4D Work Method

Cures procrastination, saves you from "no time"

Date: 2026-08-30
Total tasks: 18 items

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🔵 Delegate it

Work that can be delegated or assigned to others

Free up more time for important things by delegating.

Example: Assign a subordinate to attend an unimportant forum; ask your boss for help on an approval beyond your responsibility.

#	Item	Delegated to	Deadline	Status
1	Compile data report for last week's project weekly summary	Intern Xiao Wang	Today 16:00	✅ Delegated
2	Reply to supplier email about logistics quote	Procurement Dept. Xiao Li	Today 17:00	✅ Delegated
3	Attend afternoon industry policy briefing	Colleague Xiao Zhang	Today 14:00	✅ Delegated
4	Book hotel for next quarter's team offsite	Admin Dept. Xiao Liu	This Friday	⬜ To delegate
5	Collect department feedback on new system	Product Manager Xiao Chen	Next Monday	⬜ To delegate

Decision criteria:

• Someone else can do it (at least 80% effectiveness)
• My time is more valuable on higher priority tasks
• Clear acceptance criteria after delegation

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🟢 Do it now

Things that can be done in 2 minutes

Handle 2-3 minute tasks right away to prevent them from occupying your mental space.

Example: Send a spreadsheet to finance; send a confirmation email to a supplier; add a note for a newly added contact.

• Reply to boss's WeChat "Got it, handling immediately"
• Send project progress screenshot to client
• Add today's meeting link to calendar
• Note name + position for newly added candidate
• Clear junk email
• Reply to colleague's question about document location
• Water the plants
• Organize scattered files on desktop

Decision criteria:

• Estimated time ≤ 2 minutes
• No extra preparation or resources needed
• Can be completely crossed off when done

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🟡 Defer it

Things that cannot be delegated and take more than 2 minutes

Work that can't be done right away, requires block time, and cannot be delegated—write it down and put it in the todo list. Writing it down allows you to temporarily forget it, so your brain can focus on the task at hand.

Priority	Item	Est. time	Planned start	Status
🔴 High	Complete Q3 quarterly summary PPT	3 hrs	Today 09:30	🔄 In progress
🔴 High	Prepare materials for tomorrow's project review	2 hrs	Today 14:00	⬜
🟡 Medium	Outline H2 OKR plan	1.5 hrs	Tomorrow 10:00	⬜
🟡 Medium	Align new homepage design with designer	1 hr	Today 16:00	⬜
🟡 Medium	Reply to client's product requirements document	45 min	Tomorrow 14:00	⬜
🟢 Low	Organize personal knowledge base bookmarks	30 min	This Friday afternoon	⬜
🟢 Low	Read first two chapters of a new product book	40 min	Weekend	⬜

Decision criteria:

• Cannot be delegated to others
• Takes longer than 2 minutes
• Has clear value and necessity

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🔴 Delete it

Cannot delegate, takes over 2 minutes, and unnecessary

Abandon and delete these decisively. Don't let trivial things occupy your mind—clear them out.

Example: An irrelevant meeting; an insignificant email.

Deleted item	Reason for deletion	Notes
Attend cross-department team building discussion	Too low value / Irrelevant	A colleague is already attending; unrelated to my work
Help another department organize expense reports	Too low value / Skippable	Outside my responsibilities; can politely decline
Scroll industry news WeChat accounts for 30 min	Too low value	Information overload; 10 min/day is enough
Reply to "Got it" flood messages in group chat	Too low value / Skippable	Doesn't affect work; mark as read is fine
Research a new tool that won't be used	Irrelevant	Not needed at current stage; revisit later if needed

Decision criteria:

• Doing it brings no significant value
• Not doing it causes no negative impact
• Trivial tasks that can be refused / ignored

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📊 Today's 4D Classification Summary

Category	Count	%
Delegate it	5	28%
Do it now	8	44%
Defer it	7	39%
Delete it	5	28%
Total	18	100%

Note: Some items may span multiple categories; the above reflects primary classification.

Today's reflection:

• Spent 10 minutes in the morning using 4D classification—today's work efficiency clearly improved
• Deleted 5 items from "Delete it" section—felt like my mind instantly became clearer
• The 5 delegated items saved about 2 hours, allowing me to focus on the quarterly summary

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Quick Reference Card

Category	English	Condition	Action
Delegate it	Delegate it	Can be done by others	Delegate out, track results
Do it now	Do it now	Completable within 2 min	Do it immediately, clear your mind
Defer it	Defer it	Cannot delegate + Over 2 min + Has value	Write in todos, schedule time
Delete it	Delete it	Cannot delegate + Over 2 min + Unnecessary	Decisively delete, reject trivialities