I have a little different take. When things first show up I am just collecting. I try to process the days collected things each night and try and do a thorough review once a week on the weekends. I don’t always makea decision when things first show up. I just put them on my collection list or @Action email folder or send myself an email with a thought, idea, task or goal. It is in the process stage that I make decisions about it like what list, context, delegate, trash or whatever.

re: “Make decisions when things show up, not when they blow up” – means within 48 hours or right there when got some input?

It means processing to zero regularly (at least weekly in your Weekly Review,) but it also means deciding when it first shows up versus delaying deciding until it’s too late or has further consequence. For example, that can show up for people by opening an email, looking at it, closing it, even marking it unread again and leaving it in the inbox. Then it continues to pull on their attention. Leave it unprocessed and undecided long enough and it can have further consequence of as a missed opportunity, or the sender coming to interrupt the person to say, “Did you get my email??”, or it “blows up” and causes some bigger issue.