Inbox to Today: a calm GTD flow
Your brain is for having ideas, not holding them. The inbox is where Pathflow keeps that promise — a single capture point before you decide what actually deserves your time.
This is a calm GTD-inspired flow: capture → clarify → organize → do. No guilt, no 47-folder taxonomy.
Capture without filtering
When something pops up — email follow-up, home repair, idea for a side project — drop it in Inbox. Don't tag, don't prioritize, don't schedule. Speed matters here.
The rule: if it takes under two minutes to capture, it goes in inbox now. Clarify later.
Clarify: what is it really?
Processing inbox means answering one question per item: What is the next physical action?
| If it's… | Then… | | --- | --- | | Trash / noise | Delete | | Someday / maybe | Move to backlog or defer | | Actionable | Create a task with a clear verb ("Email Sam re: contract") | | Multi-step | Link to a project or goal |
Vague items like "website" become "Draft homepage copy outline" or "Research hosting options."
Organize: statuses, not chaos
Pathflow uses clear statuses instead of custom lists:
- Inbox — unprocessed
- Next action — ready when you are
- Today — committed for this day
- Focus — the one task getting depth right now (why only one)
- Blocked — waiting on someone or something
- Deferred — intentionally not now
You're not organizing your whole life in one sitting. You're making each item honest.
Commit to Today deliberately
Today is a promise, not a wish list. Each morning (or the night before), pull 3–5 items from Next Actions into Today. Leave room for meetings and surprises.
If Today fills up before noon, that's signal — not failure. Adjust tomorrow.
Close the loop weekly
Inbox processing is daily; weekly review is the safety net. A 30-minute weekly review catches what slipped through and reconnects work to goals and systems.
Start today
- Dump everything on your mind into Inbox (10 min)
- Clarify the top 10 items (15 min)
- Move 3 to Today (2 min)
Create a free account and open Inbox — the flow is already there.
