Next Actions
The most important thing in What's Next is the "Next Action". A next action is the very next physical action you have to do to achieve a desired outcome.
In What's Next, everything you need to do at some point in the future is a next action. This section explains how to create actions and manage a next action's state throughout its life.
Creating Next Actions
You can create next actions in one of three ways: by clicking on the "New Action" menu item, by clicking on the new action icon 
in the title bar of each action list; or by pressing the "n" key.
Ninja Technique - Projects and Contexts when you need them
When you are creating (or editing) a next action, and you enter a project or context name that does not yet exist, you will be prompted to create that project or context. This is very useful when you realise that the next action you are entering is actually part of a project.
Status
Select the status of the new action (see below for an explanation of what the different states mean). Note that if you choose "Waiting" or "Deferred", an additional input field will appear. You need to enter what you are waiting for or the date to which to defer the next action.
Action
This is the name of the action. This should succinctly describe exactly what it is that you need to do. Keep in mind that the action will be shown in some lists with actions from other projects or contexts, so avoid ambiguous and vague descriptions.
The name can be changed later, either on the edit action page, or by double-clicking on the action name in a list.
Project
Pick the project from the autocompletion list or enter a new project name. If you are creating an action from a project page, this will already contain the project name.
Context
Pick the context from the autocompletion list or enter a new context name. If you are creating an action from a context page, this will already contain the context name.
Move to the top of the list
If ticked, the new next action will be created as the very first action in your list. This is useful for actions that you know you will have to complete soon.
Notes
You can create a note for the new next action. You can add more notes later, if you can't think of anything right now. The notes field supports Markdown syntax, so you can make lists and headings and other interesting things.
Next Action States
You may have noticed that there are a number of different sections on each next action list page. To make the most of What's Next, you should be familiar with what the different states mean and how they should be used. You can change an action's state by clicking on the little state icon to the very right of the action display. 
Current
This is everything that you need to do next. Of course, you have much more to do than time to do it in, so whenever you have time to do something, you will pick a next action off this list.
Ninja Technique - Which Next Action?
To select the right next action, you need to consider three things. Your current context, your available time and your energy levels. Remember that the most urgent next action may not be the most important one!
Waiting For
Some of your next actions you cannot act on immediately - you are waiting for someone or something. All these actions go into the "Waiting For" list. When you assign an action the Waiting For state, a dialogue will appear and ask you to enter what you are waiting for before you can complete the action. 
Deferred
Deferred actions are those that you don't want to or cannot deal with before a certain date. Keeping these actions in your "Current" pile only adds to the noise that you have to process whenever you review your next action list.
Stick an action in the "Deferred" pile and it will disappear from the current list but - and that's the cool part - it will automatically reappear in the "Current" pile as soon as the deferred date arrives!
Incubating
Also called the "Someday Maybe" list, these are actions that you need to think about again at some point. You may not have all the necessary information to decide whether to do the action, or you just want to let an idea stew for a while.
Some people use this list as an extended notebook to record ideas, some use it as a "holding pen" for their project planning. How you use it does not really matter - what does matter is that an incubating next action is not considered to be an "active" action. A project that only contains incubating actions is not an active project and will disappear from the active project list.
Completed
Everything that you have completed. Congratulations!
Ninja Technique - Reordering Next Actions
You can reorder next actions via drag-and-drop. Pick up an action and drag it to where you want it to be in the list. Reordering actions in a project or context list will also affect their position in the list of all actions.
Reordering actions is very useful for short-term planning, for example when you conduct your daily review in the morning.
Changing Next Actions
If you click on the edit action icon 
, you can change all action details. This page behaves exactly like the new action dialogue - you can even add new projects and contexts by just typing their names and saving.
Due Dates
You can enter a due date for any next action you create. The function of the due date is to gently remind you that you need to probably do an action soon. Actions that are due within the next week are shown in the "Upcoming actions" box at the top right, just above the active project list.
Ninja Technique - Date Entry
You can enter dates in What's Next in a number of different ways. You can enter a standard date, such as 1/1/2007. You can also use a more natural way of date entry. Try typing "2 weeks" or "next sat" or "wed morning" into a date entry field.
Actions that are overdue will also stay in the list until you complete them or change their due date
But how is that different from deferred actions?
Deferred actions are "sleeping" actions. They are actions that you want to park, but know that they will need attention on or from a certain date. Once an action's "Deferred until" date passes, the action automatically becomes current and appears in the list of current actions.
Each next action can have two significant dates. There is the date at which you need to start considering the next action. This is the "deferred until" date. There is also the date by which the next action will have to absolutely, positively be completed. This is the due date.
If you want to temporarily remove a next action from the list of current actions because you know you cannot or will not do the action for a while, defer the action.
If you want a visual reminder that an action needs urgent attention on a certain date, give it a due date.
