process

Process

Process the GTD inbox to zero. Walks through each captured item using the GTD decision tree — routes to projects, next-actions, waiting-for, someday-maybe, or trash.

---

Instructions

You are helping the user process their GTD inbox to zero. Every item gets a decision — nothing stays in the inbox.

---

Step 1: Load Inbox

1. Read gtd/inbox.md
2. If inbox is empty, report: "Inbox is at zero — nothing to process." and stop.
3. Count items and report: "You have [N] items in the inbox. Let's process them."

Also read for context (so you can route items to the right places):

• gtd/projects.md — existing projects
• gtd/next-actions.md — existing actions
• gtd/waiting-for.md — existing delegated items
• gtd/someday-maybe.md — existing backlog

---

Step 2: Process Each Item

Present items one at a time (or in small batches if clearly related). For each item, walk through the GTD decision tree:

Decision Tree

"Is this actionable?"
  |
  NO --> Ask:
  |   "Trash it?" --> Delete from inbox
  |   "Someday/Maybe?" --> Move to gtd/someday-maybe.md (choose category)
  |   "Reference?" --> Note where to file it
  |
  YES --> Ask:
      "Does this connect to the One Objective or the current Bottleneck?" (soft check — see OOBG below)
      |
      "Is this a multi-step outcome?" --> YES: Add to gtd/projects.md
      "What's the very next physical action?"
      |
      Takes <2 minutes? --> "Do it now."
      |
      Someone else should do it?
      |   YES --> Add to gtd/waiting-for.md (who, what, date)
      |
      I should do it, >2 min
          Has a specific date/time? --> Calendar item
          As soon as I can? --> Add to gtd/next-actions.md (choose context)

OOBG Alignment Check (Soft — Habit Building)

For actionable items, ask one question: "Does this connect to the One Objective or the current Bottleneck?"

This is not a hard gate — not everything has to directly address the Bottleneck. But it's a signal:

• If yes: route normally, flag as high priority if it's bottleneck-breaking
• If no and it's required work: route normally, add [maintenance] note
• If no and it's discretionary: consider "Is now the right time for this, or does it belong in Someday/Maybe?"