Frequently asked questions about thinking, epistemology, and cognitive tools. 1214 answers
Every piece of information needs a decision — act on it, store it, or discard it.
Every piece of information needs a decision — act on it, store it, or discard it.
Every piece of information needs a decision — act on it, store it, or discard it.
Every piece of information needs a decision — act on it, store it, or discard it.
Choose one inbox — email, physical mail, a notes app, a read-it-later queue, whatever has the most accumulated items. Set a timer for 25 minutes. Go through each item top to bottom and make exactly one decision per item: act on it now (if it takes less than two minutes), schedule a specific time.
Confusing reading with processing. You scan through your inbox, your notes, your bookmarks, and you feel like you have dealt with them because you have seen them. But seeing is not deciding. Each time you look at an item without making a decision, you pay the cognitive cost of re-engaging with it.
Every piece of information needs a decision — act on it, store it, or discard it.
Information you might need later goes into a searchable reference system.
Information you might need later goes into a searchable reference system.
Information you might need later goes into a searchable reference system.
Information you might need later goes into a searchable reference system.
Information you might need later goes into a searchable reference system.
Conduct a reference filing audit and build your initial system. Step 1: Gather every place you currently store reference information — your notes app, your email, your bookmarks, your desktop folders, your physical files, your phone photos, your browser tabs, your 'save for later' lists. List them.
The most common failure is building a filing system optimized for input rather than retrieval. You create an elaborate folder hierarchy — twelve top-level categories, each with four subcategories, each with nested sub-subcategories — and you spend three minutes deciding where each new item.
Information you might need later goes into a searchable reference system.
Information that requires action goes into your task management system.
Information that requires action goes into your task management system.
Information that requires action goes into your task management system.
Information that requires action goes into your task management system.
Information that requires action goes into your task management system.
Information that requires action goes into your task management system.
Build or audit your action filing system in five steps. Step 1: Identify every place where actionable information currently lives — your email inbox, sticky notes, mental reminders, text messages, Slack threads, notebook margins, browser tabs you kept open as reminders. List them all. Step 2:.
The most common failure is using your inbox as your task manager. You leave emails marked unread as a reminder to respond. You keep Slack messages unresolved as a signal to follow up. You leave browser tabs open because each one represents something you need to do. The result is that your.
Information that requires action goes into your task management system.