**Getting Things Done** resolves around the idea that a To Do list should only contain things to do. To get things done, one should focus on the things to do. Too true.
In the GTD movement, which is almost spiritual, the things that we do are called Actions, and so the To Do list is renamed the Actions List. So the main problem with To Do lists is that they're not Actions lists. True enough.
Another important problem is that the Actions list should focus on the very next things that one should do. So one should build short lists of all the next actions on the way to get things done. For that reason, they are also called Next Actions lists.
When there are many Next Actions lists, and most of the times it is the case, we are told to organize them by what is called Context. A context simply expresses the main modality by which the thing gets done : on the computer, while running errands, with an hammer at hand, etc.
The idea for them being organized that way seems plausible enough. Yet, this does not work for me, most of the times. The reason is that multi-tasking context by context dillutes attention and overloads memory.
My preference is to tackle my next actions by all means available by picking one project. I don't write all my emails for the day : I write the emails for the project I choose. If to see through my project I need to make phone calls, or do some reading, or go get some stuff in the garage, sitting in front of the computer does not help.
And so am I getting things done one project at a time. Less things may get done, but at least one project gets ahead.
