Give new paper one arrival point
Place the tray where post actually enters the workspace. It should be reachable without putting letters on the keyboard or mixing them with work already in progress. Several small incoming piles on different surfaces make the situation harder to understand. Where several people receive post, clearly labelled sections can establish who should handle each item.
Use the tray for paper that has not yet been processed. Filed documents, empty envelopes and spare supplies need other places. That distinction preserves its meaning: material here still needs to be examined or assigned. Decorative objects that reduce the usable area make that simple function less convenient.
Decide on a next step while reviewing
Take out a letter and identify what needs to happen. Does somebody need an answer, an appointment need recording or a document need joining to an active case? Record the action where you plan your work. A letter is not reliably remembered simply because it sits on top of a pile.
Documents waiting for another person should have an identifiable waiting location. Add a short note explaining what is outstanding. Without it, a paused case can look like unprocessed post again after a few days. Completed papers are then filed or handled according to their contents; confidential material should not be placed indiscriminately in an open waste-paper bin.
Prevent an inbox from becoming an archive
Choose a recurring review time that matches the amount of incoming post. With little paper, a short session on selected days may be enough. Frequent time-sensitive letters require more regular attention than an occasional major clear-out. The purpose is to identify new work promptly, not to create a long evening of sorting.
If the tray repeatedly overflows, examine the decisions that are blocked. Is a filing folder missing, ownership unclear or time for an action absent? A larger tray does not resolve those causes. Change the step where documents are getting stuck. An empty inbox is not a goal in itself, but a clearly defined inbox shows which papers have not yet entered a working process.
