There is a school of thought on productivity headed by super-duper prepare-o-matic David Allen and he has written a few books on the subject. I really like his approach which basically says that, it really doesn’t matter how much you have to do, if you have a system for capturing and processing your projects and tasks your stress will be relieved.

I am always looking for tips on being able to get more done with the paltry sum of hours that passes for a workday. Here are 2 tips I recently passed on to a family member:

1. Keep a single small notebook with you at all times. If you think of something you need to do or need to remember write it down immediately. The less things you keep in mental RAM, the less you will feel like you are drowning.

2. If you are feeling overwhelmed, sit down and set a timer for 10 mintues. For these 10 minutes, write continuously ALL of the things (no matter how obscure) on your mind that seem to be plaguing you. This is called a “mind sweep”. If you are still writing when the timer goes off, reset it and keep on going. When you are done you should have a pretty thorough to-do list.

I frequently read 43folders.com the site has tons of productivity/technology info. If anyone else has tips or resources, please share.