Saturday, September 12, 2009

The Two Minute Rule

Once you have something in your inbox, the next question is, "What to do with it?"

If the item can be resolved within two minutes (more or less) then just act on it immediately.

For example, when you get a telephone call describing a situation it can almost always be immediately handled by another telephone call or email. There is no need to jot anything down or schedule anything for later. Just do it NOW!

I find that probably 50% of the stuff in my inboxes can be resolved with the two minute rule. It might take me an hour a day to work through all these little items with little, seemingly, to show for it. But, all those little to-do items are gone forever and my mind is free for the more substantive work ahead.

1 comment:

  1. As another David Allen convert, I highly recommend the system and think it is a great idea for attorneys to adopt.

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