Glossary Clarify
Clarify
Also known as:
process, processing the inbox, clarifyingProductivityMethodologyGTD
Definition
The second of GTD’s five steps: taking each thing out of the inbox and deciding what it is — is it actionable? if not, trash, someday/maybe or reference; if so, what is the next action, and is it one step or a project?
Allen’s older word was process; clarify says what the processing is for. The discipline is one item at a time, top of the pile, nothing back in the inbox — the workflow figure on the GTD entry is this step drawn. Clarify decides; it does not do, except for the two-minute rule, and it does not file, which is the next step.
The step most people skip, which is why their inbox is a to-do list they are afraid of. Deciding what a thing is costs seconds; carrying an undecided thing costs attention every time you see it.