The five D's are five questions to ask about every task before you do it. Delete: does it need to happen at all? Delegate: can someone else do it? Defer: must it be today? Diminish: can it be smaller? Do: then do it, and finish it. Lists differ from author to author, but delete, delegate and defer are in all of them.
The five, one by one
Delete. Most lists carry tasks nobody would miss. A report no one reads. A meeting that exists because it always has. Cross them out first.
Delegate. If someone can do it about 70 percent as well as you, hand it over with a clear brief. The gap closes with practice. Your hour does not come back.
Defer. Not everything is today. Give it a real date, and stop looking at it until then.
Diminish. Can a two-page report be one page? Can a meeting be a message? Smaller often counts the same.
Do. What is left is yours. Do it in one sitting, and finish it.
Why the order matters
People start at Do. That is why they are busy and still behind. The first four steps shrink the list to the things that only you can do and that must be done now. Usually that is a short list.
Where M-Tracker fits
Delegate is the step most managers skip, because handing work over used to mean checking it twice. In M-Tracker, a delegated task carries a brief, and when the work comes back it is checked against that brief before you see it. You get the hour back and a plain note on what to look at. Delegating stops being a risk.
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Questions people ask
Is the fifth D always Do?
No. Some lists use Divide, Decide or Delay. The idea is the same: filter first, work last.
How is this different from the four D's?
The four D's are do, defer, delegate, delete. The fifth adds diminish, which is the one most people need.
How often should I run the filter?
Once a week on the whole list, and once a day on the new items.
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