Over the holidays, my inbox was overflowing. So I needed to tackle that situation. Usually, when sorting emails, I’d choose between acting now, postponing to a specific day (I often like to use different days to tackle different categories of stuff), or archiving (or deleting) what wasn’t important. But with a holiday backlog, even those three choices felt like too much.

So I tried something even simpler: just two choices.

Here’s the trick: when I didn’t have time to actually tackle any emails, I just asked myself: “Does this need my attention tomorrow, or can it wait until next week?” That’s it. No categories, no overthinking. Just a quick, binary decision.

And it worked.

It wasn’t about doing the work there and then – it was about clearing mental space and making sure that when tomorrow came, I’d already done the hard bit (the deciding). The impact was huge.

In fact, the difference was so big – between actually blasting through that backlog or… not – that I thought it was worth sharing. Make the choice binary. It sounds obvious, but the best ideas often do – we just don’t always see them.

It also ties back to something I’ve said before: the confused mind always says no. Narrowing things down to two options can be the fastest way to keep moving. Once you’ve got more breathing room, you can always go back to more detailed systems (I still use my 3-bucket method whenever I can – it works). But in moments of overwhelm, two simple choices can be a game-changer.

Sometimes, simplicity really is the best productivity hack of all.