My GTD Buddy
A Reminders-native Getting Things Done (GTD) workflow powered by Claude Code. This project implements a streamlined GTD system using Apple Reminders with an intelligent AI skill to orchestrate workflow management.
Table of Contents
Overview
This is my personal implementation of David Allen's GTD methodology, designed around Apple Reminders with an intelligent Claude Code skill to orchestrate workflows. While I use Apple Reminders, you can adapt this system to work with any todo list app by modifying the shell scripts.
The system focuses on:
- Instant capture — Everything goes to Reminders Inbox first
- Daily planning — Inbox to zero with interactive processing
- Focused execution — Context-aware task selection with energy matching
- Continuous review — AI-driven micro-reviews with project health checks
- Proactive surfacing — AI surfaces relevant info using historical patterns
- Undo support — Safely undo moves and completions
See It In Action: Check out A Day with My GTD System.md — a complete walkthrough from morning to night showing how the system handles real interruptions, context switching, and maintains focus. Also see SCENARIOS.md for recipes for common situations like "Post-Vacation Reset" or "5-Minute Gap".
Key Features
- Apple Reminders native — Uses standard Reminders lists (Inbox, Next Actions, Waiting For, Someday, Projects)
- Calendar integration — macOS Calendar for appointment + task coordination
- Context tags — Location (@home, @office) and energy (#high, #low, #quick) in notes
- Historical patterns — Tracks velocity, peak days, context usage for smarter suggestions
- Project health — Detects orphan projects without next actions
- Waiting nudges — Shows waiting items with age, prompts for follow-ups
- Undo support — Undo last move/complete actions
- Natural language dates — "tomorrow 2pm", "next friday", "Jan 15"
- Batch operations — Declare bankruptcy on stale items
- Terse communication — "Captured: [item]" not "I've successfully added..."
Technology Stack
- Claude Code — AI-powered CLI with Skills support
- Apple Reminders — Native macOS/iOS reminders app
- macOS Calendar — Native calendar app
- yq — YAML processor for robust state management
- AppleScript — Shell scripts wrapping osascript for Reminders/Calendar access
System Architecture
graph TB
subgraph "Claude Code Skill"
SKILL[GTD Skill<br/>Workflow Orchestrator]
PROCESS[Process Mode<br/>Inbox Processing]
COACH[Coach Mode<br/>Context-Aware Selection]
REVIEW[Review Mode<br/>Weekly + Project Health]
HEALTH[Health Mode<br/>System Recovery]
SKILL --> PROCESS
SKILL --> COACH
SKILL --> REVIEW
SKILL --> HEALTH
end
subgraph "Scripts Layer"
RSCRIPT[reminders.sh<br/>AppleScript Wrapper]
CSCRIPT[calendar.sh<br/>AppleScript Wrapper]
SSCRIPT[state.sh<br/>Trend Tracking]
end
subgraph "Apple Reminders"
INBOX[Inbox]
NEXT[Next Actions]
WAITING[Waiting For]
SOMEDAY[Someday]
PROJECTS[Projects]
end
subgraph "macOS Calendar"
EVENTS[Events]
FREE[Free Time]
end
subgraph "State"
TRENDS[Weekly Trends]
PATTERNS[Day Patterns]
VELOCITY[Processing Velocity]
end
SKILL --> RSCRIPT
SKILL --> CSCRIPT
SKILL --> SSCRIPT
RSCRIPT --> INBOX
RSCRIPT --> NEXT
RSCRIPT --> WAITING
RSCRIPT --> SOMEDAY
RSCRIPT --> PROJECTS
CSCRIPT --> EVENTS
CSCRIPT --> FREE
SSCRIPT --> TRENDS
SSCRIPT --> PATTERNS
SSCRIPT --> VELOCITY
GTD Workflow
Workflow Phases
graph LR
CAPTURE[CAPTURE<br/>Instant<br/>→ Inbox]
PROCESS[PROCESS<br/>10 min<br/>Inbox → 0]
COACH[COACH<br/>All Day<br/>Energy-Aware]
REVIEW[REVIEW<br/>Weekly<br/>5 Parts]
CAPTURE --> PROCESS
PROCESS --> COACH
COACH --> REVIEW
REVIEW --> CAPTURE
classDef capture fill:#e1f5fe
classDef process fill:#f3e5f5
classDef coach fill:#e8f5e8
classDef review fill:#fff3e0
class CAPTURE capture
class PROCESS process
class COACH coach
class REVIEW review
Reminders List Flow
flowchart TD
START[Idea/Task] --> INBOX[INBOX]
INBOX --> DECISION{Processing}