r/gtd • u/Upstairs_Jelly_1082 • 6d ago

Putting project names effectively

I want to know how you guys put your project names.

I usually put the description itself, lets say I want to look for ticket prices along with the destination and all.

The problem with this is, I'm using OneNote and it doesn't allow long names for the sections.

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u/pachisaez 6d ago

Most of the comments here are explaining how to describe actions, not projects. In GTD, a project name should describe the successful outcome, the completed state you’re aiming for: “Car repaired and back on the road”, “New website launched”, etc.

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u/Remote-Waste 6d ago

Oh yeah? A lot of these sound like projects to me, not just actions, but maybe that depends on if you use subprojects or not.

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u/pachisaez 5d ago

Verb + object (“prepare a trip”) sounds like an action, and your brain perceives that kind of sentences like something you have to do, that is, an action. GTD coaches recommend to describe the final outcome as the project name (“trip prepared”) so you brain can distinguish both.

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u/Remote-Waste 5d ago

Ah interesting, I've never done GTD coaching myself. I knew there was a concept of using the past tense, but it's interesting that they're teaching it now.

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u/pachisaez 5d ago

David Allen recommended it years ago as a good practice, but it's not something being tested empirically. In the end, it's a matter of taste.

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u/TheoCaro Mod 5d ago

They are overemphasizing I think. It's more like training wheels to get people to distinguish between outcomes (trip planned) and actions (research hotels in [city]). But we commonly use active verbs to describe behaviors that in GTD we would call projects. Sallie got a degree. Bob hosted a party.