Associated Tasks / Chain Reaction Distraction

[rkthunga]

I have a question on how some of you all are dealing with 'associated tasks' a.k.a 'rabbit trails'. By this I mean tasks that get 'triggered' when doing a task. For example, calling the post-office triggers me to send a letter which triggers me to pack up my christmas gifts.

I've tried following the 2-minute rule, which works well sometimes. However, the following things occur:

-The associated task triggers another associated task, and becomes a chain reaction leading me off track.

-The associated tasks are too numerous to get into my next action list. It seems like a bunch of 30sec to 1min actions strung together sometimes.

-The associated tasks are actually a prerequisite for the task that I hadn't thought of, and my next action completely changes.

I guess the bottom line is, in addition to the 2-minute rule:
-How to make a decision whether to follow an 'associated task'?
-How far do we follow an 'associated task'?
-What are ways to stop ourselves from getting caught up in an 'associated task' sequence?

Thanks for your help.