Managing interruptions

My days have some combination of long stretches of mostly heads-down work on one topic, and interrupt-ridden times where my attention goes from one task to the next just as quickly as it can. Sometimes I get flow, sometimes I get thrash. I like "flow" better.

I've been enjoying reading David Allen's weblog, trying to get some ideas for how to deal with interrupts that come in faster than once every two minutes - Allen suggests that if you get something small in your field of view that would only take two minutes you should just do it. But how to handle things that appear faster than that? (Perhaps the answer is, don't carry devices or run software that does that to you).

One approach is to physically pick up and move every few hours, and use the travel time to be offline for a little bit and to let my head clear. Some priorities look a lot more clear if you're not in the middle of the trenches.

A second that I'm still pretty happy about is to keep my email inbox down to zero and sweep anything that is important but not urgent into an action folder, to be done later. That action folder doesn't always get split-second response, but it does all get done. I'm sure there's some variant on that that would work better - I do try to sweep work mail in a different direction than personal mail, as a first pass cut.

Comments

[Ambar]

I tried the @action folder approach, and it just doesn't work for me -- I invariably ignore it in favor of the "primary" system. I wind up actually putting in an NA for > 2-minute email responses, and filing the message as "project support" until it's answered.

Then again, keeping the personal email box down to a dull roar is not something I've perfected yet, so maybe I shouldn't be handing out advice. :-)

Ambar

[Ed]

Some more refinement on this -

Google's Gmail makes it pretty straightforward to implement a GTD style system. What's particularly nice about it is that you don't really have to file a lot of things because you can find them with a search. If it's not in @action (things to do), @waiting (waiting for other people), @events (in the calendar) then I have a very few tags for active projects but otherwise don't have a lot of what would otherwise be "folders".

[nasir shiwani]

can any body me gmail invitation i want use gmail fetures thank's to all

[Brian]

David Allen is a God! ;-)

I've read this book several times. Each time I read a couple of chapters I pick something up. I wouldn't advocate reading this and trying to implement as written; but if you take the ideas and work them into your own routine it can be powerful stuff.

[adarsha]

anyone please give me gmail invitaon, than you.