Achieve inbox zero for your tasks each day. Not by doing more, but by using the mechanism of spaced repetition in a different way. Here we’re not trying to remember things. We’re actually trying to do the exact opposite. We’re going to be reminded of tasks in increasingly longer intervals until we eventually decide to do the task or archive it.
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When I see a task in the inbox (usually each morning) I will decide if this something that I need to do this week?
- If so and there is room for it, then great.
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If it doesn’t need to be done this week, when should I think about it again?
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I do weekly reflection and planning on Sunday, so my default answer is often then.
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If I’m not ready to do it, or I’m not sure it’s worth doing, I might schedule it for 2 Sundays from now.
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If it’s even less important than that then let’s go 4 weeks out.
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If it goes much more than that, then we might as well throw it in the Someday bucket or archive it.
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Similarly, if I have snoozed a task more than a couple of times, that is usually an indicator that there is something off about this task. Either it’s not important, I don’t understand it, or I’m scared of it for some reason.
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