Look at the higher altitudes — goals, areas of focus, and purpose

Once per week, check that your active projects still align with your goals, roles, and values.

Why it works

GTD’s horizon levels (actions, projects, areas of focus, goals, vision, purpose) are nested: daily actions should connect to projects, projects to goals, goals to values. Without periodic higher-altitude review, the system optimizes execution efficiency while drifting from the strategic direction it’s supposed to serve. The weekly review is the moment to make this connection visible before months of efficient misdirection accumulate.

How to do it

1. After project review, spend 5–10 minutes looking at your goals list (1–2 year horizon).
2. For each goal, check: is there an active project serving it? If not, should there be?
3. Review your areas of focus (roles, responsibilities) and check whether any area is being neglected.
4. Note any new commitments that emerged from the review.

Evidence

Goal hierarchy research (Carver & Scheier) shows that higher-level goals govern which lower-level actions feel meaningful and motivating. Without visibility into the hierarchy, daily execution can feel effortful without feeling purposeful. (mechanistic)

The specific GTD altitude framing (six levels) is a practitioner heuristic; the underlying insight — that tasks derive meaning from their connection to goals — is well established in goal theory.

Common mistake

Skipping the higher-altitude review as "too philosophical" during the weekly review — which means the system becomes a sophisticated to-do list without a strategic direction.