#The secret weapon gtd evernote archive#

Why? Every time you visually scan through these hundred (thousand? ten thousand?) emails, youвЂ™re using up brain power, brain cycles, concentration, and focus, all which we have in a finite amount.

Having all of these varied items comingled in one list-that is typically sorted chronologically and glanced at many times each day-is a recipe for stress. I may just want to be reminded to pursue the concept, or IвЂ™m just afraid IвЂ™ll forget the idea if I archive/delete it.

#The secret weapon gtd evernote archive#

вЂњSticky ItemsвЂќ: Emails that I canвЂ™t explain why I donвЂ™t save them to an archive folder, or delete them.Once I read it, IвЂ™ll then remove it from the Inbox. Read/Review Items: Emails that I want to read when I get the time (right).I leave the email in the Inbox because the person hasnвЂ™t replied. Waiting Items: Emails I have responded to and am now waiting for a reply.I canвЂ™t remove the email from the Inbox because the to-do still needs to be done. Action Items: Things I need to do that originated as an email.

The email Inbox typically is reserved as a depository for four types of items: Think about your own system for a moment, and in particular about your Inbox. On the contrary, itвЂ™s a surefire way to a life of confusion, stress and mismanaged time. We doubt anyone finds this a recipe for organization and clear thinking. We personally know people with thousands of emails in their Inbox, each one there because of some uncompleted thought, some action still needed, or some other unclear reason.

In particular, many people use (or more accurately, misuse) their email Inbox to hold a lot of unfinished business. Most have them scattered across different parts of their life: the Inbox, a calendar, a piece of paper in their purse, and a ton of things left bouncing around their head. In virtually every case, most people donвЂ™t have a single depository for all of their pending actions. WeвЂ™ve asked many people to describe their вЂњsystem,вЂќ and get answers like вЂњIf it is important, I print it out, and put it in my purseвЂќ or вЂњI keep most of my to-dos in my headвЂќ or вЂњif it is an email I keep it in my Inbox to remind me, otherwise, I put reminders in my calendar, or make sticky notes for my computer screen.вЂќ YouвЂ™re not just вЂњa studentвЂќ or вЂњa father.вЂќ YouвЂ™re also someone who has to вЂњstay in shape,вЂќ вЂњlearn French for Paris trip next year,вЂќ and вЂњremodel basement.вЂќДЇrom what weвЂ™ve seen, using oneвЂ™s Inbox for storing hundreds - if not thousands - of emails as unfinished to-dos is a recipe for confusion, stress, and mismanaged time. Whether you are the CEO of a conglomerate, a college student, a start-up entrepreneur, or a family manager, you have tasks to do across a broad spectrum of responsibilities. To add to the complexity of this, everyone manages multiple roles. So we each kludge together a system to track all that we juggle in life, from those little things we need to accomplish today, to appointments, to items we need to remember to pick up downtown, to those larger projects in the coming months and then those larger, grander dreams we want to fulfill someday.

Invariably, we begin to collect enough pending items that we seek to organize them in some fashion. During high school and college we have further demands thrust upon us as we gain specific interests, hobbies and passions, and as our social calendar begins to fill. From the time we are small, we are given tasks to perform, starting with вЂњmake your bed,вЂќ вЂњclean your room,вЂќ вЂњtake out the trash,вЂќ and вЂњbe nice to your sister.вЂќ Once we attend school, those requests begin to increase as we are assigned homework and projects to complete.