The Nix It System

Nix It is a personal work management system that prioritizes elimination over organization. Instead of finding better ways to manage more work, the system focuses on reducing how much you have to hold.

Core Principles

Elimination is Safe

You can remove with confidence. Important things come back.

Completing something or ignoring it are equal exits. The system doesn't distinguish between them. If you're uncertain about an item, err on the side of elimination—if it matters, it will resurface.

Less is More

Keeping track of fewer items reduces mental load and improves focus.

Every item you track has a cost. When facing a tradeoff, tend towards elimination. Your mind is valuable, and the things you give it should matter.

The Three-Stage Flow

Nix It manages emails, tasks, calendar events, and anything else you want to track. The system collectively refers to these as items. Items flow through three stages:

Stage 1: Filter (Intake)

Filtering controls what enters your system.

Items can come from many places: emails, calendar events, tasks you create. Be mindful about what you accept into your system. The key question: What are the consequences of not tracking this item?

Items that carry no risk or different outcome when ignored should probably be eliminated.

The Intake is your holding area—a single place where you sort new items. Items in the Intake should be eliminated or transitioned within roughly one day.

Stage 2: Distill (Canvas)

The items that remain after filtering are held on the Canvas until they can be eliminated.

As more items are added, it can become difficult to focus on what matters. Distilling your Canvas down to only what is currently relevant is the key to maintaining clarity.

Items are organized by state based on who or what owns the next action:

State	Meaning
Owned	I need to act
Delegated	Someone else needs to act
Pending	An event needs to occur

Stage 3: Eliminate (Archive)

Eliminating an item removes it from active tracking.

There are two ways to think about elimination:

Done — The item reached its normal, satisfactory conclusion
Nix — The item was simply removed (no longer relevant, not worth tracking)

Both are equally valid. The system draws no distinction between them. If an item can be deleted without consequence, it probably should be deleted.

Processing Decisions

For every item in your Intake, you have three choices:

e

Done

Complete the item and archive it. Use this when you've finished what the item required or have decided the item is resolved.

#

Nix

Delete the item. Elimination is safe—important things come back. Use this when the item isn't worth your attention or has become irrelevant.

1-9

Track

Drag the item to your Canvas to track it long-term. Use this only when the item requires ongoing attention and can't be completed immediately.

The 2-Minute Rule

If an item can be handled in 2 minutes or less, do it immediately.

Don't track it—complete it and move on. This keeps your system lean and your mind clear. Quick emails, simple tasks, and straightforward requests should be handled on the spot.

Periodic Review

Conduct a regular audit of all items on your Canvas. Weekly works well for most people.

During the review:

Look at each item on your Canvas
Justify why it's still being tracked — Does this deserve my attention?
Apply extra scrutiny to old items — The older an item, the more justification it needs
When in doubt, eliminate — Important things come back

The goal is to prevent items from hanging around and cluttering up your space. Keep the two principles in mind: elimination is safe, and less is more.

Remember

Hold Less, Do Better

Nix It is not a system for doing more. It is a system for holding less and doing better.

Too often we hold onto things out of habit or fear of failure. We build systems to help us manage more, exacerbating the problem. But too much of what we hold onto is of no real consequence and crowds out what is important.

Seek to eliminate this noise and unburden your mind.