Inbox: capture
Where you capture all your inputs.
The Inbox is where ideas, tasks and requests land before you decide what they are. Keep it fast: a good capture is an imperfect title you will rewrite later.
Ways to capture
- + quick capture button from any screen.
- Voice capture with Siri or Google Assistant. See Voice capture.
- Forwarding an email. See Email capture.
- Public API. See API.
- Integrations with Gmail, Outlook or Attio.
What lands here?
- Tasks you created and have not processed yet.
- Tasks other people have delegated or assigned to you.
- Copies of tasks you have delegated, so you can track them.
- Never shows other people's tasks, not even ones you follow or have access to through their project. See Creator, owner and assignment.
Processing the Inbox
Empty it regularly. Open a task and tap Clarify for the guided flow, or edit it if you already know what it is.
Aim for “Inbox zero” (clearing your inbox completely) at least once a day. Only an empty Inbox is trustworthy.
Keep in mind…
- The Inbox is not a to-do list. It is a waypoint. Everything that lands here should be processed and moved to its proper place. GTD only recommends completing a task from the Inbox if it takes less than 2 minutes.
- Do not mix capturing with clarifying. Capturing should be fast: jot down the idea and move on. If you stop to organize every time you capture, the process slows down and you will end up avoiding capturing everything that grabs your attention.