Inside the guide

15 chapters, and what each one leaves you able to do.

1. 01

   See What This Handbook Assumes of You

   You check the tools, time and permissions you need before you start, and know what you will run by the final page.

2. 02

   Choose Your Three Request Channels

   You pick the three places people may reach you and close the rest, so nothing waits in a channel you stopped reading.

3. 03

   Write Your One-Line Scope Statement

   You draft the single sentence that tells colleagues which requests you take and which you send back.

4. 04

   Set the Response Clock You Can Keep

   You commit to a reply time you can hold on your worst week, not your best one.

5. 05

   Write Down What Counts as a Request

   You decide which messages need an answer from you and which ones you read and file.

6. 06

   Empty the Head Onto One Page

   You move every open loop out of your memory and onto a list you can see.

7. 07

   Sort the Page Into Four Piles

   You place each item into today, this week, waiting or dropped, so the list turns into a sequence.

8. 08

   Decide the Hour You Answer People

   You set one or two daily slots for replies and keep the rest of the day free of the inbox.

9. 09

   Draft Replies From Four Templates

   You build a yes, a no, a later and a handover reply, and answer most requests in under three minutes.

10. 10

    Protect Two Blocks Before Others Claim Them

    You put two long working blocks in the calendar first, so meetings fit around your work.

11. 11

    Say No Without Burning the Sender

    You decline a request in three sentences and offer one route the sender can take instead.

12. 12

    Repair the Week You Fell Behind

    You run a thirty-minute reset that clears the backlog and tells waiting people where they stand.

13. 13

    Notice the Load Before It Breaks You

    You watch three signals in your own week and cut scope before the fourth late night arrives.

14. 14

    Hand Over Work Without Losing the Thread

    You pass a task to someone else with the context they need and a date you will check back.

15. 15

    Keep the Method Running Alone

    You set a monthly review of your channels, clock and blocks, and adjust one thing at a time.