Touch It Once: A core efficiency principle. Never leave an item in a neutral state. Make a decision and move it to its final destination.

Stop using complex tags or dozens of folders. You only need three destinations for any email:

1. REPLY: If it takes < 2 mins, reply immediately. If > 2 mins, drag it to this folder to process during your "Deep Work" email block.
2. AWAITING: If you've delegated it or are waiting on a response, drag it here. Review this folder once on Friday.
3. ARCHIVE: If it's done or just informational, archive it (don't delete).

Right now, go into your email client. Create two new folders: _REPLY and _AWAITING (the underscore keeps them at the top). For the next 24 hours, nothing is allowed to remain in your main inbox. It must go to one of these three destinations.