Filling Your Inbox [GTD]

Posted on April 8, 2008 by Bruce Keener

Many of you are familiar with David Allen’s recommendation to reduce your inbox to zero. Merlin Mann is a huge proponent of the concept, and has a series of articles entitled Inbox Zero.

I am not a huge fan of the inbox-zero mantra. If it helps give you a psychological boost that you need, similar to how one feels when the desk is finally clean, then it may be worth striving for.

My philosophy on the inbox is that it should have everything in it that you need to process. David Allen emphasizes this, too, and I think he is great at practicing what he preaches: he even throws his voice recorder into his physical inbox to make sure he processes the voice notes.

Now, while this is patently obvious, and we all know we need to do it, we are not always good at it:

  • Ever tell someone you would do something and then forget to do it, because it never made it out of your head into your inbox?
  • Ever have someone tell you they would do something, and it goes undone?
  • Ever have a great idea, only to forget it and realize you had a great idea that you can’t remember?

The last one on the list happened to me yesterday afternoon. I laid down on the couch to take a nap, had a thought that I should do something related to this blog, told myself I would remember that because it was so obvious, and now I can’t remember what it was. And, I had a notepad a foot away from me.

So why do we not put everything into our inboxes that we should?

No doubt that there are a lot of reasons. Some that come to mind are:

  • Overconfidence in memory, as exemplified in the personal example I just gave.
  • Not having a good “capture tool” with you wherever you go (a 3×5 card, or a voice recorder, or a PDA, or ….)
  • Feeling like you already have too much to do, so that you have a subconscious resistance to adding anything else to your workload.

David Allen recently wrote an article in the Huffington Post on having too much to do. He points out that many of us do have too much to do, and that we need to decide what to not do, but that we cannot do that until everything is in our inbox. He is so right! We have reached a point in this crazy, busy world where so many people have too much to do, but can’t legitimately cut their lists because their overloaded lists still don’t have everything in them they should have.

So, what do you do when you have such a situation?

  • Stop relying on memory and start writing down (or capturing in voice notes, or both) every action item that pops into your head. Make a habit of this.
  • Spend some time doing a mindsweep. Dedicate a few hours to writing down everything that is in your head: projects, meta-projects, simple action items, ideas, feelings, and so on. I talk about mindsweeping in these articles: clearing the mind and doing a mindsweep

These are not foolproof ways of helping you get control of your inbox, so you can see what your true workload is. For example, writing down ideas and tasks is a habit for me, and has been for years, but there are still times when I miss something.

But these steps will carry you a lot closer to knowing what your workload really is, and then being able to manage it.

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  • Susan aka gasusan2005

    list pro!! :)
    My kids laugh at me… I have notepads (small yellow legal pads) everywhere….car, kitchen, bedside table, desk….so that I can jot things down so I don’t forget them…

    I have always written things down…so I don’t forget… and then add them to list pro or calendar when I get a chance!

  • http://www.billmyerscreations.com Bill Myers

    I question whether using one’s inbox appropriately and keeping it at or near zero are incompatible goals. An inbox is a great staging area for unprocessed “stuff” (as David Allen calls any inputs one hasn’t processed) but a very poor place for long-term retention, action reminders, etc.

    A lot of the inputs in my life don’t need to be in-boxed, anyway. Often an idea that comes into my head can be processed instantly, such as when I notice something that needs doing and whip out my PDA to capture it in the appropriate action list.

    Many of my in-boxes “quiet down” after hours, like e-mail and voicemail, so I can process those to zero at the end of the day. I also go through my moleskine every night before bed and process any “stuff” I’ve jotted down in there.

    I’m not trying to pick an argument. In fact, we may be saying the same thing but in slightly different ways. Still, thought I’d drop by and weigh in. :)

  • http://www.keenerliving.com/ Bruce

    Bill, as best as I can tell, we are saying pretty much the same things, not that that matters: having different views is a great way to learn from each other. But, I think we are in agreement that capturing stuff = essential and that having a completely empty inbox = an artificial rule, made up by someone who needs to have a lot of rules in their life.

  • http://www.billmyerscreations.com Bill Myers

    Bruce: “…I think we are in agreement that capturing stuff = essential and that having a completely empty inbox = an artificial rule…”

    If we’re using the term “inbox” the same way, then I don’t think we were in agreement. I don’t like to let things I’ve tossed into an inbox (or that arrive in an inbox by their very nature, like e-mail and voicemail) sit unprocessed for more than a day. If my inboxes pile up, I become numb to them and tend to ignore them.

    I re-read your post prior to writing this one. One sentence jumped out at me on the second reading: “If it helps give you a psychological boost that you need, similar to how one feels when the desk is finally clean, then it may be worth striving for.”

    Okay. Got it. NOW we’re in agreement.

    I have ADHD and tend to apply GTD fairly rigorously because I desperately need some sort of external structure (I don’t think that need is unique to ADHDers, but I believe we tend to need it *more*). I sometimes forget that GTD, like anything else, is a system of ideas and guidelines. They may work for some and not for others. I guess it doesn’t matter if you have a running list of 50 unanswered e-mails as long as the 50 you have this week aren’t the same ones you had two weeks ago! :) The “inbox to zero” approach works for me but that doesn’t mean it is universally needed.

    This is one of the reasons I like to come to this blog. Reading your posts often exposes for me assumptions I didn’t know I was making, and once exposed, they can be challenged. You have a (no pun intended) keen and logical mind, and I am grateful to you for sharing your gifts.

    I’ll strive to contribute new knowledge in future posts, rather than simply reiterating what you’ve already said (and said better). :)

  • http://www.keenerliving.com/ Bruce

    Hi Bill,
    Before I forget it, thank you so much for the compliments: very flattering.

    You are so right about the need for having a set of rules to guide us. GTD, implemented properly, will let us get stuff done “despite ourselves.” If you use the rules of GTD properly, it’s darned near impossible to not get stuff done.

    While I haven’t been officially diagnosed with ADHD (that would require that I see a doctor :) ), I sure have some of its symptoms. So, I should find the rules of GTD to be helpful to me, and they have been. One of my problems, though, actually a problem and a blessing, is that I have a bit of a rebellious streak: anytime I see a rule, I ask “why that rule, why is it needed, can I do without it, ….?” In other words, I have this deep internal belief that one can carry rules too far, and that it is ultimately better to think for oneself. This has been a characteristic that has served me well on occasion, and that has screwed me good on others. But, it’s the way I am wired. So, that’s why I rail against a rule every once in a while on this blog: I believe people should question things. Like I said, though, and as you pointed out very clearly, sometimes it’s just better to go with the rules because very often they work.

    Anywho, I am rambling now. Too many things on my mind, so I’ll close out by thanking you again.