The Novel: I don't think 'write chaper 1' is a next action; it feels more like a project to me, because it's not very specific and involves a lot of different types of work. I think you could break it down into lots of actions like 'Write the scene where Jake and Emily burn all the money, and Dexter loses the map' or 'copy-edit act 2, Scene 3 for more realistic dialogue'. Then you've got a concrete action to take.

Japanese: I don't think it -is- the same action; you're actually learning a new set of characters every time, so the actions are 'learn chars 1-6', 'learn chars 7-12', etc. Same thing might apply to 'go to the gym' or 'have a shower', maybe?

I dunno, but I don't think GTD handles repetitive actions very well. It's geared to projects that get completed and discarded, but you can't do that when it comes to maintenance activities you do over and over.

Any of that helpful?

I'm no writer but I know that the first sentence or two of a novel can make or break it so 'write opening lines' would be a next action. 'Write x number of words' could be a next action if focus is a problem. 'Revise paragraph 2' could be a next action . Like the poster above said, it's about breaking the tasks down to their smallest actions in order to keep the flow and organisation to achieve the sum of the parts.

One thing I've done in these situations (although I'm neither a writer nor learning Japanese) is "Spend 15 minutes writing". Yes, your following NA is still going to be the same, but it offers an end in sight. For those of us who are easily distracted and get bored quickly, the thought that I'm only agreeing to spend 15 minutes is helpful in overcoming the mental barriers. Sometimes I'll start with the 15 minutes and just keep going because I'm in the zone. Othertimes, 15 minutes is painfully long and I'm so thankful that its done and I get to check it off the list.

I've used this method with reading assignments, writing assignments, designing websites, brainstorming ideas, and even household chores that are long (ie, clean the garage). I've found it helps overcome the overload feeling of "This task is going to take me 4 hours/4 weeks/4 months" without having to try to plan the entire project out right now. I find it allows for more freedom and changes in how you process the actual work, at the expense of having a slightly less specific list of NA's.

Well said, olives. Fifteen minutes seems to be the optimal balance between infinitesimal (for a job you don't mind doing) and interminable (for a job you don't). FlyLady (flylady.net) has built an empire 250,000 strong advocating cleaning and decluttering, for the most part, 15 minutes at a time. After all, "Who can't do X for 15 minutes?"

So, for me, I'd break down those big statements to more manageable sizes. As others have commented, if you're committed to these long-term goals, then scheduling calendar time daily or weekly and committing yourself to writing for 1 hour or 1,000 words during that session, would eventually get you toward your goal. And with language--you'll need to set your own milestones. So many words learned per session, for example, or so many days per week studying vocabulary. A "testing" milestone for me would probably be, "Translate 1 article in local Spanish-language newspeper without resorting to dictionary."

I'm currently cringe-busting a dinky project ("I have created a checklist defining a smooth workflow for filing our health spending account receipts") and am thinking I just need to schedule 2 hours one evening and hammer it out. This kind of project has a well-defined (for me) widget that says once it's done, it's done, I'll have documented what I need to do next time, &tc.

For my Nanowrimo novel however, it's clearly 2,000 words/day, however long it takes me to do that, in order to meet the specific goal of 50,000 words by Nov. 30.

So it depends -- project statements need to be quantified in some way such that I can read the outcome statement and say "Yes I've done that" or "No it's not done yet"

10 + 2s can be useful NAs for these. I'm in the middle of a seemingly endless Web writing project. I work on the site in chunks throughout the day, but a 10+2 is a measurable thing I can tick off. My calendar (I like paper for these things) says 10 10x2 - Web. I make a hash mark for each one. When ten hash marks are made, I'm done. I don't write 10+2 Web ten times, but you certainly could if that worked better for you.

If it's going to take several months, it's not a next action. It's still a project.

I find that if I look at a NA on my list and am not prepared to do it right now, it's not an NA. So I break it up, sometimes down to 10 minute tasks. From the novel example ("outline plan for chapter 2", or "review scene x to tighten action"). These go back in the (online) system, and I cross it off on the printed copy and deal with it when it next comes around. I typically print the NA list once or twice a day, depending on how got my NA analysis was at the last weekly review.