What type of physical inbox do you use?

kiteracer

kiteracer

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In the market for a new inbox, but nothing seems to be catching my eye. 90% of them are either made of plastic or wire mesh which is outside of my “taste” range. I put a lot of effort into my office desk setup, wouldn’t want to sully it with a cheap inbox! It would need to be side-loading and either stackable or already stacked with 3-4 trays. Honestly, I might just go with 3 or 4 of the stackable wood ones that Victor makes. But even those seem really pricey for what they are (about $50/each). Not sure if I’m ready to make a $150-200 commitment for a multi-tier desk tray.

What do YOU use as your inbox? I’m in need of some ideas.
 
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gtdstudente

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kiteracer said:
In the market for a new inbox, but nothing seems to be catching my eye. 90% of them are either made of plastic or wire mesh which is outside of my “taste” range. I put a lot of effort into my office desk setup, wouldn’t want to sully it with a cheap inbox! It would need to be side-loading and either stackable or already stacked with 3-4 trays. Honestly, I might just go with 3 or 4 of the stackable wood ones that Victor makes. But even those seem really pricey for what they are (about $50/each). Not sure if I’m ready to make a $150-200 commitment for a multi-tier desk tray.

What do YOU use as your inbox? I’m in need of some ideas.
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One Inexpensive Clear Plastic back-up "No Thinking" Tray . . . and Five Inexpensive Plastic "What It Is" Areas-of-FOCUS Colored Strays to Process from while in "Area-of-Focus Mode' for easier Processing . . . Yes!
 
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kiteracer

kiteracer

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gtdstudente said:
One Clear back-up "No Thinking" Tray . . . and Five "What It Is" Areas-of-FOCUS Colored Strays to Process from while in "Area-of-Focus Mode' for easier Processing . . . Yes!
Click to expand...
Six total trays — now THAT’S commitment! Do you keep them stacked or separate?
 
R

rbrt

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I bought 4 of these and find them working quite well, but unfortunately they’re wire mesh.

Couldn’t find any others of proper size and orientation and got used to the visual.

I use the top one for In, the second one for file folders to collect things to file, or to hand over to colleagues, the third for Waiting For Support and Next Action Support, and the bottom one for tools, cables, things to park for a short while.


However, if I found really nice trays, I’d pay 50€ every day.

Best
 
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gtdstudente

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kiteracer said:
Six total trays — now THAT’S commitment! Do you keep them stacked or separate?
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Kiteracer,

With all due respect . . .

All of Life's Concerns for anything thing Life can 'throw' at one 'under' Five Areas-of-FOCUS sounds absolutely amazing on this end . . . happy pinching self in saying YES !

Six physical inboxes To REDUCE Commitment-Friction for Increased-Flow . . . sometimes Stacked . . . sometimes Unstacked . . . just keep it freshly helpful
 
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kiteracer

kiteracer

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rbrt said:
I bought 4 of these and find them working quite well, but unfortunately they’re wire mesh.

Couldn’t find any others of proper size and orientation and got used to the visual.

I use the top one for In, the second one for file folders to collect things to file, or to hand over to colleagues, the third for Waiting For Support and Next Action Support, and the bottom one for tools, cables, things to park for a short while.


However, if I found really nice trays, I’d pay 50€ every day.

Best
Click to expand...
You might be right about paying for quality. I might snoop around eBay to look for a nice vintage stackable. What they say about older things being “made to last” has some merit.
 
R

rbrt

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René Lie said:
Not too crazy about wire mesh myself, but as I was keen on boxed with an opening on the long side, I swallowed my pride and opted for four of these from IKEA:

https://www.ikea.com/no/no/p/droenjoens-brevkurv-hvit-10428718/
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Tried those myself, but at least in Germany they’re exactly A4, and thus too small for A4 envelopes or other things slightly larger. That’s why I moved to the trays from Osco in the end; they allow for easy input and retrieval.
 
C

cfoley

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Is someone in your life a skilled joiner or cabinet maker? Ask them to help you design the perfect one and pay them to make it for you. You'll feel good about the money you spent and will remember them every day when you use it.
 
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Matt_M

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To be honest, I had a similar thought a few weeks ago about wanting to consolidate my desk space a bit more (less strays, stack them, etc.). However, I then realized that I will probably be getting rid of all of my physical trays entirely in the next couple of months.

I'd rather go paperless and either use my digital tools for all of my capture or just put an iPad in that space on my desk to take ad-hoc notes. I would rather have less stuff on my desk in general, have everything be mobile/available anywhere, and using less paper in general is just the right thing to do for the planet and human species. Every single little step we can take/do to help is a step in the right direction.

I would seriously recommend considering not even using physical trays or if you must, just a single one for your inbox.

In fact, if you don't use any tray and just have an "inbox" pile on your desk then it really motivates you to process it down to zero everyday because it looks just terrible to have a stack of "stuff" on your desk. Though this may be too extreme for some folks or backfire if it's not a "disgusting" sight for most people.
 
C

cfoley

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Matt_M said:
using less paper in general is just the right thing to do for the planet and human species.
Click to expand...

I haven't done the calculations or researched in depth, but I don't think that this is a no-brainer. I especially don't think that a digital solution is obviously more environmentally friendly than a paper one.

Matt_M said:
In fact, if you don't use any tray and just have an "inbox" pile on your desk then it really motivates you to process it down to zero everyday
Click to expand...

I tried this and my experience is that the pile tends to spread around the desk. The line between my inbox and my other materials becomes blurred. Your mileage may vary.
 
bcmyers2112

bcmyers2112

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I use an old litter box. Actually, I just use a cheap plastic tray on top of a stack of four other cheap plastic trays. A couple have had to have cracks super-glued. Fancy? No. But it works for me. They're apparently strong enough to hold a seven pound cat, based on a quality test performed by the cat himself.
 
mickdodge

mickdodge

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kiteracer said:
What do YOU use as your inbox? I’m in need of some ideas.
Click to expand...
I like all things wood (desk, chair, bookshelf, etc), so I splurged and bought one of these about two years ago as my physical inbox on my desk:

https://www.levenger.com/collections/shelves-storage/products/cubi-drawer-single

ad10485_cubi_bookcase_single_drawers_CH_s1_2440x.jpg


It's held up surprisingly well considering the heavy things I sometimes stack up in it.
 
dtj

dtj

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Taking a cue from my email archive, I have used the KISS principle and have one 6ish inch plastic tote that fits on the shelf right behind my desk. That's where all the physical detritus goes, that needs to be figured out later. When it overflows, I go through it and throw away that which is no longer of value, perhaps split out some specific stuff that needs to be filed, and the rest goes back in the tote. Example of no longer needed stuff: 6 month old Best Buy receipts that contain only non-asset purchases. I split out things like legit memorabilia (ie. grad invites, bday cards, etc) and put them in a separate permanent memorabilia tote. Putting that stuff in the inbox and having it sit there for 3 months saves processing time, until it finds its permanent home. Just get it the hell of my desk.

Relating to my email archive, one big pile is much more efficient than 30 exquisitely curated small pile, considering the likelihood of my looking for the stuff later is nearly nil.
 
kiteracer

kiteracer

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On a whim I searched eBay for “GTD desk tray” and one search result popped up. This thing is almost perfect, not sure how I feel about blue faux leather though. I’m gonna reach out to the seller and see if they’d be willing to sell 4 trays.

www.ebay.com

Letter Desk Tray Set Blue Leather 3-Tier Side-Load / Perfect For GTD David Allen 718103283649 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Letter Desk Tray Set Blue Leather 3-Tier Side-Load / Perfect For GTD David Allen at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
www.ebay.com
 
LoraS

LoraS

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kiteracer said:
In the market for a new inbox, but nothing seems to be catching my eye. 90% of them are either made of plastic or wire mesh which is outside of my “taste” range. I put a lot of effort into my office desk setup, wouldn’t want to sully it with a cheap inbox! It would need to be side-loading and either stackable or already stacked with 3-4 trays. Honestly, I might just go with 3 or 4 of the stackable wood ones that Victor makes. But even those seem really pricey for what they are (about $50/each). Not sure if I’m ready to make a $150-200 commitment for a multi-tier desk tray.

What do YOU use as your inbox? I’m in need of some ideas.
Click to expand...
I finally bit the bullet and got the Victor trays. They are SO worth the money! Very sturdy, lots of space and stackable. I got 3 and was so in love that I ordered more. A couple even came chipped from shipping and they replaced them, no questions asked. I recently had to move my desk to a more cramped area and I sprung for the printer stand. Amazing quality! I can say that if you invest in them, you won't need to get any others ever again.
 
G

Gardener

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Do they need to stack?

I have a shallow shelf with three shallow 5 X 11 X 13 felt baskets from Target going across it. They seem to be out of stock, but the same things in other sizes are in stock, so they might come back?

I like the ability to grab the soft, un-fragile basket and take it wherever I want it to sort it out.
 
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