That pile of paper in that box on your desk can be imposing. I turn my back and it seems to grow, to double. Sometimes I think I can hear it breathing. But I don’t care. Whenever I get bogged down on a project I’m working on I take a break and process everything in my inbox.
Yes, I should do it everyday and most days I do. But sometimes, like when I’m away on business or when I’m in the thick of things, the pile reappears and it grows. And important things tend to hide in that pile.
Here’s your tip for today: completely empty your inbox and process everything.
Let me be clear about this: you don’t have to DO everything, simply process it.
Take everything out and set it in front of you or to the side of your keyboard. Next, start at the top (or turn it over and start from what was placed in your box first) and process everything, one thing at a time. Do not cherry pick. Do one after another.
If you follow Getting Things Done (GTD), you know what to do. If it will take under two minutes, do it. If it’s for reference, file it. If it’s trash, throw it away or recycle it. If it belongs to someone else, put it in his or her inbox. For everything else, create an action and file it with the appropriate project or context.
If you’re not a GTD devotee, you can do pretty much the same thing: do it, recycle it, pass it on, or make a to-do and file it.
But here’s what’s most important: once you pull something out of your inbox, don’t put it back! Deal with it now.
Once your inbox is empty and all of your tasks are processed you’ll find that you’ve completed something. I typically feel better once that happens. You can and should do the same thing for your email: leave nothing in your inbox.
Take that sense of accomplishment and turn back to your project. I’m betting you’ll find that you can now move forward.
Share/Bookmark
