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Aug282006
In sanity: Tips for inbox sanity
Monday, August 28, 2006 at 9:42AM If you're a "Getting Things Done" follower, you know the value of fewer "inboxes" to process. Reducing the number of places you have to look for information as inputs into your life, the better.
Here are a few tips I've picked up along the way to help reduce the number of nesting places for inputs.
- When someone asks you to do or consider something, ask them to send you an email about it. Just say, "That's interesting - can you send me an email about that? Otherwise, I'll just forget it." This technique:
- puts the burden back on the requester
- puts the information into an inbox you're already planning to process (your email inbox) which makes it easier for you to delegate it, etc.
- can sometimes cause things to go away - if they don't feel attached enough to it to send you an email, you're off the hook
- Send yourself an email about it. If, like me, you carry a PDA and you have an idea, a thought, something you want to remind yourself about later, etc. just drop yourself an email about it. This technique:
- puts the information into an inbox you're already planning to process
- provides a quick way to capture a fleeting thought in a way that allows you to better define it later (if I enter things directly into a task list from my PDA, I'm more likely to leave it in a vague form that never gets acted upon)
- Send yourself a voice mail about it. When you're driving, call one of the voicemail boxes that you process regularly and leave a quick voice mail about it. Then, when you process the voice mail, you can drop it into your trusted system. This technique
- puts the information into an inbox you're already planning to process
- provides a quick way to capture a fleeting thought in a way that allows you to better define it later
- doesn't require writing or typing
Do you have any additional tips you've learned that make your journey toward mastery any easier? I'd love to hear what you've learned.
Related posts
- Getting your Inbox to Empty: Dealing with the first email purge (8/24/2005)
- Keeping Your Inbox Clean (8/27/2005)
- Technorati: productivity, tips, gtd
- Del.icio.us: productivity, tips, gtd
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Reader Comments (4)
I agree totally on point 1 - putting the onus back on someone else (if its important to them) is key. If its important to you, also, you might want a waiting for in your own system.
On point 2, I don't like sending an email (or voicemail) to myself. I generally prefer having a "UCT" (ubiquotous capture device - notetaker wallet) when out and about, or a paper planner when in the office. Although I'll admit to a voicemail to self on the odd occasion when I couldn't capture, but did have phone access.
I limit the voice mail to only when I *must* (like when I am driving).
I tend to have much more disciplined workflow around an Outlook-centric inbox than a voice mail or handwritten one. But that's just me - thanks for sharing your perspective on this.
It's something I have done in the past but need to do it more regularly.
Your right, how many times a day do we look at our email?
I love Getting It Done and re-read it constantly.