Hey Carl, spot on as always. I tried not checking emails first thing for a while, horrible experience, nagging feeling of fomo until I processed them. I use your email system with an action today folder etc and it is perfect for me. Glad I checked my email first thing today as well because a politician from a faraway land wants me to move some money for him, great for slice of luck he chose me to help...
Great video! The way that I get around the 2 minute rule is that I only do the 2-minute tasks that actually have a due date. For the 2 minute tasks that don't have a due date, I just add them to my "Admin" project and get them done during Admin time (30 mins M/W/F).
You raise some interesting points in your very balanced and fair video. The not checking email first thing is a big one for me. I can see your perspective on this and agree to a point. However, I've had so many of my planned days torpedoed by emails that upon reflection, could have waited, but once I knew about them... I couldn't focus until I had dealt with them, ultimately not doing what I really wanted to get done that day! So, whilst I can see your point(s) about this, definitely respect and empathise with them, I still dislike having my day interrupted by other peoples agendas. :)
I do NOT check my email until about noon and again @ the end of the day as part of my workday shut down and it's served me well. The same goes for Social Media. AM is prime "Deep Work" time for me. I appreciate this is not possible for many people but if you're an "ADD" Creative / Entrepreneur type, you should check your Annual Goals & Weekly Plan etc., to connect with your priorities before checking others. YMMV.
I did try that for around two years, but in the end, found the distraction of wondering what was in there and if there was something important countered any benefits of not checking.
@@Carl_Pullein there is a middle road guys. Check email after 1-2 hours of waking up. First thing in the morning is giving away your time imo, but thats me as I have some morning rituals.
I believe in it and I do apply the "2 minutes rule". As you say It works for me. Rescheduling m@ils is something like "procrastinate". I´d never snooze m@ils. Great tips. Thanks.
*As we block time there should always be area for change & flexibility for any urgent or important task that we might have forgotten or appears out of nowhere*
Absolutely, Zeel, I will always keep 15 to 30 mins between my blocks. Admin and communication time towards the end of the day I tend to group together.
The idea behind the 2 minute rule is if something takes less than 2 minutes and you actually want to and are going to it, just from an efficiency viewpoint. It takes more than 2 minutes to write it down and on a later date remind yourself what was this item about. David has said on many occasions it depends on the time available. Sometimes it's the 30 second rule. Sometimes it's the 15 minute rule.
Hi Lauri, apologies, my point here was specifically with email. There are tow parts to email processing and doing and when you mix the two, your inbox never gets clear and rapidly becomes overwhelming.
Hi Carl, Snoozing email is touching something more than once. 2 main rule is great for actions - email replies can be chunked into an email reply block.
Always give yourself buffer time and the calender is not fixed you can change and more things but it dose give you a plan you just manage variance in the plan.
The reason I check my email first thing every morning is that the company I work for is based half in the US and half in India. The only time our work hours overlap is early in the morning.
Indeed! I never understood this microblocking either. It's probably all inspired by Elon Musk and Bill Gates, who supposedly use "timeboxing" in their calendars. So they structure their entire day in 15- or 20-minute blocks. But people always forget that these people have a big team behind them that does the rest of the time management ;) I would move blocks around all the time! I think it's a good idea to use timeblocking, but then only reserve the fixed blocks and leave the rest free for the things that are unpredictable or just as a buffer.
I have come up with my own email system. My default view in outlook in a folder which includes my sent email and inbox. At any time there are about 80-100 items from the last 5 days or so. Then I do a search on a client/subject name and it produces about 5-6 email items. I can then deal with them in one go. Dealing with every email individually as they come in wold be very inefficient. I try not to stress about clients waiting a couple of days for a response. Dealt emails are printed onto a pdf document and moved out from my default folder. I use yellow and pink colours for emails that are older to keep me in check and make sure I dont delay too much. Also, I set a send-delay to any non-urgent emails to 3pm. Otherwise I am sure to get a response before the end of the day which feels like I am back to square one.
I use the snooze for when I'm waiting on a reply and I determine that the reply needs to come on X days or I'll send another follow up email. So the snooze reminds me of that.
Ooh, that could be symptomatic of a deeper problem. Why do you not trust people will come back to you? Who's not reliably responding to your emails? Is it the way you are writing your emails? Sending "follow up" emails often means there are issues elsewhere in your system, Dani.
@@Carl_Pullein I would say that depends on your role (just my opinion for what it's worth!). I manage hundreds of people and although I try to get to know as many people as possible, it would be impossible to know everyone. They might have gone off sick for example. In the majority of cases this wouldn't matter as I have managers who would let me know, but there will be times when things don't go to plan. I actually don't use snooze, as I have a follow up system in my task manager, but I suppose I could see it working for some people.
@@PlayerWellKnown Is it possible to actively manage 100 people directly? That task in itself would take up a lot more than the 24 hours we have available each day. Essentially, as you say, the managers are managing the majority of the team and will highlight any issues as, and when they see fit based on criteria, you presumably have control over. As I say, it's often a symptom of a deeper issue that needs resolving first if you have an overloaded waiting for folder. Why are so many people not getting back to you in a timely manner?
@@Carl_Pullein @Carl Pullein Hi Carl, as I say, the snoozing isn't something I use, I'm more thinking there might be some use cases for some people. Like you point out, these things might work for some people. By the way, something I've never said in a comment, I loved the time sector system, I've purchased most of your courses now and I've learnt loads. Thanks very much!
A lot of productivity techniques all to walked in are really great and certain specialized situations I can create some stress for people that are not in the specialized situations... Though because a lot of these become like religious Doctrine, the discussion usually devolves into "you're just not using it right!" Instead of "that tool may not be right for your situation".
For me, all of the tips mentioned here, are just excuses for not doing the work, or in the case of the two-minute rule an excuse to do the easy work so you don't have to do the hard work.
"Just deal with it." So true! THIS is my main problem-I just move things around without actually dealing with it. Will now use Apple Mail only to not get lost in all bells and whistles, and have a special folder called "act on today".
The piece about the 2 minute rule is not quite correct. You've not 'lost' 20 minutes by processing 10 2 minute emails because not all of those will be actionable or contain actions. The 2 minute rule applies to the execution of tasks, not the clarifying/organising/reflecting steps of GTD. By this point in the GTD workflow you've already identified what emails require action/delegation/archive/trash - which is actually what you imply replaces the 2 min rule. Clearing your inboxes in GTD (email or otherwise) is deciding what the undifferentiated stuff/input is, it is not 'doing' every email as if it were a task. The point of the 2 min rule is that it's pointless to go through the processing workflow because you can do the action by the time you've processed, parked, tracked etc the action. If you move 10 2 minute emails to a folder or a list to action later, you've actually lost time there because you could have just done them instead of moving them around, no?
Hi Ian, What I meant is the task you are doing is "clearing your inbox", which means if you stop clearing and deal with any two-minute email or task (which in my experience rarely is a two-minute task because of the cognitive transfer cost). Two-minute tasks rarely enter the system anyway as they are held in the inbox until you have an appropriate time to do them.
Hey Carl, spot on as always. I tried not checking emails first thing for a while, horrible experience, nagging feeling of fomo until I processed them. I use your email system with an action today folder etc and it is perfect for me.
Glad I checked my email first thing today as well because a politician from a faraway land wants me to move some money for him, great for slice of luck he chose me to help...
Hahaha great point, Gary.
Great video! The way that I get around the 2 minute rule is that I only do the 2-minute tasks that actually have a due date. For the 2 minute tasks that don't have a due date, I just add them to my "Admin" project and get them done during Admin time (30 mins M/W/F).
That's a great way of managing it, Hugo.
You raise some interesting points in your very balanced and fair video. The not checking email first thing is a big one for me. I can see your perspective on this and agree to a point. However, I've had so many of my planned days torpedoed by emails that upon reflection, could have waited, but once I knew about them... I couldn't focus until I had dealt with them, ultimately not doing what I really wanted to get done that day! So, whilst I can see your point(s) about this, definitely respect and empathise with them, I still dislike having my day interrupted by other peoples agendas. :)
Hi Robin, it’s all about finding ways that work best for you and obviously, you’ve found a good way for you.
I do NOT check my email until about noon and again @ the end of the day as part of my workday shut down and it's served me well. The same goes for Social Media. AM is prime "Deep Work" time for me. I appreciate this is not possible for many people but if you're an "ADD" Creative / Entrepreneur type, you should check your Annual Goals & Weekly Plan etc., to connect with your priorities before checking others. YMMV.
I did try that for around two years, but in the end, found the distraction of wondering what was in there and if there was something important countered any benefits of not checking.
@@Carl_Pullein there is a middle road guys. Check email after 1-2 hours of waking up. First thing in the morning is giving away your time imo, but thats me as I have some morning rituals.
@@nastied Absolutely. It's always about finding the best way for you.
Hey Carl. Great review of popular advice that is not effective. Thank You! 👍
You're very welcome.
I can’t wait to use the productivity tips in my life! 💫 Keep rising to be who you want to be! 💫 #keeprising #risingtobe #aswerise
Absolutely.
I believe in it and I do apply the "2 minutes rule". As you say It works for me.
Rescheduling m@ils is something like "procrastinate". I´d never snooze m@ils.
Great tips. Thanks.
You're welcome, Alejandro.
*As we block time there should always be area for change & flexibility for any urgent or important task that we might have forgotten or appears out of nowhere*
Absolutely, Zeel, I will always keep 15 to 30 mins between my blocks. Admin and communication time towards the end of the day I tend to group together.
I completely agree. Thank you so much for your suggestions.
You're welcome, Davide.
The idea behind the 2 minute rule is if something takes less than 2 minutes and you actually want to and are going to it, just from an efficiency viewpoint. It takes more than 2 minutes to write it down and on a later date remind yourself what was this item about. David has said on many occasions it depends on the time available. Sometimes it's the 30 second rule. Sometimes it's the 15 minute rule.
Hi Lauri, apologies, my point here was specifically with email. There are tow parts to email processing and doing and when you mix the two, your inbox never gets clear and rapidly becomes overwhelming.
@@Carl_Pullein Agree with this.
Another sane and practical video!
Thank you, John.
Hi Carl,
Snoozing email is touching something more than once.
2 main rule is great for actions - email replies can be chunked into an email reply block.
That's true.
Always give yourself buffer time and the calender is not fixed you can change and more things but it dose give you a plan you just manage variance in the plan.
Absolutely, Jane. I agree with that.
The reason I check my email first thing every morning is that the company I work for is based half in the US and half in India. The only time our work hours overlap is early in the morning.
I think that's the reason I check it too, Jim.
Indeed! I never understood this microblocking either. It's probably all inspired by Elon Musk and Bill Gates, who supposedly use "timeboxing" in their calendars. So they structure their entire day in 15- or 20-minute blocks.
But people always forget that these people have a big team behind them that does the rest of the time management ;)
I would move blocks around all the time! I think it's a good idea to use timeblocking, but then only reserve the fixed blocks and leave the rest free for the things that are unpredictable or just as a buffer.
Indeed. I think you're right. It does come from those people.
I allocate about an hour a day for all my 2-minute tasks.
That's a good approach, Naveen
Very helpful tips. I agree with all of them!
Glad you liked it, Thomas.
I have come up with my own email system. My default view in outlook in a folder which includes my sent email and inbox. At any time there are about 80-100 items from the last 5 days or so. Then I do a search on a client/subject name and it produces about 5-6 email items. I can then deal with them in one go. Dealing with every email individually as they come in wold be very inefficient. I try not to stress about clients waiting a couple of days for a response. Dealt emails are printed onto a pdf document and moved out from my default folder. I use yellow and pink colours for emails that are older to keep me in check and make sure I dont delay too much. Also, I set a send-delay to any non-urgent emails to 3pm. Otherwise I am sure to get a response before the end of the day which feels like I am back to square one.
Sounds like a good system, Mike.
Another great and very practical video.
Thanks, Rob.
Very helpful video Carl.
You're welcome, Mike
I use the snooze for when I'm waiting on a reply and I determine that the reply needs to come on X days or I'll send another follow up email. So the snooze reminds me of that.
Ooh, that could be symptomatic of a deeper problem. Why do you not trust people will come back to you? Who's not reliably responding to your emails? Is it the way you are writing your emails? Sending "follow up" emails often means there are issues elsewhere in your system, Dani.
@@Carl_Pullein That's very true, Carl. I feel it's a mix of things. Thank you a lot of your insightful reply.
@@Carl_Pullein I would say that depends on your role (just my opinion for what it's worth!). I manage hundreds of people and although I try to get to know as many people as possible, it would be impossible to know everyone. They might have gone off sick for example. In the majority of cases this wouldn't matter as I have managers who would let me know, but there will be times when things don't go to plan. I actually don't use snooze, as I have a follow up system in my task manager, but I suppose I could see it working for some people.
@@PlayerWellKnown Is it possible to actively manage 100 people directly? That task in itself would take up a lot more than the 24 hours we have available each day. Essentially, as you say, the managers are managing the majority of the team and will highlight any issues as, and when they see fit based on criteria, you presumably have control over.
As I say, it's often a symptom of a deeper issue that needs resolving first if you have an overloaded waiting for folder. Why are so many people not getting back to you in a timely manner?
@@Carl_Pullein @Carl Pullein Hi Carl, as I say, the snoozing isn't something I use, I'm more thinking there might be some use cases for some people. Like you point out, these things might work for some people. By the way, something I've never said in a comment, I loved the time sector system, I've purchased most of your courses now and I've learnt loads. Thanks very much!
A lot of productivity techniques all to walked in are really great and certain specialized situations I can create some stress for people that are not in the specialized situations...
Though because a lot of these become like religious Doctrine, the discussion usually devolves into "you're just not using it right!" Instead of "that tool may not be right for your situation".
For me, all of the tips mentioned here, are just excuses for not doing the work, or in the case of the two-minute rule an excuse to do the easy work so you don't have to do the hard work.
All of this "problems" are obvious for me :-) I hope that's good 😄
It is, Maikeru.
"Just deal with it." So true! THIS is my main problem-I just move things around without actually dealing with it. Will now use Apple Mail only to not get lost in all bells and whistles, and have a special folder called "act on today".
That's a good move, Tomas.
The piece about the 2 minute rule is not quite correct. You've not 'lost' 20 minutes by processing 10 2 minute emails because not all of those will be actionable or contain actions.
The 2 minute rule applies to the execution of tasks, not the clarifying/organising/reflecting steps of GTD. By this point in the GTD workflow you've already identified what emails require action/delegation/archive/trash - which is actually what you imply replaces the 2 min rule.
Clearing your inboxes in GTD (email or otherwise) is deciding what the undifferentiated stuff/input is, it is not 'doing' every email as if it were a task.
The point of the 2 min rule is that it's pointless to go through the processing workflow because you can do the action by the time you've processed, parked, tracked etc the action. If you move 10 2 minute emails to a folder or a list to action later, you've actually lost time there because you could have just done them instead of moving them around, no?
Hi Ian, What I meant is the task you are doing is "clearing your inbox", which means if you stop clearing and deal with any two-minute email or task (which in my experience rarely is a two-minute task because of the cognitive transfer cost). Two-minute tasks rarely enter the system anyway as they are held in the inbox until you have an appropriate time to do them.