Locus GTD

English

简体中文

English

简体中文

Appearance

Quick Start ​

This path takes you through the basic Locus loop with real items: capture → clarify → organize → engage → review. You do not need to learn all of GTD or design a complex category system first.

Before You Begin ​

Check two things:

  1. Enable iCloud sync in Locus Settings if you want the same data on multiple devices.
  2. Allow notifications if you want due, repeat, or custom reminders.

If you already have important data, read Sync, Backup & Restore first.

Step 1: Capture Three Things ​

Open the Inbox and use Quick Add to record three things that have your attention, for example:

  • Book a dentist appointment
  • Plan the September trip
  • Maybe learn pottery

Write a clear title. Do not stop to decide every date, tag, and project. Capture should be fast.

Quick Entry ​

Quick Entry can reference existing objects:

  • Call the client @Phone
  • Confirm hotel #September Trip tomorrow
  • Submit expenses next Friday 3 PM

@ matches a tag, # matches a project, and natural-language date text becomes a date and time. Missing tags or projects can be created when you submit. A task can belong to one project and have multiple tags.

Mac

⌘N opens Quick Add with context from the current page. Control–Option–Space opens Global Capture from any app and always sends the task to the Locus Inbox without page context.

Step 2: Clarify Each Item ​

Open Process Inbox, focus on one item at a time, and ask:

  1. Is it actionable? If not, delete it, keep it as reference, or put it in Someday / Maybe.
  2. Can one action finish it? If yes, keep it as a task; if not, create a project.
  3. What is the next visible action? Rewrite vague nouns as actions, such as “Call the dentist to book an appointment.”

For the sample items:

  • Keep “Book a dentist appointment” as a task and add it to Next Action.
  • Convert “Plan the September trip” into a project, then add “Set a budget,” “Compare transport,” and “Book accommodation.”
  • Put “Maybe learn pottery” in Someday / Maybe.

Adding a project, date, action list, or Inbox-excluding tag normally moves the item out of the Inbox. See Inbox Processing for the exact rule.

Step 3: Add Only Useful Information ​

Do not fill every field for completeness. Use a field when it answers a real question:

  • Project: which outcome does this action support?
  • Next Action / Waiting For / Someday / Maybe: what is its commitment state?
  • Plan date: when do I intend to work on it?
  • Due date: when must it be finished?
  • Defer date: when is it too early to act?
  • Tags: what place, tool, energy, or person does it require?
  • Duration: roughly how long will it take?
  • Flag: should it stand out temporarily?

See Dates, Repeats & Reminders and Action Lists.

Step 4: Choose What to Do Now ​

Good starting views are:

  • Schedule: overdue, today, the next few days, and future items.
  • Next Action: work you have explicitly committed to advancing.
  • Flagged: items you have highlighted.
  • Project: all work connected to one outcome.

Complete a task by checking it off. If it repeats, Locus creates the next occurrence when you complete the current one. Completed tasks appear in the Logbook.

Step 5: Run a Short Review ​

Each day:

  1. Clear or meaningfully reduce the Inbox.
  2. Check overdue and today in Schedule.
  3. Review Waiting For and decide whether to follow up.

Each week:

  1. Open Review Projects and work through the due queue.
  2. Make sure every active project has a clear, executable next step.
  3. Pause, complete, or cancel projects that changed.
  4. Review Someday / Maybe and activate ideas that are now relevant.

See Review & Logbook.

Where to Go Next ​

Keep the System Light

Build a capture and review habit first. Add tags, filters, and automation as real needs appear. A simple system you review is more reliable than a complex system you stop opening.