Triage before processing

When This Fires

• At the start of any inbox processing session (email, physical inbox, notifications)
• When returning from a break or vacation to a large backlog
• When the inbox feels overwhelming and you don't know where to start
• Complements Process inboxes sequentially top-to-bottom, never… (sequential processing) by establishing priority order before the sequential pass

Common Failure Mode

Triage-as-processing: opening and reading items during the scan phase. You intended to sort for 3 minutes but started reading a compelling email, then replied, then read another — 30 minutes later, you've processed 5 items reactively without ever scanning the full landscape. The time-critical item at position 40 is still unseen.

The Protocol

(1) Set a 3-minute timer. (2) Scan all items in the inbox by surface indicators only: sender name, subject line, date received. Do not open, read, or respond to any item. (3) As you scan, mentally or physically sort each item into four categories: Urgent + high-value (needs response within hours, high-stakes sender or topic), High-value (important but not time-critical), Low-value (routine, can wait), Discard (newsletters, notifications, irrelevant). (4) When the timer ends, stop scanning. Process items in category order: all urgent-high-value first, then high-value, then low-value. Discard items are archived/deleted in bulk. (5) The 3-minute scan ensures you've seen the full landscape before committing attention to any single item, preventing the tunnel-vision failure of processing the first item for 20 minutes while a time-bomb sits at position 50.