Like the book says, my process for "getting IN to zero" takes one hour a day, every day. I have seasons though where ideas are flowing constantly (e.g. starting a new job), so of course, they need to get in the in-basket and be processed. Sometimes, though, I find myself weary of "all of the IN" that needs to be processed. Who experiences this and has thoughts/solutions? Is it just a season I have to acknowledge, create the space for, and get through?
Getting IN to zero sometimes takes me longer than 1 hr/day. Help.
- Thread starter tiffanyudenberg
- Start date
Oogiem
0
Happens to me a lot as well. I just try to keep at it, doing small bits as often as I can. When I get totally overwhelmed by new inputs I triage my inbox, heresy I know, but sorting out the I can't deal with this can help. I try to avoid doing that as it's double work but sometimes I just have to.
enyonam
0
Yup, been there too.
Sometimes the world just comes at me faster than 1 hour a day can handle.
I then make SURE I'm reserving the time to processing time - both at the end of the day (which is when I do my daily processing) and during my weekly review. I will put in an extra 30 minutes in the evening to keep up with the inbox when it gets like that because I just won't feel comfortable that I am doing the right things until my lists are mostly up-to-date by morning.
When it happens like that I also get super aggressive with delegating (and what I still have to improve on is deferring). That also stops things from piling up and gives me a bit more room to process versus doing work as it shows up or work from my lists.
I think it comes down to making sure you find the balance in the 3-fold nature of work. The processing percentage might just be higher for you right now so adjust the percentages of the other two types of work to compensate.
Cheers, Enyo
www.enyonam.com
Sometimes the world just comes at me faster than 1 hour a day can handle.
I then make SURE I'm reserving the time to processing time - both at the end of the day (which is when I do my daily processing) and during my weekly review. I will put in an extra 30 minutes in the evening to keep up with the inbox when it gets like that because I just won't feel comfortable that I am doing the right things until my lists are mostly up-to-date by morning.
When it happens like that I also get super aggressive with delegating (and what I still have to improve on is deferring). That also stops things from piling up and gives me a bit more room to process versus doing work as it shows up or work from my lists.
I think it comes down to making sure you find the balance in the 3-fold nature of work. The processing percentage might just be higher for you right now so adjust the percentages of the other two types of work to compensate.
Cheers, Enyo
www.enyonam.com
I totally understand what you're saying, Tiffany!
There are a couple of things I've started doing that have helped:
First, I used to dump all of the mail right in my inbox. Now, I dump it on the kitchen counter, sort it between family members, and open everything... before it goes into the inbox. I chuck out all the non-essential stuff and keep only what I need. I dump catalogs and other things that, in the past, I would have like to have read through, but now I know they just sit around gathering dust until they're out of date anyway... so out they go, too.
Any bills go immediately into my "Personal Bills" or "Business Bills" folders for payment later in the month. Anything to file goes in my "To File" stack (that someday I'll get to...
... I'm a little backlogged... but they don't go in my inbox). Everything else - often only a piece or two - goes into my inbox. Whew!
Second, I'll often pull the entire contents of my inbox, take it into another room (with my goodie bag of paperclips, stapler, pens, etc.) and process it there. The change in venue changes my attitude about it. There's a good chance I've been sitting at my desk too long and mentally I'm repulsed by my inbox.... but... ooooh... there's sunshine and a pot of tea waiting over there! I'm a big believer in changing venues... especially for weekly reviews, by the way.
And, finally, I've been listening to the Three-fold Nature of Work podcast with Julie Ireland. In it, Julie mentions it takes her about an hour and a half a day for "defining work"... and an hour of emptying your inbox sounds in line with that estimate.
I know sometimes it sucks. Can't say it doesn't, but I can say that the suckage is sooooo much worse on the second and third days of not processing your inbox.
Happy emptying!
Dena
There are a couple of things I've started doing that have helped:
First, I used to dump all of the mail right in my inbox. Now, I dump it on the kitchen counter, sort it between family members, and open everything... before it goes into the inbox. I chuck out all the non-essential stuff and keep only what I need. I dump catalogs and other things that, in the past, I would have like to have read through, but now I know they just sit around gathering dust until they're out of date anyway... so out they go, too.
Any bills go immediately into my "Personal Bills" or "Business Bills" folders for payment later in the month. Anything to file goes in my "To File" stack (that someday I'll get to...
... I'm a little backlogged... but they don't go in my inbox). Everything else - often only a piece or two - goes into my inbox. Whew!Second, I'll often pull the entire contents of my inbox, take it into another room (with my goodie bag of paperclips, stapler, pens, etc.) and process it there. The change in venue changes my attitude about it. There's a good chance I've been sitting at my desk too long and mentally I'm repulsed by my inbox.... but... ooooh... there's sunshine and a pot of tea waiting over there! I'm a big believer in changing venues... especially for weekly reviews, by the way.
And, finally, I've been listening to the Three-fold Nature of Work podcast with Julie Ireland. In it, Julie mentions it takes her about an hour and a half a day for "defining work"... and an hour of emptying your inbox sounds in line with that estimate.
I know sometimes it sucks. Can't say it doesn't, but I can say that the suckage is sooooo much worse on the second and third days of not processing your inbox.
Happy emptying!
Dena
I totally understand what you're saying, Tiffany!
There are a couple of things I've started doing that have helped:
First, I used to dump all of the mail right in my inbox. Now, I dump it on the kitchen counter, sort it between family members, and open everything... before it goes into the inbox. I chuck out all the non-essential stuff and keep only what I need. I dump catalogs and other things that, in the past, I would have like to have read through, but now I know they just sit around gathering dust until they're out of date anyway... so out they go, too.
Any bills go immediately into my "Personal Bills" or "Business Bills" folders for payment later in the month. Anything to file goes in my "To File" stack (that someday I'll get to...... I'm a little backlogged... but they don't go in my inbox). Everything else - often only a piece or two - goes into my inbox. Whew!
Second, I'll often pull the entire contents of my inbox, take it into another room (with my goodie bag of paperclips, stapler, pens, etc.) and process it there. The change in venue changes my attitude about it. There's a good chance I've been sitting at my desk too long and mentally I'm repulsed by my inbox.... but... ooooh... there's sunshine and a pot of tea waiting over there! I'm a big believer in changing venues... especially for weekly reviews, by the way.
And, finally, I've been listening to the Three-fold Nature of Work podcast with Julie Ireland. In it, Julie mentions it takes her about an hour and a half a day for "defining work"... and an hour of emptying your inbox sounds in line with that estimate.
I know sometimes it sucks. Can't say it doesn't, but I can say that the suckage is sooooo much worse on the second and third days of not processing your inbox.
Happy emptying!
Dena
There are a couple of things I've started doing that have helped:
First, I used to dump all of the mail right in my inbox. Now, I dump it on the kitchen counter, sort it between family members, and open everything... before it goes into the inbox. I chuck out all the non-essential stuff and keep only what I need. I dump catalogs and other things that, in the past, I would have like to have read through, but now I know they just sit around gathering dust until they're out of date anyway... so out they go, too.
Any bills go immediately into my "Personal Bills" or "Business Bills" folders for payment later in the month. Anything to file goes in my "To File" stack (that someday I'll get to...
... I'm a little backlogged... but they don't go in my inbox). Everything else - often only a piece or two - goes into my inbox. Whew!Second, I'll often pull the entire contents of my inbox, take it into another room (with my goodie bag of paperclips, stapler, pens, etc.) and process it there. The change in venue changes my attitude about it. There's a good chance I've been sitting at my desk too long and mentally I'm repulsed by my inbox.... but... ooooh... there's sunshine and a pot of tea waiting over there! I'm a big believer in changing venues... especially for weekly reviews, by the way.
And, finally, I've been listening to the Three-fold Nature of Work podcast with Julie Ireland. In it, Julie mentions it takes her about an hour and a half a day for "defining work"... and an hour of emptying your inbox sounds in line with that estimate.
I know sometimes it sucks. Can't say it doesn't, but I can say that the suckage is sooooo much worse on the second and third days of not processing your inbox.
Happy emptying!
Dena
Sorry there's a duplicate post... "database error" ... will send screen shot to The-Powers-That-Be (John F. 
)
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