Route every message to one of four destinations
Module 02 · Intake & triage
- Why
- Most inbox time is spent re-deciding things you have already decided. A message arrives, you read it, you judge whether it matters, and then you leave it in place — so tomorrow you read and judge it again.
- Do it
- Define four destinations: reply now, reply later, reference, and no action. Process top to bottom without skipping. Every message leaves the inbox on first read.
- Watch
- The failure mode is a fifth destination that quietly appears: 'leave it, it's important'. That one exception rebuilds the pile.













