[PODCAST 299]: Every Item Has a Home: The 8 Questions That Organize Everything

Learn | Do | Become

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Our signature program, Steps to Everyday Productivity, helps you build a simple system to organize everything in your life–projects, tasks, goals, routines, paperwork, email, and all the “stuff” in your physical, digital, and mental space. When you organize your MIND, your space naturally follows!

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We’d love to have you join us as we go through the STEP program together! If you have any questions at all, please send a message to email (at) learndobecome.com and we’ll get back to you shortly!

In today’s podcast, I’m going to take you through a real-time inbox processing session. I’m using our 8 STEP Processing questions, detailed below, and these questions help me know exactly what to do with every items that comes my way.

Here’s what my inbox looked like at the start:

And now on to the processing questions! Here’s the original list without my edits:

8 Processing Questions

1. Is an action required? (If not, archive it.)
2. Can I do it in two minutes or less? (If so, then do it.)
3. Does it belong on my Routines List? (If yes, add it appropriately.)
4. Do I need to add any projects to my tiered list? (Make sure ONLY 2-3 are in “Current.”)
5. Is there a deadline? (If yes, note it on your calendar.)
6. What is the Next Action? (Appropriately note it/delegate it.)
7. Are there any associated Support Materials? (File them appropriately.)
8. Am I TOTALLY clear on when I will see this and complete it?

I’ll include the names of the items and how I answered each question below:

Item: Car Warranty Letter in Mail

• Is an action required? (If not, archive it.)
  • Yes
• Can I do it in two minutes or less? (If so, then do it.)
  • No
• Does it belong on my Routines List? (If yes, add it appropriately.)
  • No
• Do I need to add any projects to my tiered list? (Make sure ONLY 2-3 are in “Current.”)
  • No
• Is there a deadline? (If yes, note it on your calendar.)
  • No, but I probably need to handle it sooner than later.
• What is the Next Action? (Appropriately note it/delegate it.)
  • Under the “Home” section of the Next Actions List, I am writing that I need to read through this paper and decide if I want to send the form letter back to Honda with our information.

• Are there any associated Support Materials? (File them appropriately.)
  • Yes, the paper and envelope. They go in a file folder that stores my Next Action-related materials.
• Am I TOTALLY clear on when I will see this and complete it?
  • Yes!

Item: A Card and Drawing for Brother-in-Law

• Is an action required? (If not, archive it.)
  • Yes
• Can I do it in two minutes or less? (If so, then do it.)
  • No
• Does it belong on my Routines List? (If yes, add it appropriately.)
  • No
• Do I need to add any projects to my tiered list? (Make sure ONLY 2-3 are in “Current.”)
  • No
• Is there a deadline? (If yes, note it on your calendar.)
  • No
• What is the Next Action? (Appropriately note it/delegate it.)
  • I need to print out a couple family pictures to include in the letter before it’s ready to be sent. Under the “Computer” section of my Next Actions List, I’m writing down that I need to quickly select an updated family picture and then send them to the store to be printed.
• Are there any associated Support Materials? (File them appropriately.)
  • Yes, this envelope with a drawing from our son. It’s in the file folder for my Next Actions-related materials.
• Am I TOTALLY clear on when I will see this and complete it?
  • Yes!

Item: Bank Card (Old/Inactive)

• Is an action required? (If not, archive it.)
  • Yes
• Can I do it in two minutes or less? (If so, then do it.)
  • Yes! I am done with this card and it was replaced, so I can cut it up now.

Item: One of Our Son’s Toys

• Is an action required? (If not, archive it.)
  • Yes
• Can I do it in two minutes or less? (If so, then do it.)
  • Yes! This shouldn’t have been in my inbox to begin with. It must have been on the kitchen counter when I was bringing in the papers to my inbox. I can quickly put it back in the toy closet and remember to better protect my inbox next time. The goal is to keep all “extra” items that aren’t ours or that do not need processing out of our inboxes.

Item: Empty Picture Frame

• Is an action required? (If not, archive it.)
  • Yes
• Can I do it in two minutes or less? (If so, then do it.)
  • No
• Does it belong on my Routines List? (If yes, add it appropriately.)
  • No
• Do I need to add any projects to my tiered list? (Make sure ONLY 2-3 are in “Current.”)
  • No
• Is there a deadline? (If yes, note it on your calendar.)
  • No
• What is the Next Action? (Appropriately note it/delegate it.)
  • I want to print out a picture to hang on our wall, so I’m going to add a “Computer” task to my Next Actions List to look for another family picture to send to the store for printing. I’ll tack it onto the other Next Action I wrote down above, which was also related to finding and printing a family photo.
• Are there any associated Support Materials? (File them appropriately.)
  • Yes, this photo frame. It goes in a little box I have prepared to hold Next Action-related materials.
• Am I TOTALLY clear on when I will see this and complete it?
  • Yes!

Item: A Painting on Canvas, Needs a Frame

• Is an action required? (If not, archive it.)
  • Yes
• Can I do it in two minutes or less? (If so, then do it.)
  • No
• Does it belong on my Routines List? (If yes, add it appropriately.)
  • No
• Do I need to add any projects to my tiered list? (Make sure ONLY 2-3 are in “Current.”)
  • Probably! I don’t know what this project looks like yet, so I am not going to add it right to my Current Projects List. I like to have a basic understanding of what the Next Actions will look like before fully committing to a project. I put this on my “Waiting” Projects List for the time being.
• Is there a deadline? (If yes, note it on your calendar.)
  • No
• What is the Next Action? (Appropriately note it/delegate it.)
  • I need to research how to get a canvas onto a frame and get it prepared to hang up on our wall. Under the “Computer” section of the Next Actions List, I’m going to write that I need to watch a couple YouTube videos and/or find a tutorial online.
• Are there any associated Support Materials? (File them appropriately.)
  • Yes, this canvas. I am going to keep it in our office closet since it is too big for my support materials box. I am going to note the location of the painting next to the project’s title on my Waiting Projects List.
  • After I complete this Next Action, I will decide when I will make this one of my Current Projects.
• Am I TOTALLY clear on when I will see this and complete it?
  • Yes!

Item: Old Flash Drive

• Is an action required? (If not, archive it.)
  • Yes
• Can I do it in two minutes or less? (If so, then do it.)
  • No
• Does it belong on my Routines List? (If yes, add it appropriately.)
  • Possibly, I can choose to make it a routine to remove files I want to save every Sunday afternoon for 15 minutes. (This is just an example.) Or I can choose to make it one of my Current Projects for the month and chip away at it by completing Next Actions. These Next Actions would be to remove files for 15-20 minutes at a time.
• Do I need to add any projects to my tiered list? (Make sure ONLY 2-3 are in “Current.”)
  • Possibly, see above. This could be a routine or project–up to me and my personal preference!
• Is there a deadline? (If yes, note it on your calendar.)
  • No
• What is the Next Action? (Appropriately note it/delegate it.)
  • If this is going to become a Current Project, I can put a Next Action under the “Computer” section of my list to spend 15 ish minutes removing files that I want to save from this old hard drive.
• Are there any associated Support Materials? (File them appropriately.)
  • Yes, I’ll store this flash drive in my office supplies box.
• Am I TOTALLY clear on when I will see this and complete it?
  • Yes!

Item: My Husband’s Shirt (I stained it and want to dye it to cover it up.)

• Is an action required? (If not, archive it.)
  • Yes
• Can I do it in two minutes or less? (If so, then do it.)
  • No
• Does it belong on my Routines List? (If yes, add it appropriately.)
  • No
• Do I need to add any projects to my tiered list? (Make sure ONLY 2-3 are in “Current.”)
  • Possibly. I can make this a project on my list, or I can add the very first Next Action to my Next Actions List and just keep adding the sequential Next Action to the list once I complete each one. I try to only have 2-3 Current Projects on my list at a time, and then smaller “projects” like dyeing a shirt usually stay on my Next Actions List. This is just personal preference after using my Command Central for so many years. When a mini project only has 3-4 Next Actions, I just let it live on the Next Actions List. When I go to cross off the Next Action I just completed, I ask myself, “Am I totally done with this?” If the answer is no, I just write down the next, Next Action.
• Is there a deadline? (If yes, note it on your calendar.)
  • No
• What is the Next Action? (Appropriately note it/delegate it.)
  • I need to purchase some dye for the shirt, so I would add a task to the “Computer” section to place a pickup order at my local craft store.
• Are there any associated Support Materials? (File them appropriately.)
  • Yes, this shirt will be placed in my Next Actions-related materials box.
• Am I TOTALLY clear on when I will see this and complete it?
  • Yes!

Item: Email to Set Up Doctor’s Office Portal

• Is an action required? (If not, archive it.)
  • Yes
• Can I do it in two minutes or less? (If so, then do it.)
  • No
• Does it belong on my Routines List? (If yes, add it appropriately.)
  • No
• Do I need to add any projects to my tiered list? (Make sure ONLY 2-3 are in “Current.”)
  • No
• Is there a deadline? (If yes, note it on your calendar.)
  • Yes, mid October, so I have some time.
• What is the Next Action? (Appropriately note it/delegate it.)
  • I need to spend 10-15 minutes setting up the online portal and adding my personal information for pre check-in. I will put this task under the “Computer” section of my Next Actions List.
• Are there any associated Support Materials? (File them appropriately.)
  • Yes, this email will be filed in my “Immediate Action” email folder.
• Am I TOTALLY clear on when I will see this and complete it?
  • Yes!

I hope you enjoyed processing the inbox with me! I had a lot of random items this time around, but I am feeling great about the Next Actions List I have prepared for myself. And I’m totally confident in when/how I will interact with each of these items moving forward.

Excited to see how you process your own inbox and incoming items!

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