September 2025
I’ve long been a fan of Getting Things Done, the classic book about personal and business organization and productivity. This book solved all my bad habits of unopened mail, cluttered inboxes, and growing lists of untouched tasks.
And now there’s a version of “GTD” for students: Getting Things Done for Teens: Take Control of Your Life in a Distracting World, by David Allen, Mike Williams, and Mark Wallace.
Parents, get it, read it and start to use it, alongside your teenage student!
Why This Book Matters for Teens and Parents
Teenagers today are dealing with more mental clutter, distraction, and pressure than ever. Getting Things Done for Teens adapts the classic GTD system for teens–making it approachable, relevant, and even fun. It uses playful characters, clear graphics, and examples teens can relate to–homework, friends, college plans–while teaching powerful habits for long-term focus and balance.
Key Insight: “Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them.”
A central idea from GTD–“Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them”–encourages teens to capture everything that’s buzzing around in their head into an external system (tasks, thoughts, reminders) instead of mentally juggling it all at once. Teens learn to "dump" all the "open loops" of their lives–projects, obligations, ideas–into trusted tools (apps, notebooks, files, storage boxes, etc.). Capturing reduces stress and clears mental space for creative thinking.
The Simple Five‑Step Approach
The book explains the famous GTD workflow for teens:
Capture – Get every worry, task, idea out of your head and into a “bucket.”
Clarify – Define what the desired outcome is, and the next action you need to take.
Organize – Sort tasks into lists, calendar, reference files, or “someday/maybe” for ideas you’ll revisit later. Note tasks that are “high energy,” “lower energy,” etc and schedule tasks based on your own energy rhythms.
Reflect – Check in regularly (daily and weekly) on your system. What has moved ahead, what’s gotten bogged down (and why), what is waiting on others to act?
Engage – Choose what to do next based on context, time, energy, and priority
Humor, cartoons, and relatable teen characters make these steps less daunting. Chapters end with “Labs” and reflection questions to help teens practice right away.
How Parents Can Make It Stick
Start Together
Read each section alongside your teen and model the steps in your own life, immediately applying that section's lesson. "Capture" your shared family tasks, discussing appropriate "buckets"; clarify next actions for each task; calendar it together; and run a weekly review together.
Use Real Tools
Whether it’s a shared calendar, task app, or simple notebook, pick one system you both trust. Encourage your teen to consistently capture tasks and ideas so nothing slips through.
Check In Regularly
Help your teen build the habit of daily calendar review or list-checking—and a weekly sit-down to refresh tasks and plan ahead.
Parents, Teens, and GTD: Final Thoughts
Getting Things Done for Teens isn’t another self-help pep talk—it’s a toolkit for real life.
If your teen struggles with overwhelm, coordination, or follow-through—or you want to equip them with life-long habits—this book gives both of you a shared framework to put into practice.
Consider setting aside a weekly evening for reading a section together, and immediately implementing its lessons. Take it slow; each step is worth it! And even a small step will immedately improve your functioning. Before long, the whole household may start running more smoothly–and your teen is building a habit that helps now and in college.
I’ve developed a Parent-Teen Toolkit, based on Getting Things Done for Teens: Take Control of Your Life in a Distracting World. This toolkit is designed to be simple, practical, and printable for use at home. Please contact me for your copy.