Do you Do the 4 D's?

Here's a little tip I'd like to share with you today. I first heard of the 4 D's at a seminar I attended recently. I believe the tool was originally created to help organise an abundance of incoming email.

Its a clever decision making tool, that can also be implemented in any area where you feel overwhelmed by too much to do and too little time.

So what are the 4 D's?

Do It
Delegate It
Diary It
Dump It


When you have one of those long 'to do' lists try using this simple process.

Firstly ask yourself, what specific action do I need to take? Can I DO IT in less than five minutes? If you answer YES, just get on and DO IT.

If you can't 'Do it' in less than five minutes, can you Delegate it?' If you can delegate the task to someone else then you can simply cross it off your list.

If you can't 'Delegate it' or 'Do it' in five minutes then Diarise it. Turn it into an actionable task or an appointment in your diary.


Lastly, if you really arent able to 'Do it' in less than five minutes, Delegate it, or Diarise it I highly suggest you just 'Dump it'. If it isnt that much of a priority then why waste your energy and time on something so trivial.

Have fun with this and let me know how you get on.