The new year will soon be upon us. 2009 already! If you're one for making resolutions, and one of those resolutions typically involves getting organized, and you have a copy of Getting Things Done or some other getting-organized book piled in your inbox, perhaps it's time for a new strategy. Ditch your inbox.
I know it sounds crazy but friends swear by the technique. Most organization gurus will tell you that you should "touch" every piece of paper that comes to your desk only once: file it, delegate it or deal with it, but don't open it up, glance at it and then put it back in the envelope. You're just wasting time because you'll do the same thing again later. (And again, and again, until you get a late notice for that bill.)
An inbox provides an enormous amount of temptation to do just that, though. And it lets you pile things pretty high with those straight sides. If you don't have an inbox you'll be much less tempted to defer dealing with the day's paperwork. One friend found that at first it ended up piling up even worse, but that scared him straight and he never let it happen again.
Of course, be sure to have your files in order before you start this project so you have somewhere to file everything …
Photo credit: Laure Wayaffe
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