{"id":1676,"date":"2009-06-14T09:03:49","date_gmt":"2009-06-14T17:03:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gtdtimes.com\/?p=1676"},"modified":"2009-06-14T09:03:49","modified_gmt":"2009-06-14T17:03:49","slug":"how-to-weed-wack-your-inbox-down-to-zero","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2009\/06\/how-to-weed-wack-your-inbox-down-to-zero\/","title":{"rendered":"How to weed wack your inbox down to zero"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you’ve ever tasted Inbox zero, you know there’s no going back. It’s a powerful reference point in mastering GTD.\u00a0 The key is knowing how you did it, and how to repeat it on a regular <\/strong>basis.<\/strong> (Yes, it’s not just about getting it there once–anyone can do that with Ctrl+A, Delete. )\u00a0 The answers are all in the GTD workflow diagram. Download a free copy here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The good news with the GTD model is that the thought process is the same no matter how something comes in (email, paper etc.) But since email plagues so many people, we’ll use that for our example.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

1. Open a new email.<\/p>\n

2. Ask yourself, “What is it<\/strong>?” and “Is it actionable<\/strong>?”<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0 If it’s NOT<\/span> Actionable, then delete it<\/strong>, store it<\/strong> in a Reference email folder, or incubate it <\/strong>on Someday\/Maybe if you think you’ll have action with it in the future.<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0 If it IS<\/span> <\/strong>Actionable and will take you multiple steps to complete, ask yourself, “What’s my desired outcome<\/strong>?” Track that outcome on a Projects list.<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0 Now ask yourself, “What’s my next<\/span> action<\/strong>?” Then you’ve got 3 choices:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Do it<\/strong> now (if it will take less than 2 minutes)<\/li>\n
  2. Delegate it<\/strong> now (if someone else can do it, track on Waiting For if you need to)<\/li>\n
  3. Defer it<\/strong> to a Next Action list or folder (if it will take longer than 2 minutes and store that email in a place (other than “In”) you know you can easily get back to when you need to take action.)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    If it’s got multiple next actions that can be done simultaneously, track each one of those. If you have “future actions” or dependencies, and this is a project, those can be stored with your project plans.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    If you’ve ever tasted Inbox zero, you know there’s no going back. It’s a powerful reference point in mastering GTD.\u00a0 The key is knowing how you did it, and how to repeat it on a regular basis. (Yes, it’s not just about getting it there once–anyone can do that with Ctrl+A, Delete. )\u00a0 The answers … <\/p>\n

    Continue reading “How to weed wack your inbox down to zero”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[88,136,137,545,562,563,564,565],"class_list":["post-1676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-productivity-tips","tag-organizing","tag-email","tag-empty-inbox","tag-workflow","tag-gtd-workflow-diagram","tag-inbox","tag-inbox-zero","tag-processing","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow to weed wack your inbox down to zero - Getting Things Done\u00ae<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2009\/06\/how-to-weed-wack-your-inbox-down-to-zero\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to weed wack your inbox down to zero\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If you’ve ever tasted Inbox zero, you know there’s no going back. It’s a powerful reference point in mastering GTD.\u00a0 The key is knowing how you did it, and how to repeat it on a regular basis. 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