The four inbox choices
Exercise 1 uses four plain choices. A deadline found in the body of a message often decides between A and B.
| Letter | What it means |
|---|---|
| A | Do this morning, before 12:00 |
| B | Book a time for it this week |
| C | Pass it on, or ask someone |
| D | Reply in one line, or let it go |
Exercise 1: the inbox, Monday 2 November, 09:00
Twelve fictional messages. You are at your desk until 12:00 and read nothing more until Tuesday 09:00.
| # | From | Subject | Message |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Facilities desk | Fire alarm test on Thursday | The weekly alarm test moves to Thursday 10:00 this week. No action is needed. |
| 2 | Finance assistant | Quick question about the venue invoice | Can you confirm the order number for the October venue invoice? Today’s payment run closes at 12:00. Anything later moves to December, and the venue then charges a late fee. |
| 3 | Head of department | URGENT: ideas for next year | Please send me two or three ideas for next year’s programme. I will collect them at the planning day on Friday 20 November. |
| 4 | A trainer in your team | Laptop | My laptop will not start. I run the induction course tomorrow at 09:00 and the slides are on it. IT need a ticket from a coordinator to swap it. |
| 5 | Newsletter team | Last call: send your team story | Stories for the winter newsletter close on Friday 27 November. Any length is welcome. |
| 6 | External trainer | Contract for January | The January course contract is attached for signature. I am holding the dates for you until Wednesday 4 November; after that I release them to another client. |
| 7 | A colleague in another team | Can you join our workshop? | We would love you to come to our workshop on Thursday 5 November, 14:00 to 16:00, and say how your team runs onboarding. |
| 8 | Your manager | Catch-up | Can you bring this term’s attendance figures to our one-to-one? I need them for the board pack, which closes on Tuesday at 17:00. |
| 9 | IT service desk | Action required: your password expires | Your password expires in 14 days. Change it at any time before then. |
| 10 | Course participant | Thank you | Thanks for organising the course. One question: is there a recording? No rush. |
| 11 | Venue booking system | Booking 4471 provisional | Your provisional booking for room 2 on Monday 16 November is released automatically unless it is confirmed by 12:00 on Monday 2 November. |
| 12 | A member of your team | Rota for December | Here is my draft of the December rota. Could you look at it when you have a moment? I would like to send it out by Friday 6 November. |
Answer key: inbox sort
For the facilitator. Read it aloud one line at a time, starting with messages 2, 4 and 11. The reference is one sensible sort, not the only one; “also workable” is the other choice a good reason supports. Reference sort: three in A, four in B, one in C and four in D. Six deadlines this week appear only in the message body; three urgent-looking subjects can wait.
| # | Key | Also workable | Deadline in the message | Looks urgent | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | D | – | None | No | Information only. Note it, or let it go. |
| 2 | A | – | Today 12:00 (hidden) | No | A one-minute task with a real cost if it misses 12:00. The subject sounds casual. |
| 3 | B | – | Fri 20 Nov | Yes | The subject says urgent, but the date is more than two weeks away. Book an hour this week. |
| 4 | A | C | Tomorrow 09:00 (hidden) | No | You are away from 12:00, so the ticket has to go in this morning. Asking another coordinator to raise it also works, if you ask before 12:00. |
| 5 | D | B | Fri 27 Nov | Yes | Optional and weeks away. Let it go, or book a time if your team has a story. |
| 6 | B | – | Wed 4 Nov (hidden) | No | It needs reading and a signature, not a reply this morning. Book Tuesday morning, before the Wednesday release. |
| 7 | D | C | None | No | A one-line reply: offer your onboarding notes, or suggest a colleague (C). |
| 8 | B | – | Tue 3 Nov 17:00 (hidden) | No | The subject gives no date. The board pack closes on Tuesday, so book Tuesday morning. |
| 9 | D | B | Mon 16 Nov | Yes | Looks urgent, but there are 14 days. Do it when you next have two minutes. |
| 10 | C | D | None | No | Ask the trainer whether a recording exists, or reply in one line if you already know. |
| 11 | A | – | Today 12:00 (hidden) | No | An automatic message with a deadline today. Missing it loses the room. |
| 12 | B | – | Fri 6 Nov (hidden) | No | Polite and quiet, with a real date. Book half an hour before Friday. |
Exercise 2: the four tasks
Four short paper tasks for the estimate-then-check round. Everyone works at their own pace; the point is the gap between each person’s own estimate and their own time.
| Task | What to do |
|---|---|
| 1. Add up | Add up these twelve fictional expense amounts and write the total. 18.40 6.25 42.00 12.75 9.60 31.20 4.85 27.50 15.00 8.95 22.30 11.20 |
| 2. Find the clashes | Room 1, Tuesday 10 November. Write the numbers of every pair of bookings that overlap. A booking that ends when the next one starts is not a clash. 1) 12:00–13:00 Finance 2) 09:30–10:00 Interviews 3) 14:30–15:30 Induction 4) 08:30–09:30 Cleaning check 5) 11:30–12:00 Phone interview 6) 15:00–16:00 Supplier 7) 10:30–11:30 Team meeting 8) 12:45–13:30 Lunch talk 9) 09:45–10:30 Project group 10) 13:30–14:30 Coaching |
| 3. Proof-read | Find the five mistakes in this fictional notice. Underline them or list them below. The induction course runs on Tuesday 17 November 2026 from 09:30 to 16:00 in room 2. Lunch is from 12:30 to 13:15. Please bring your laptop and charger. The course finish at 16:30, and the second day is on Thursday 20 November. Contact the coordinator by Friday 13 Novmber if you need any adjustments, or if you cannot atend. |
| 4. Write a reply | Write a three-sentence reply to this fictional request: “Can you join a one-hour planning meeting on Thursday at 14:00?” Decline, give one reason, and offer another time or another way to help. Use the lines at the foot of the record sheet. |
Answer key: the four tasks
For the facilitator. Read out tasks 1 to 3 after the six-minute round. Task 4 has no key.
| Task | Answer | How to check |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Add up | 210.00 | Check each line of four, then add the three line totals: 79.40 + 73.15 + 57.45 = 210.00. |
| 2. Find the clashes | 1 and 8, 2 and 9, 3 and 6 | Three clashes. 4 and 2, 9 and 7, 7 and 5, 5 and 1, 8 and 10, and 10 and 3 only touch, so they are not clashes. |
| 3. Proof-read | Five mistakes | “finish” should be “finishes”; “16:30” should be “16:00”, as in the first sentence; 20 November 2026 is a Friday, not a Thursday; “Novmber” should be “November”; “atend” should be “attend”. |
| 4. Write a reply | No key | Finished when you are satisfied with it. Three sentences: a no, one reason, an offer. |
Exercise 3: the week of 9 November
A fictional week. The items shown are fixed. Two focus blocks of at least 90 minutes are needed, both finished by Thursday 17:30.
| Time | Mon 9 Nov | Tue 10 Nov | Wed 11 Nov | Thu 12 Nov | Fri 13 Nov |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 09:00 | Team check-in | Team check-in | Team check-in | Team check-in | Team check-in |
| 09:30 | |||||
| 10:00 | Training you deliver | Department meeting | Off-site training day | ||
| 10:30 | cont. | cont. | cont. | ||
| 11:00 | cont. | Budget review | cont. | ||
| 11:30 | cont. | cont. | cont. | ||
| 12:00 | cont. | Report due at 12:00 | |||
| 12:30 | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch | cont. | Lunch |
| 13:00 | Project meeting | Interview panel | cont. | ||
| 13:30 | cont. | cont. | cont. | ||
| 14:00 | cont. | cont. | Team retrospective | ||
| 14:30 | One-to-one | cont. | cont. | cont. | |
| 15:00 | cont. | cont. | |||
| 15:30 | Client call | cont. | |||
| 16:00 | Supplier call | Team workshop | cont. | ||
| 16:30 | cont. | cont. | |||
| 17:00 | cont. |
Exercise 3: fixed meetings as a list
The same fixed items as a list, for the calendar check in the workbook. Lunch, 12:30 to 13:00, also stays free.
| Day | Start | End | Meeting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | 09:00 | 09:30 | Team check-in |
| Mon | 10:00 | 12:00 | Training you deliver |
| Mon | 13:00 | 14:00 | Project meeting |
| Mon | 14:30 | 15:30 | One-to-one |
| Mon | 16:00 | 17:00 | Supplier call |
| Tue | 09:00 | 09:30 | Team check-in |
| Tue | 11:00 | 12:00 | Budget review |
| Tue | 13:00 | 15:00 | Interview panel |
| Tue | 16:00 | 17:30 | Team workshop |
| Wed | 09:00 | 09:30 | Team check-in |
| Wed | 10:00 | 11:00 | Department meeting |
| Wed | 15:30 | 16:30 | Client call |
| Thu | 09:00 | 09:30 | Team check-in |
| Thu | 10:00 | 16:00 | Off-site training day |
| Fri | 09:00 | 09:30 | Team check-in |
| Fri | 12:00 | 12:30 | Report due at 12:00 |
| Fri | 14:00 | 15:00 | Team retrospective |
Exercise 3: six meeting requests
Six fictional requests. Answer each with Accept, Move, Decline or Send someone.
| Card | From | Day | Start | End | What for | What they say |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A trainer in your team | Mon | 15:30 | 16:00 | A quick sync on the induction course | “Fifteen minutes would do. I need your answer before Wednesday.” |
| 2 | Your manager | Wed | 13:30 | 14:30 | Quarterly figures run-through | “I need you for this. The finance team joins too, so the time cannot move.” |
| 3 | A team lead in another team | Wed | 11:00 | 12:00 | Planning chat | “Any time this week is fine. Thirty minutes would probably do.” |
| 4 | A software supplier | Tue | 09:30 | 10:30 | Demo of a new booking tool | “We are recording the demo, and we run it again next month.” |
| 5 | The operations team | Tue | 15:00 | 16:00 | Process review | “We need one person from your team. It does not have to be you.” |
| 6 | A colleague | Thu | 16:00 | 17:00 | Farewell gathering for a long-serving colleague | “It would be lovely to see you there.” |
Answer key: calendar defence
For the facilitator. Once card 2 is accepted, only three free stretches of 90 minutes or more remain before Friday, and any two of them meet the rules. With the reference responses, Tuesday 09:30–11:00 and Wednesday 11:00–12:30 are free for the two focus blocks. Thursday 16:00–17:30 is the third stretch, free only if card 6 is declined. Monday has no free stretch over 30 minutes, and Wednesday 13:00–15:30 is broken by card 2.
| Card | Reference response | New time | Why | Also workable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Accept | – | It fits a 30-minute gap that could never hold a focus block. | Accept and shorten it to 15 minutes. |
| 2 | Accept | – | Your manager and the finance team; the card says the time cannot move. This uses up Wednesday afternoon. | None. |
| 3 | Move | Wed 16:30–17:00 | They said any time and 30 minutes. Moving it frees Wednesday 11:00–12:30. | Any other 30-minute gap: Mon 17:00, Tue 12:00 or Tue 15:00 if card 5 goes to someone else. |
| 4 | Decline | – | The demo is recorded and repeated. Declining frees Tuesday 09:30–11:00. | Ask for the recording, or accept the repeat next month. |
| 5 | Send someone | – | Any member of your team can go. Brief them in two lines. | Accept if nobody else can go; it does not block a focus slot. |
| 6 | Accept | – | Your choice. With Tuesday and Wednesday protected, you can go. | Decline, and use Thursday 16:00–17:30 as a focus block instead of Tuesday or Wednesday. |
Answer key: the three possible focus blocks
Monday has no free stretch longer than 30 minutes, Wednesday 13:00 to 15:30 is broken by card 2, and Friday morning is kept for final checks. Any two of the three meet the rules.
| Free stretch | Minutes | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Tue 10 Nov, 09:30–11:00 | 90 | Free once card 4 is declined. |
| Wed 11 Nov, 11:00–12:30 | 90 | Free once card 3 moves. It ends where lunch starts. |
| Thu 12 Nov, 16:00–17:30 | 90 | Free only if card 6 is declined. |
Six one-week experiments
Each person picks one for five working days, or writes their own. Small and countable beats ambitious.
| Experiment | What you do each day | What you count |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Read for the date | Before you sort new messages, read each body for a date or a time, and write any deadline in your task list. | Deadlines you found in a message body |
| 2. Estimate first | Write an estimate in minutes before three tasks a day. Note the actual minutes when you finish. | Estimated and actual minutes |
| 3. One protected block | Book one 90-minute block on three days. Note whether it held and what interrupted it. | Planned and kept minutes |
| 4. Counter-offer | Answer at least one meeting request a day with a shorter or later time, or a written alternative, where that would help. | Requests answered with an offer |
| 5. Sort at fixed times | Sort your inbox at two set times a day instead of each time a message arrives. Note the times you kept. | Sorts done at the set time |
| 6. Tomorrow’s three | At the end of each day, write tomorrow’s three must-dos, each with its deadline. | Days you wrote the three |
Filled example: inbox answers
A fictional participant. Matches the key or an also-workable choice: 9 of 12. Hidden deadlines found: 4 of 6. Morning items put in A: 2 of 3. Urgent-looking items put in A: 2 of 3.
| # | Subject | Choice | Deadline written | Key | Matches | Hidden deadline found |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fire alarm test on Thursday | D | – | D | Yes | – |
| 2 | Quick question about the venue invoice | B | – | A | No | No |
| 3 | URGENT: ideas for next year | A | 20 Nov | B | No | – |
| 4 | Laptop | A | Tue 09:00 | A or C | Yes | Yes |
| 5 | Last call: send your team story | D | 27 Nov | D or B | Yes | – |
| 6 | Contract for January | B | Wed 4 Nov | B | Yes | Yes |
| 7 | Can you join our workshop? | C | – | D or C | Yes | – |
| 8 | Catch-up | B | – | B | Yes | No |
| 9 | Action required: your password expires | A | – | D or B | No | – |
| 10 | Thank you | D | – | C or D | Yes | – |
| 11 | Booking 4471 provisional | A | 12:00 today | A | Yes | Yes |
| 12 | Rota for December | B | Fri 6 Nov | B | Yes | Yes |
Filled example: estimate record
A fictional participant. Estimated 285 seconds in all; the timer read 365 seconds at the end. Actual ÷ estimate: 1.28. Three of the four tasks took longer than the estimate; the reply took a little less.
| Task | Estimate (s) | Timer at finish | Actual (s) | Actual ÷ estimate | Longer than estimate | Answer check |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Add up | 90 | 2:10 | 130 | 1.44 | Yes | 210.00: correct |
| 2. Find the clashes | 60 | 3:25 | 75 | 1.25 | Yes | 3 of 3 found |
| 3. Proof-read | 45 | 4:40 | 75 | 1.67 | Yes | 4 of 5 found |
| 4. Write a reply | 90 | 6:05 | 85 | 0.94 | No | Done |
Filled example: experiment card
A fictional coordinator, experiment 2, week starting Monday 16 November 2026. Done on 4 of 5 days, 11 tasks estimated. Estimated 305 minutes, actual 350 minutes. Actual ÷ estimate: 1.15.
| Day | Did it | Tasks | Estimated (min) | Actual (min) | Difference | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 16 Nov | Yes | 3 | 95 | 120 | 25 | The report section took 50 minutes, not 30. |
| Tue 17 Nov | Yes | 3 | 60 | 70 | 10 | |
| Wed 18 Nov | Yes | 3 | 80 | 75 | -5 | Two short tasks were quicker than I thought. |
| Thu 19 Nov | No | Away at a course all day. | ||||
| Fri 20 Nov | Yes | 2 | 70 | 85 | 15 | Interrupted twice by calls. |
What you'll leave with
Each participant sorts a 12-message inbox against a key, compares four estimates with a timer, protects two 90-minute blocks while answering six requests, and writes a one-week experiment with a daily count.
Before the session
- For trainers, team leads and facilitators running a time management session for 4–24 adults at work, alone, in pairs and in groups of two or three.
- Print the six participant sheets per person. Keep the answer keys and filled examples for yourself.
- Have a count-up timer to show the room or share on screen for the six-minute task round.
- Accessibility: all sheets are plain text and can be typed in the Word file. Nobody shares their own calendar. Each person is compared only with their own estimate; anyone can pass or have a partner write.
The run of show
Open and set the ground rules
Two minutes: say what the session is. Say: “We will play three short paper exercises. Each one practises one habit: finding the real deadline, estimating how long things take, and keeping time free for focused work. Everything you will see is invented. Nobody needs to show their own calendar or inbox.” Three minutes: say what it is not. Say: “This is not a promise that you will get more done. If the real problem is too much work, that is a conversation about workload with your manager, and no exercise fixes it.” Agree that people can pass, write instead of speaking, and work at their own pace in the timed round.
Exercise 1: inbox sort with hidden deadlines
Two minutes: hand out the inbox sheet. Say: “It is Monday 2 November, 09:00. You are the coordinator of a fictional training team. You are at your desk until 12:00; then you travel to an event and read nothing until Tuesday 09:00. Put each message in A, B, C or D, and write any deadline you find.” Six minutes: everyone sorts alone, in silence. Four minutes: pairs compare and agree on any two messages where they differ. Three minutes: read out the key, one line per message, starting with messages 2, 4 and 11. Ask people to count their matches, hidden deadlines found and urgent-looking messages they put in A. Say: “The count is for you. It shows where your eye goes first, not how good you are at your job.”
Exercise 2: estimate, then check
Two minutes: hand out the four tasks and the record sheet. Say: “Before you start, write how many seconds you think each task will take you. Nobody else will see your estimates.” Six minutes: start the count-up timer and say “Go.” People do the four tasks in order and write the timer reading each time they finish one. At 6:00 say “Stop.” Anyone not finished writes “not finished”. Four minutes: read the key for tasks 1 to 3, then ask people to work out the actual seconds for each task (this timer reading minus the last one) and divide by the estimate. Ask for a show of hands, or a number in the chat: “Who had at least one task that took longer than the estimate?”
Exercise 3: calendar defence
Two minutes: hand out the week of 9 November and the requests and response sheet. Say: “You lead a fictional team. A report is due on Friday at 12:00 and you need two blocks of at least 90 minutes, with no meeting inside, both finished by Thursday 17:30. Six meeting requests have just arrived. Answer each one: accept, move, decline or send someone. Then mark your two blocks.” Nine minutes: groups of two or three work on one shared response sheet and write the one-line reply they would send for each card. Four minutes: read the key. Show that there are only three possible 90-minute stretches before Friday, and that any two of them work. Ask one group to read out the reply they wrote for card 3 or card 4.
Debrief across the three exercises
Ask the four debrief questions, one at a time. Give 30 seconds of silent writing before each, then take two or three answers aloud or in the chat. Collect useful phrases, such as a good reply to a meeting request, on a shared list. Close the debrief with: “Which of the three habits would change most in your own week if you practised it for five days?”
Choose a one-week experiment and close
Four minutes of private writing on the experiment card. Each person chooses one of the six experiments, or writes their own, and fills in the start date, what they will do each day and the number they will count. Say: “Pick the smallest version you will really do. Five days is enough to notice something.” Two minutes: each person says or types the name of their experiment, or passes.
Participant worksheet
Copy this table into a document, or print the worksheet from the bundle. Share only what you choose.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Inbox sort | Put 12 fictional messages in A, B, C or D and write each deadline you find |
| Inbox check | Matches with the key, hidden deadlines found (of 6) and urgent-looking messages put in A (of 3) |
| Estimate, then check | Your estimate in seconds, the timer at finish, the actual seconds and actual ÷ estimate |
| Calendar defence | One response to each of six requests and two 90-minute focus blocks before Thursday 17:30 |
| One-week experiment | The experiment, a start date, what you do each day and the number you count |
| After five days | What helped, what got in the way, and whether you carry on, change or drop it |
Debrief questions
- In the inbox, which deadline did you find only by reading the whole message, and what in the subject line pulled your attention elsewhere?
- How far apart were your estimates and the timer, and which kind of task did you misjudge most: adding up, searching, checking or writing?
- In calendar defence, which request was hardest to answer, and what exact words would you send?
- Which of the three habits would change most in your own week, and what number would show you that it happened?
Adapt it for your group
- For 4 to 6 people, work as one group for the pair and group parts: compare the inbox sorts together, and fill in one response sheet for calendar defence. Keep the individual parts (the sort and the timed round) individual.
- For a 40-minute version, run the opening (4 minutes), the inbox sort (12: brief 2, sort 5, key 5, with no pair comparison), calendar defence (14: brief 2, groups 8, key 4), a short debrief (4) and the experiment card (6). Send the four timed tasks as an optional follow-up.
- Online, share each page on screen and send the PDF pages beforehand. Use a count-up timer in a shared window for exercise 2, breakout rooms of two or three for exercise 3, and the chat for answers. Cameras are optional; the response sheet can be a shared document.
- For people who prefer not to speak, or who write slowly: every answer can be written or typed in the editable Word file, a partner can write for someone, and anyone can pass. In the timed round, a task that is not finished at 6:00 is simply marked “not finished”; the round compares each person with their own estimate only.
- To write your own inbox for a specific team, keep every message fictional, write twelve of them, hide six deadlines in the body only, give three a subject that looks urgent but can wait, and write the key with reasons before the session. Do not use real messages or real colleagues’ names.
After the session
Within one working day, send the six one-week experiments and a copy of the experiment card. Suggest that people start on the next Monday and fill in the tally each day. After the week, spend five minutes at the next team meeting or session asking two questions: “What did you notice?” and “Will you carry on, change or drop it?” Answers are optional and nobody hands in a card. Do not use the experiment cards or the exercise counts to judge performance; they are notes for the person who wrote them. If several people say the real issue is the amount of work, raise workload with the people who can change it.
Questions people ask
What are good time management games and activities for work?
Short exercises that make people use a skill and then check the result work best with adults. This kit has three: an inbox sort where six deadlines are hidden in the message bodies, an estimate-then-check round where people time four small tasks against their own guesses, and a calendar defence puzzle where two 90-minute focus blocks must survive six meeting requests. Each one has a fictional printable sheet and an answer key.
Is there one right answer to the inbox sort and the calendar puzzle?
No single right answer, but there are checkable facts. The inbox key gives a reference sort with reasons and an “also workable” choice, and the deadlines in the messages are fixed. The calendar puzzle has exactly three free stretches of 90 minutes before Friday once the manager’s meeting is accepted, and any two of them meet the rules. The discussion of reasons matters more than the count.
Does this kit use the urgent and important matrix?
Not directly. A widely used approach sorts tasks on two questions, how urgent and how important they are. The inbox sort here asks a more practical question first: when is the real deadline, and where is it written? Several messages that look urgent can wait, and several quiet ones cannot. To rank a team’s list of work by impact and effort, use the prioritization matrix kit instead.
How is this different from the goal setting worksheet?
The goal setting worksheet helps one person plan a single work goal over weeks, with a baseline, a finish line and review dates. This kit is a group session about the day-to-day: reading for deadlines, estimating time and protecting focus time, ending in a five-day experiment rather than a goal. They work well together: a goal from the worksheet often needs the protected blocks practised here.
Will this make my team more productive?
This kit makes no such promise and has not been independently evaluated. It gives people a structured way to notice how they sort, estimate and protect time, and to try one small change for a week. If people are overloaded, the useful next step is a workload conversation with someone who can change it, not another exercise.
What is included in the free and editable files?
The open PDF has the fictional inbox with space for answers, the four timed tasks with the record sheet, the week of 9 November, the six requests with a response sheet, the one-week experiment card, three answer keys, three filled examples and the 60-minute facilitator plan. Subscribers also receive the editable Word file, an Excel workbook with the session plan, an inbox checker, an estimate record that calculates the actual times and ratios, a calendar check for focus blocks and a one-week experiment log, and a CSV of the session plan.
How to use the files
Print the PDF, edit the Word file in Word or Google Docs, or open the CSV or XLSX in a spreadsheet. Open files need no email.
Can I use this with paying clients?
Yes. Use and adapt this original Superglue kit in your own training, including paid client sessions. Please share this page rather than redistributing the unmodified kit. Read the full usage terms.