Clarify and the two-minute rule

One question for every item

Take the items one by one, top to bottom, and ask yourself: “Do I need to do anything about this?”

• No — delete it. If it is useful information, keep it as a note.
• Someday, but not now — put it on a “someday / maybe” list to come back to later.
• Yes — decide on the next action.

Don’t put an item back with “I’ll think about it later”. Clarifying is the time to think.

The next action is concrete and physical

“Kitchen renovation” is not an action, it is a project. An action is something you could start doing right now: “call Serhii the builder”, “measure the wall by the window”.

If a result takes more than one step, it is a project. Write down the project and its first action; add the other steps when you get to them.

A good test: in a week, will the text alone tell you exactly what to do? If not, start it with a verb.

The two-minute rule

If an action takes less than two minutes, do it right away, while clarifying. Writing it down and planning it takes longer than just doing it.

Replying to a short message, paying a bill in your banking app, forwarding a document — two-minute tasks. Anything longer, plan.

Where the rest goes

• It has a day or a time — on the calendar: “doctor’s appointment on Thursday at 10:00”.
• It needs doing soon, but not on an exact day — on this week.
• You are waiting for someone — on a “waiting for” list, so you remember to follow up.
• It takes more than one step — into a project together with its first action.
• Someday / maybe — on a separate list you look through once a week.

More about what goes where — in the next step, “Organize”.

How often to clarify

Best of all — every day, for a few minutes in the morning or the evening. A day doesn’t bring many items, so it never drags on.

If a lot has piled up, clarify at least the top ten items and leave the rest for tomorrow. The point is not to let the pile grow for weeks.