Make one of five decisions for every email

Delete, delegate, respond (two minutes or less), defer (to a task system), or do it now — never leave an email just "read."

Why it works

Leaving an email "read but unprocessed" in the inbox maintains it as an open loop in working memory — the Zeigarnik effect suggests that incomplete tasks continue to occupy cognitive resources until they are either completed or deliberately deferred to a trusted system. A five-option decision tree forces closure: the inbox item either leaves or gets parked in a system that will surface it at the right time.

How to do it

1. Delete or archive: if you don’t need to act or refer back, it goes immediately.
2. Delegate: if someone else should handle it, forward it with a clear request and archive the original.
3. Respond now: if a reply takes under two minutes, send it immediately and archive.
4. Defer: if it requires more time, drag it to a task system (not a "follow-up" folder) with a due date.
5. Do: if it is a short task you can complete right now, do it and archive.

Evidence

The two-minute rule (act immediately on sub-two-minute tasks) is a practitioner heuristic from Getting Things Done; the five-decision framework is practitioner advice. The underlying open-loop mechanism has support from Zeigarnik-effect research on cognitive load. (mechanistic)

The five-decision specific structure is Merlin Mann’s practitioner framework; it is not directly tested in research. The open-loop mechanism it addresses is well studied.

Sources

• Zeigarnik (1927), on the retention of completed and uncompleted activities — foundational open-loop cognitive load research

Common mistake

Creating a "to deal with later" folder that functions as a second inbox — this exports the problem without resolving it.