Comments on: Organize IT Recap: Scary Research On Multitasking, Inbox Zero Is Overrated And The Getting Things Done President

By: Otto Astorga

Otto Astorga — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 20:05:59 +0000

On multitasking, we’ve been fighting over this at the office for a long time. It’s not that you can’t do it, but it does not seem to be as efficient as single-tasking. I also just participated in an experiment with a group of coders where we clearly saw what happens when we multi-task. Again we were more efficient and made a lot less mistakes single-tasking. There are some things that you can multi-task but really, they are not very serious stuff.

By: James

James — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 07:31:45 +0000

I agree Thea, the problem with Inbox Zero is the nagging need to have your inbox empty all the time. When I tried it, I was dipping in and out of my inbox and processing the occasional email that came through, getting distracted every hour half from whatever else I was doing.

By: Thea B

Thea B — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 05:28:10 +0000

I agree with Charlie. Some Inbox Zero co-workers are so intent on the empty inbox that they hound others for replies so that they can do the big delete. Often their need for completion does not jibe with my need to get my own work done without interruption. Someone who writes multiple times a day pressing for a reply on a non-urgent matter needs to get a pending folder and move on to some non-inbox task!

By: Shane

Shane — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 09:28:15 +0000

Hi Charlie. Thanks for your feedback. I must have gotten a wrong impression, then. I guess it’s because I don’t really know other people’s e-mail behavior, since I work from home (no office colleagues). I just assumed that the article described a kind of made up problem. I stand corrected!

By: Charlie Gilkey

Charlie Gilkey — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:22:49 +0000

Thanks for the link, James, I’m glad you liked that post. This was a great roundup, too.

Shane, I partially agree that the post is hyperbolic – I think the headline goes a long way to polarize people. Where I disagree is that it doesn’t have as much to do with overt procrastination; many people who are obsessive about Inbox Zero aren’t procrastinators. In fact, their urge to keep it at zero comes from NOT being procrastinators.

And, while it’s obvious to you that Inbox Zero needs some tempering, many people get all wound up about it. And by many people, I mean real people, not people I’m making up.

I applaud the fact that you have a system that works for you without it being overkill – that sets you apart from most people. What is noise to you is definitely some signal to others.

By: Shane

Shane — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:02:24 +0000

Great roundup!

The Inbox Zero article seems a bit off to me. He’s saying that if you are an extreme procrastinator and obsessive about always having an empty inbox, that’s a bad thing… no surprise there. But it is then generalized in the last few paragraphs and what he describes there is basically how I manage my mail.

I don’t believe in effective multitasking. I happen to be in a situation where there’s usually a ton of different things requiring my attention. I know that I can be very busy without getting anything done if I succumb to all of it, instead of focusing on single tasks.

Also, singletasking is one of the prerequisites if you want to experience flow (which is really awesome feeling).