Should there be a clear link between Horizon 3 and 1?

[blynchus]

When considering the horizons of focus, it seems to me that horizon 3 and 1 should have a very strong and established link.

How to accomplish your goals if you don’t identify specific projects that will get you there? It seems to me that every goal listed in horizon 3 should have at least one corresponding project in horizon 1

Thoughts?

 

[mcogilvie]

When considering the horizons of focus, it seems to me that horizon 3 and 1 should have a very strong and established link.

How to accomplish your goals if you don’t identify specific projects that will get you there? It seems to me that every goal listed in horizon 3 should have at least one corresponding project in horizon 1

Thoughts?

I don’t think most people find it necessary to explicitly link most of the levels. I review Level 3 Goals every month, and that seems fine. There’s nothing that says that a goal always has to have an active project. For example, a health and fitness goal might currently entail repeated regular exercise, or maybe there’s a class starting in two months. Another practical aspect is the overhead of explicit linking, but I won’t get into the implementation-specific details. GTD tends to eventually reveal to us all the parts of our lives, and it’s easier to not add extra work. Feel free to try explicit linking, but be ready to let it go if it doesn’t work well for you you.

 

[gtdstudente]

When considering the horizons of focus, it seems to me that horizon 3 and 1 should have a very strong and established link.

How to accomplish your goals if you don’t identify specific projects that will get you there? It seems to me that every goal listed in horizon 3 should have at least one corresponding project in horizon 1

Thoughts?

@blynchus

Vertical in a way is more 'Loosey-Goosey' . . . while Horizontal is 'Brass-Tacks' ?

meanwhile

Horizontal in a way is more 'Loosey-Goosey' . . . while Vertical is 'Brass-Tacks' ?

Life seems to insist on making life steadfastness have its own dynamism . . . Break or Flow ?

As you see GTD fit. . . .

 

[cfoley]

You could make the same argument of other levels. Projects should be linked to life purpose, for example.

I prefer the idea of congruence. Is my project list congruent with my goals, values, vision and purpose? This can be answered en masse with a gut feeling, and a slight course correction can be applied.

 

[fooddude]

When considering the horizons of focus, it seems to me that horizon 3 and 1 should have a very strong and established link.

How to accomplish your goals if you don’t identify specific projects that will get you there? It seems to me that every goal listed in horizon 3 should have at least one corresponding project in horizon 1

Thoughts?

Really your horizons are designed to be reviewed periodically. Since they are higher altitudes, they should be used to overlook lower horizons to make sure those are on track. I find myself using higher horizons less to decide on projects but I want to make sure the projects I have align with higher horizons. Have I ever had a project linked to a goal? Sure. But I think you open yourself up to making your system more complicated than it has to be. You have to answer the question do your goals reflect your projects and/or do your projects reflect your goals? Hope this made some sense.

 

[Y_Lherieau]

When considering the horizons of focus, it seems to me that horizon 3 and 1 should have a very strong and established link.

How to accomplish your goals if you don’t identify specific projects that will get you there? It seems to me that every goal listed in horizon 3 should have at least one corresponding project in horizon 1

Thoughts?

Great insight. You’re highlighting a fundamental yet often underutilized principle in GTD: the vertical alignment between Horizons of Focus.

Yes, each Horizon 3 goal (1–2 years) should ideally translate into one or more active Horizon 1 projects. This ensures that our daily actions remain aligned with our longer-term strategic intentions.

However, this link is not always automatic—it can be made explicit through intentional review. During your weekly or strategic reviews, ask:

• Which of my current projects support my Horizon 3 goals?
• And for this specific goal, what tangible project or outcome could (or should) be initiated?

Recommended tool: the Natural Planning Model (NPM). It helps move from outcome vision (H3) to concrete execution (H1), using a logical flow (why → what → how).

Pro tip: visualize alignment through an expanded Project List

Creating a table with multiple columns makes the alignment with higher horizons visible:

Project (H1)​

H2: Area of Focus​

H3: Goal​

H4: Vision​

H5: Purpose​

This transforms your project list into a strategic dashboard. At a glance, you’ll spot:

• The projects that truly matter.
• Orphan projects (to reassess).
• Potential gaps in translating your vision into execution.

Here is an example of what this extended project list could look like:

Project (H1)​	H2: Area of Focus​	H3: Goal​	H4: Vision​	H5: Purpose (Why it matters)​
Launch Q3 Customer Feedback Survey	Customer Experience	Increase NPS by 15% by year-end	Be the most trusted brand in our market segment	Help customers feel heard and drive service loyalty
Hire Junior Marketing Manager	Team Development	Scale marketing capacity	Marketing team known for creativity and agility	Build a team that can grow the business
Redesign company website	Brand & Communication	Rebrand to reflect new positioning	A digital presence that reflects our market shift	Communicate who we are becoming
Plan Summer Family Trip	Family & Recreation	Quality time with kids before school restarts	Balanced personal-professional rhythm	Be present as a father/mother, recharge emotionally
Set up Personal Finance Dashboard	Finances & Admin	Reach savings goal for 2025 house	Financial stability and peace of mind	Freedom of choices, fewer constraints

Works great in Notion, Excel, or even paper. Add it to your quarterly review to drive with clarity and altitude.

In short: this is a powerful instinct—and a great opportunity to turn GTD into a strategic assistant.

 

[Tom_Hagen]

When considering the horizons of focus, it seems to me that horizon 3 and 1 should have a very strong and established link.

How to accomplish your goals if you don’t identify specific projects that will get you there? It seems to me that every goal listed in horizon 3 should have at least one corresponding project in horizon 1

Thoughts?

This seems like a sensible approach to me. Goals - as we know - should be SMART(ER) and such an approach is most definitely connected with defining projects (most often) or at least next actions. Health - as someone mentioned here earlier - is an area of focus and not a goal in itself. Within such an AOF you can of course set goals: run a marathon, be faster than a cheetah etc. and then you would have to define projects / next actions again.

 

[gtdstudente]

Great insight. You’re highlighting a fundamental yet often underutilized principle in GTD: the vertical alignment between Horizons of Focus.

Yes, each Horizon 3 goal (1–2 years) should ideally translate into one or more active Horizon 1 projects. This ensures that our daily actions remain aligned with our longer-term strategic intentions.

However, this link is not always automatic—it can be made explicit through intentional review. During your weekly or strategic reviews, ask:

• Which of my current projects support my Horizon 3 goals?
• And for this specific goal, what tangible project or outcome could (or should) be initiated?

Recommended tool: the Natural Planning Model (NPM). It helps move from outcome vision (H3) to concrete execution (H1), using a logical flow (why → what → how).

Pro tip: visualize alignment through an expanded Project List

Creating a table with multiple columns makes the alignment with higher horizons visible:

Project (H1)​

H2: Area of Focus​

H3: Goal​

H4: Vision​

H5: Purpose​

This transforms your project list into a strategic dashboard. At a glance, you’ll spot:

• The projects that truly matter.
• Orphan projects (to reassess).
• Potential gaps in translating your vision into execution.

Here is an example of what this extended project list could look like:

Project (H1)​	H2: Area of Focus​	H3: Goal​	H4: Vision​	H5: Purpose (Why it matters)​
Launch Q3 Customer Feedback Survey	Customer Experience	Increase NPS by 15% by year-end	Be the most trusted brand in our market segment	Help customers feel heard and drive service loyalty
Hire Junior Marketing Manager	Team Development	Scale marketing capacity	Marketing team known for creativity and agility	Build a team that can grow the business
Redesign company website	Brand & Communication	Rebrand to reflect new positioning	A digital presence that reflects our market shift	Communicate who we are becoming
Plan Summer Family Trip	Family & Recreation	Quality time with kids before school restarts	Balanced personal-professional rhythm	Be present as a father/mother, recharge emotionally
Set up Personal Finance Dashboard	Finances & Admin	Reach savings goal for 2025 house	Financial stability and peace of mind	Freedom of choices, fewer constraints

Works great in Notion, Excel, or even paper. Add it to your quarterly review to drive with clarity and altitude.

In short: this is a powerful instinct—and a great opportunity to turn GTD into a strategic assistant.

@Y_Lherieau

Very GTD rigorous . . . good job . . . great for making Weekly Review easier . . . very nice

Currently thinking of Areas-of-Focus in terms of commitment Ends [Immediate, Proximate, and Remote]:

Commitment Ends:
Next Actions as Immediate [Means]
Projects as Proximate
Goals as Remote

Someday/Maybe as Remote Possibility

All of the above being 'guided' by particular Vision inspired by/through general Purpose

Thank you very much

 

[gtdstudente]

Great insight. You’re highlighting a fundamental yet often underutilized principle in GTD: the vertical alignment between Horizons of Focus.

Yes, each Horizon 3 goal (1–2 years) should ideally translate into one or more active Horizon 1 projects. This ensures that our daily actions remain aligned with our longer-term strategic intentions.

However, this link is not always automatic—it can be made explicit through intentional review. During your weekly or strategic reviews, ask:

• Which of my current projects support my Horizon 3 goals?
• And for this specific goal, what tangible project or outcome could (or should) be initiated?

Recommended tool: the Natural Planning Model (NPM). It helps move from outcome vision (H3) to concrete execution (H1), using a logical flow (why → what → how).

Pro tip: visualize alignment through an expanded Project List

Creating a table with multiple columns makes the alignment with higher horizons visible:

Project (H1)​

H2: Area of Focus​

H3: Goal​

H4: Vision​

H5: Purpose​

This transforms your project list into a strategic dashboard. At a glance, you’ll spot:

• The projects that truly matter.
• Orphan projects (to reassess).
• Potential gaps in translating your vision into execution.

Here is an example of what this extended project list could look like:

Project (H1)​	H2: Area of Focus​	H3: Goal​	H4: Vision​	H5: Purpose (Why it matters)​
Launch Q3 Customer Feedback Survey	Customer Experience	Increase NPS by 15% by year-end	Be the most trusted brand in our market segment	Help customers feel heard and drive service loyalty
Hire Junior Marketing Manager	Team Development	Scale marketing capacity	Marketing team known for creativity and agility	Build a team that can grow the business
Redesign company website	Brand & Communication	Rebrand to reflect new positioning	A digital presence that reflects our market shift	Communicate who we are becoming
Plan Summer Family Trip	Family & Recreation	Quality time with kids before school restarts	Balanced personal-professional rhythm	Be present as a father/mother, recharge emotionally
Set up Personal Finance Dashboard	Finances & Admin	Reach savings goal for 2025 house	Financial stability and peace of mind	Freedom of choices, fewer constraints

Works great in Notion, Excel, or even paper. Add it to your quarterly review to drive with clarity and altitude.

In short: this is a powerful instinct—and a great opportunity to turn GTD into a strategic assistant.

@Y_Lherieau

GTD wondering

Worthy dividing your very good GTD subjective intuition matrix into objective distinction(s) and subjective intuition ?

Outcome(s)
'Controllable' . . . Internals
'Uncontrollable' . . . Externals

Thank you very much

 

[schmeggahead]

Pro tip: visualize alignment through an expanded Project List

Creating a table with multiple columns makes the alignment with higher horizons visible

My list manager supports tags, so I have tags for higher horizons. When I review a given entry in a horizon I can see projects or any other level item linked to that entry. It's a good head start on reviewing that horizon by view the entries tag contents (can show completed items also to show momentum. )

On projects, I typically only tag one goal entry (if there is one) and an Area of Focus (if there isn't an associated goal. )
I push the association up the chain so there is only one level of connection.

I also don't enforce keeping this tagging clean and comprehensive. It only has value to work it to cleanliness and completeness for the given higher level view at the time. Tagging then means I don't have to do the thinking again later.

Thanks,
Clayton

Do just enough to get it out of your head.

 

[Stefan Godo]

When considering the horizons of focus, it seems to me that horizon 3 and 1 should have a very strong and established link.

How to accomplish your goals if you don’t identify specific projects that will get you there? It seems to me that every goal listed in horizon 3 should have at least one corresponding project in horizon 1

Thoughts?

if the (long term) plan is to change anything from current to an imagined future state, that will usually not happen without an action. (at least buy the lottery ticket...). Much more often a series of coordinated actions = project.

Now, if your LT goal is keeping the status in areas where you are satisfied with the current state, that will also require some "maintenance" actions, but its possible that isolated ones do the job.

e.g. LT plan "have fine relationship with my neighbours", does not require an explicit project, just lending a helping hand whenever the opportunity arises.

it is usually overlooked that out of the horizons of focus, 2 do not have an explicit time link (although CAN change in time): "Purpose and Principles" and "Areas of Focus". The rest is DIRECTLY linked in time. This gives a (logical) headache to some GTDers = the rigorous "matrjoshka"-type embedding is NOT always correct.
*Only for the time-bound horizons.*

The link used in the book ("review frequency" of horizons) - holds for most life situations, but then was clearly loosened by the example used in the "Making it all work" book - see the "Gardener case".

 

[Matt_M]

There's a lot that can be said on this from multiple schools of thought. There's not necessarily a correct answer. I would view it as a gradient in the sense of "what goals & objectives need to be driven more" versus "what goals & objectives are more effective as 'floating' aspirations".

I don't think every goal & objective should be or can be tied to an actionable project. That's probably quite a bit of overhead with minimal return on investment for most people. I do think that some goals should and can be linked to actionable project(s).

For example, financial goals people have such as "Pay off credit cards within 8 months" is a goal that should have actionable projects tied to it such as "Sell old baseball card collection to help pay off Amex credit card" or "Prepare and eat brown-bag lunches every day for this month" and so forth.

I don't have the science handy but many folks have done such linking for financially driven goals and found that keeping that higher-level purpose/why visible, very helpful and motivating to actually do the work to achieve the goal. Being able to measure and see what one has done in working towards achieving that goal when looking at and reviewing the goal is also very inspiring too.

Other goals might benefit from less structure and overhead. For example, personal goals like "Spend more time connecting with my family this summer" could benefit from specific a supporting project(s) but most people consider that very transactional, dehumanizing, and antithetical to the whole point. Often these are goals achieved through natural, unplanned, spontaneous circumstances such as "Let's all go to the beach this weekend" or "Playing video games with my son after work" and such.

It's a balance that really depends upon the goals and objectives themselves and understanding the deeper "Why is that/are those your goal(s)?" about them.

Sometimes the best thing you can do for a goal is to simply stop trying, let it happen naturally if it will happen. Keep in mind, I am absolutely not into any of the touch'y feel'y mumbo jumbo new age hippie dippie whatever... but there's a certain wisdom in not trying for something.

Ironically, sometimes when you truly don't focus on something and just relax and let the things do their thing, the pieces just all seem to fall into place/you find what you were looking for. Kooky I know, but it is true.

 

[Stefan Godo]

There's a lot that can be said on this from multiple schools of thought. There's not necessarily a correct answer. I would view it as a gradient in the sense of "what goals & objectives need to be driven more" versus "what goals & objectives are more effective as 'floating' aspirations".

I don't think every goal & objective should be or can be tied to an actionable project. That's probably quite a bit of overhead with minimal return on investment for most people. I do think that some goals should and can be linked to actionable project(s).

For example, financial goals people have such as "Pay off credit cards within 8 months" is a goal that should have actionable projects tied to it such as "Sell old baseball card collection to help pay off Amex credit card" or "Prepare and eat brown-bag lunches every day for this month" and so forth.

I don't have the science handy but many folks have done such linking for financially driven goals and found that keeping that higher-level purpose/why visible, very helpful and motivating to actually do the work to achieve the goal. Being able to measure and see what one has done in working towards achieving that goal when looking at and reviewing the goal is also very inspiring too.

Other goals might benefit from less structure and overhead. For example, personal goals like "Spend more time connecting with my family this summer" could benefit from specific a supporting project(s) but most people consider that very transactional, dehumanizing, and antithetical to the whole point. Often these are goals achieved through natural, unplanned, spontaneous circumstances such as "Let's all go to the beach this weekend" or "Playing video games with my son after work" and such.

It's a balance that really depends upon the goals and objectives themselves and understanding the deeper "Why is that/are those your goal(s)?" about them.

Sometimes the best thing you can do for a goal is to simply stop trying, let it happen naturally if it will happen. Keep in mind, I am absolutely not into any of the touch'y feel'y mumbo jumbo new age hippie dippie whatever... but there's a certain wisdom in not trying for something.

Ironically, sometimes when you truly don't focus on something and just relax and let the things do their thing, the pieces just all seem to fall into place/you find what you were looking for. Kooky I know, but it is true.

exactly. one thing we often forget is that our actions are not happening in a vacuum, but represent interactions with the world (including other people). So the RESULT is never really guaranteed. An when it comes, it is simply another input to be clarified.
If some actions do not bring results, eventually NOT DOING THEM is the right action.
Letting things flow is a fine level of BEING.

 

[gtdstudente]

exactly. one thing we often forget is that our actions are not happening in a vacuum, but represent interactions with the world (including other people). So the RESULT is never really guaranteed. An when it comes, it is simply another input to be clarified.
If some actions do not bring results, eventually NOT DOING THEM is the right action.
Letting things flow is a fine level of BEING.

@Matt_M

Perhaps simillar to what @Stefan Godo expressed so well with some addded humble GTD reinforcement in keeping GTD work on rails/track ?:

An Explicitly Easy Personal GTD System
to Easily Know What Got Done
to Easily Know What Can Get Done
While Easily Knowing What’s Not Getting Done
for Appropriate Postponement through Mind like Water​

If you deem GTD worthy, please feel free to note after "An An Explicitly Easy Personal GTD System" above continues thereafter 'only' with an implicit reference to GTD; perhaps very like the way References operate in the practice of GTD . . . behind the scenes ?


As you see GTD fit. . . .