Ever seen the bottom of your in-box?

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david_allen1.jpgMid to senior-level executives have an astonishing amount of STUFF thrown at them every day and it can take as much as 90 minutes every day just to identify and categorize the work to be done. Let alone actually get it done. In the knowledge economy, new skills are needed to accurately process the constant flow of information.

Ever seen the bottom of your in-box? Flushed out the voice mails from your cell phone? And your business line? And your personal email? You probably have no fewer than four different ways people try to reach you every day. David Allen, author of Getting Things Done, has a few tips to finally find the bottom of your in-box.

First, just define the message – What is this message? Then you can choose an action to respond, toss it, tickle it, or file it.

  • Is it actionable?
  • Trash?
  • Need to incubate?
  • Waiting on another contributor?
  • Is it reference material?

David recommends that if you can do it in two minutes or less? Do it. See if you can find the bottom of your in-box. Good luck! Also check out Tim Sanders on Email Etiquette and Email Management.