FlowBuilder

Yes/no: should I answer this email now? flowchart

Yes/no flowcharts work best when each question is a genuine fork and the answers are actions, not feelings. This one follows the widely used "two-minute rule" from David Allen’s Getting Things Done.

How to write steps
  • One step per line. Lines connect top to bottom.
  • End a line with ? to make a decision. Indent the answers under it: yes: Ship it, no: Refund.
  • Indent more lines under an answer to continue that branch.
  • -> Step name jumps back to an earlier step (a loop). no -> Step name works inside a decision.
  • Start, End, Done or Stop become rounded start/end shapes.
  • Shape tags: [input] [output] [doc] [db] [sub] [manual] [delay].
  • lane: Sales on its own line puts the next steps in a swimlane.
  • Or paste Mermaid code starting with flowchart TD. It’s detected automatically.

Mermaid code for this chart
flowchart TD
  n1(["Start"])
  n2{"Does it need a reply from me?"}
  n3["Archive it"]
  n4{"Can I answer in under two minutes?"}
  n5["Reply now"]
  n6{"Is someone waiting on it today?"}
  n7["Block time today to reply"]
  n8["Add it to my task list"]
  n9(["Done"])
  n1 --> n2
  n2 -->|"no"| n3
  n2 -->|"yes"| n4
  n4 -->|"yes"| n5
  n4 -->|"no"| n6
  n6 -->|"yes"| n7
  n6 -->|"no"| n8
  n3 --> n9
  n5 --> n9
  n7 --> n9
  n8 --> n9

The steps as text

This is the source of the chart above, so the template is readable even without the diagram.

Start
Does it need a reply from me?
  no: Archive it
  yes: Can I answer in under two minutes?
    yes: Reply now
    no: Is someone waiting on it today?
      yes: Block time today to reply
      no: Add it to my task list
Done

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Questions people ask

How do I edit this yes/no: should i answer this email now? flowchart?

Change the text in the editor. Each line is a step, lines ending in “?” are decisions, and indented lines are the answers. The chart redraws as you type and is saved in your browser.

Can I download it?

Yes: PNG for documents and slides, SVG for sharp printing, or Mermaid code for GitHub, Notion and Obsidian.