The hidden dangers of the GTD INBOX

•

The hidden dangers of the GTD INBOX I am a long-time GTD practitioner and will likely be so until the end of time. I just finished reading this New Yorker article on the Rise and fall of GTD. It is a disappointing read. newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/the-rise-and-fall-of-getting-things-done

However, I admit GTD has its pitfalls. In my years of working with GTD, one issue I have come across is the hidden dangers of using an INBOX. First, let's review (no GTD pun intended).

The INBOX is a central collection point for all thoughts you need to process. A thought can be a task, project, or note of something useful. The goal is to collect thoughts as soon as they occur, not to forget them & capture them in a way that has little to no friction.

For me personally, the INBOX was and still is a potent daily habit I acquired from the GTD methodology. The places I have used as my GTD INBOX have changed many times in the last 20+ years, but I always have an INBOX in my life, even though my job or technology changes.

While there are many benefits of using an INBOX, in this thread, I want to focus on the following hidden dangers: 1) The black hole 2) The unwelcome equalizer 3) Inbox (not inboxes) 4) Vendor ignorance

#1 The Black Hole The goal of the INBOX is to quickly get the idea you have out of your brain and into a place that it can be stored in, reviewed, and processed later at a more convenient time. GOAL of the INBOX: Don't forget, and don't lose your thoughts!

The problem is if you don't regularly review your INBOX to process your thoughts. Or if you rush your review only skimming through your thoughts. You might reason: I will get back to them later. But if you don't process them, something important can be missed.

If you don't manage your INBOX, things disappear into a black hole of thought purgatory: meaning that something that requires further action is not processed in time, or even worse, it gets lost and isn't processed. When this happens, we may be throwing away mental gold.

#2 The unwelcome equalizer This is one of the most subtle and damaging side effects of the GTD INBOX. Since the INBOX is a central collection point for thoughts that need to be processed, everything gets put into the INBOX, from small to large, trivial or crucial.

All thoughts in the INBOX are basically treated as equals, regardless of priority, timeliness, or relevance. For example, my INBOX might have: + Pick up milk from store + Do my taxes before the deadline (in one week) + Clean the lint out of my mouse Do you see the problem?

While these are all tasks I need to do, two of the three are trivial. However, one of them (Do my taxes) has a deadline and possibly damaging consequences if not processed in time. Lesson: The INBOX treats everything as EQUAL, even though their relevance isn't.

#3 Inbox (not inboxes) Another danger is having more than one INBOX. GTD encourages us to have one INBOX to simplify the processing of our thoughts. However, life and work can often force you to have 2, 3, or more inboxes. While it seems harmless, this is a hidden danger.

The harsh reality is that having more than one INBOX makes it harder to process our thoughts. It takes more time, and you must be disciplined not to forget to process each INBOX. Multiple inboxes often lead to "blackholes" & "unwelcome equalizers" in managing our thoughts.

#4 Vendor ignorance (or arrogance) This isn't the fault of us as users, but I have been amazed at how many app developers give the quick capture aspect of the INBOX so little consideration, if any at all. And we may be letting them get away with it.

For an INBOX to work well, you must reduce the "FRICTION" of capturing your thoughts quickly. I would define reduced friction in one word: SPEED. Speed of opening the quick capture tool Speed of typing in the thought to capture Speed to save the thought into your tool

But so many apps fail. Many don't even offer a quick capture feature. Many that do are SLOW to open. SLOW to start capturing the ideas often due to having to click buttons or make selections. SLOW to save the thought.

This SLOW and FRICTIONABLE quick capture force users to resort to hacking their own half-working solution. Quick capture should be designed around SPEED and never be SLOW (unless we the user want to capture our thought slowly and meditatively).

We have reviewed four hidden dangers of the GTD INBOX. How do you overcome these dangers? Have you found other potential hidden dangers? Over the next few days I will document how I deal with these hidden dangers.