <id> <date>	Defer until date, optionally --someday
waiting <id> <person> [reason]	Mark as waiting on someone
blocked <id> [ids]	Set blockers (comma-separated), --clear to remove
next [--context] [--energy]	Get suggested next action
bulk <ids> [flags]	Bulk update (IDs: comma-separated or ranges like 1-5)
bulk <ids> --close	Close multiple items at once
projects	List projects with progress (alias for project list)
project list	List projects with progress
project show <title>	Show project details and actions
project create <title>	Create a new project
project update <title>

Common filters for list:

• --context focus|meetings|async|offsite
• --energy high|low
• --status active|waiting|someday
• --horizon action|project|goal
• --project "Project Name"

Project command options:

• project list [--state open|closed|all]
• project create <title> [--desc] [--due YYYY-MM-DD]
• project update <title> [--desc] [--due] [--state open|closed] [--rename]
• project delete <title> [--force] (warns if open actions exist)

Review tracking:

• reviews - Show when each review was last done and if overdue
• reviews --reset daily - Reset review timestamp (for testing)
• Reviews auto-mark complete when you run daily, weekly, quarterly, yearly
• Cadences: daily=1 day, weekly=7 days, quarterly=90 days, yearly=365 days

History log:

• history - Show last 20 actions (human-readable)
• history --limit 50 - Show more entries
• history --since 2026-01-15 - Filter by date
• history --json - Raw JSONL output (machine-readable)
• Logs stored in .gtd/history.log </command_reference>

Morning routine:

$GTD daily
# Shows: High energy focus → Light focus → Async → Waiting

Between meetings:

$GTD list --energy low --status active
# Shows quick tasks (5-15 min each)

Weekly planning:

$GTD weekly
# Process inbox, review active items, check projects

Quarterly planning:

$GTD quarterly
# Review goals, project progress, set next quarter focus

Yearly planning:

$GTD yearly
# Review vision, set yearly goals, reflect on purpose

<success_criteria>

• All items captured go through clarification
• Inbox is empty after processing
• Every project has at least one active action
• Reviews happen: daily (5 min), weekly (15 min), quarterly (1 hr), yearly (2 hr)
• Work from filtered context lists, not full backlog
• All operations go through the scripts/gtd CLI </success_criteria>

<reference_index>

• clarify-flowchart.md - GTD decision tree with 2-minute rule
• label-taxonomy.md - Complete 12-label reference
• gtd-workflow.md - GTD methodology details
• horizons.md - Template for HORIZONS.md (copy to vault root)
• clarify-decision-tree.md - Decision trees for clarification, context, priority, reviews
• common-mistakes.md - GTD anti-patterns and fixes
• complementary-skills.md - How PARA complements GTD (informational)

Review Workflows (agent-consumable instructions):

• daily-review.md - Daily review guide
• weekly-review.md - Weekly review guide
• quarterly-review.md - Quarterly review guide
• yearly-review.md - Yearly review guide </reference_index>