During triage, scan surface indicators only — opening…

When This Fires

• During the 3-minute triage scan (Triage before processing) when tempted to "just quickly read" an interesting item
• When triage sessions consistently take 20+ minutes instead of 3 — you're reading, not scanning
• When designing your inbox interface to support triage (preview pane off, subject-line view)
• Complements Triage before processing (triage protocol) with the specific behavioral discipline that makes triage work

Common Failure Mode

The "just this one" exception: "I'll just quickly open this one email because it looks important." Opening leads to reading, reading leads to responding, responding leads to checking the reference, and triage is dead. The discipline must be absolute during the triage phase — no items opened, no exceptions.

The Protocol

(1) During triage, keep items closed. If using email, turn off the preview pane and view subject lines only. If using a physical inbox, flip through items reading only the first line. (2) For each item, classify based on surface indicators alone: Sender (boss = high priority, newsletter = low), Subject line (contains deadline or urgent language = urgent), Date (old items that haven't been addressed = potentially important). (3) If you can't classify an item from surface indicators alone, mark it as "high-value" (better to over-prioritize than under-prioritize) and move on. Do not open it to find out. (4) After the full triage scan (Triage before processing), switch to processing mode. Now you open items — but in priority order, not random order. (5) If you catch yourself reading during triage, stop immediately, close the item, and resume scanning. The 3-minute timer is your external enforcer.