Clarify
Decide once what each item is and what it needs. Clarifying turns "stuff" into decisions, so you never read the same item twice wondering what it means.
On this page
Ask two questions#
For each item in the Inbox:
- Is it something to do? If not, trash it, or keep it as a note in a project.
- What is the very next step? If it takes a minute or two, do it now and complete it. Otherwise give it a home: that is the next move, Place.
If the item is really an outcome with several steps ("Paint the bedroom"), it is a project: create one, and make the first step its first task.
Process the Inbox#
Press g p (or Process in the Inbox header) to see one item at a time with one key per decision: c complete, t today, s schedule, m move to a project, a delegate, y Someday, l add a context label, Delete trash. See Process the Inbox.
How often#
Once a day keeps the Inbox small; the Daily check reminds you. An Inbox at zero is a good feeling, but the point is that nothing in it is undecided for long.