Do It, Defer it, Delegate It, Drop It
Do it: Is it something small and quick that you can do in two minutes? Then do it right away.
Defer it: Is it something that will take a bit longer or you are in the wrong place to do it? Then, establish what the next step is in order to get it done and capture that in one of your inboxes.
Delegate it: Can someone else do the task? Would someone else be better at it? If so, establish who that person is and take the next step to delegate it (send an email, set up a meeting, make a phone call).
Drop it: Is it really that important in the long run? Is the task truly something that needs to get done? If not, simply drop it. You have plenty of other things to do and do not need to add another task to your inbox.
Action Vs. Project
One extremely important part of getting things done involves breaking down projects into actions. What that means is that anything that has more than one step is a project or that a project is made up of multiple actions. For instance, if one of your projects for the day is “cook for Shabbos,” you need to define what the next actions are in order to make those Shabbosmeals happen (make a menu, create shopping list, go shopping, cook meal). Once you know what the next steps are, it is always easier to keep getting things done.
Review
One of the most important parts of getting things done is reviewing your inboxes. This can be done once a day or once a week or two weeks, but should not be pushed off for too long. You can clear out all the projects you have already finished and decide whether to do, defer, delegate, or drop the remaining ones.
While this system seems a little extreme, it becomes habit and makes life more streamlined and enjoyable. After all, you end up getting things done!