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May 10, 2006

Two piles are better than one

As I was reading through an article on managing email in an Outlook environment written by GTDer Richard Kuo, what stuck out most for me was the fact that he had hinted at what I consider one of the most powerful coaching tools available. He says:

Decide whether each e-mail needs to be acted on, and either move it to Action Required or Reference as necessary.

Essentially he's suggesting two simple buckets for your emails instead of one. Deceptively simply, the following question often proves a critical coaching question when a client is knee-deep in processing their inbox:

Is it actionable?

Too often it's easier to shuffle around the various reminders and commitments in our world. (i.e. Ever found yourself changing the due date on a task in a robotic way?) Even when it's all collected in an inbox it can seem easier to rotate the stacks rather than pick away at them. At some point it comes down to a yes or no answer, and I was refreshed by the way this blogger suggests people take the first stab at inbox-emptiness by putting a clear line between pile 1 and pile 2.

What's a reasonable "first-stab" you could be taking towards your objective now?

Posted by Lisa at May 10, 2006 10:23 PM

Comments

Posted by: Joel at May 11, 2006 04:42 PM