Get Stuff Done: Design Your Workflow and Double Your Productivity class, at Parisoma

Thiago Forte’s class at Parisoma frames productivity as a system for turning mental “open loops” into clear, actionable next steps—so work stops leaking into anxiety and starts flowing. The core claim is that stress doesn’t come from having too much to do; it comes from managing unfinished commitments poorly. In GTD terms, an open loop is anything unfinished that carries an “ought to / should / must” feeling—emails, voicemails, physical problems like a flat tire, and even mental nagging. Because the brain has no reliable sense of time or place, it keeps treating every open loop as urgent “all the time,” creating cognitive overload.

The class then offers a practical antidote: a five-phase workflow from David Allen’s Getting Things Done. First, collect every open loop into a trusted capture method so nothing has to live in memory. Forte emphasizes three rules for collection containers: capture everything, keep the number of buckets small, and empty them regularly (daily or at least weekly). Second, process items one at a time by asking whether they’re actionable. If they are, the system demands the “real next physical action”—the specific step a person could do immediately—rather than vague to-dos like “clean garage.” If an item isn’t actionable, it goes into categories such as trash, reference, or “someday/maybe.” Third, organize the results into a structured set of lists: a project list (projects are goals with a finish line), project plans/resources, “waiting for” items that depend on other people, and a protected “next actions” list containing only tasks that can be done at any moment.

A key distinction runs through the organizing phase: projects versus areas of responsibility. Projects have goals and a defined endpoint; areas of responsibility are ongoing standards (like being a good father or maintaining health). Forte also stresses hierarchy: every task should belong to an area of responsibility, while only multi-step efforts become projects. “Waiting for” items should be separated from next actions so the system doesn’t turn into a depressing list of things that can’t be done.

Review is treated as the system’s safety mechanism. Forte calls the weekly review the “master key” because it prevents the mind from reclaiming the job of remembering. The review’s purpose is to gather and process leftovers, verify that containers still feel trustworthy, and restore “clean, clear, current, and complete” commitments. He provides example routines: daily checks of calendar and inbox, a short weekly review scanning past and future, and a monthly review of projects, areas of responsibility, and “someday/maybe.” He also argues the time cost can be small—he cites his own time tracking showing about 10 minutes a day (roughly 2% of time).

Finally, choosing what to do next uses David Allen’s four criteria model: context (where you can act), time (what fits the available window), energy (what you can handle mentally right now), and priority last (because it shifts too quickly to manage second-by-second). The class closes by tying GTD to Bruce Lee’s “economy of movement” and Jackie Chan’s more chaotic style: productivity comes from minimal, repeatable actions; self-awareness over brute discipline; and resisting conventional habits like constant email checking. The practical takeaway is simple: build a workflow that makes the easy parts automatic and reserves attention for the hard, creative work.