How To Fix Overwhelm with These Powerful Tips From David Allen

His GTD method can save your sanity.

Sometimes life gets too intense, and all you want to do is run and hide. When overwhelm hits, and tasks accumulate beyond your power to cope, it’s easy to feel like you’re losing control.

Control and intention make us human; that’s why we need a plan and actionable steps to have a thriving life. Information overload and too many intense negative emotions can derail us from that plan.

A few years ago, I was searching for answers. I couldn’t keep living in the state I was in. It was like my brain had stopped working properly. I felt like I had no mental clarity at all, no space to discern what to do next, what’s most important. It all seemed crucial and urgent, and I was so scared that I’d forget some of those things, which, of course, I did. Anxiety ruled my life.

That’s when I came across David Allen’s book: “Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity.” His method, GTD, is designed to help people organize their lives in a way that becomes automatic and eliminates a lot of the stress of having to remember everything. It also emphasizes the importance of knowing your outcome and what next actionable steps to take.

When first implementing it, it tackles overwhelm and anxiety:

“The sense of anxiety and guilt doesn’t come from having too much to do; it’s the automatic result of breaking agreements with yourself.”

“Everything you’ve told yourself you ought to do, your mind thinks you should do right now. Frankly, as soon as you have two things to do stored in your RAM, you’ve generated personal failure because you can’t do two things at the same time.” — David Allen, “Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity”

Our minds aren’t built for storing thoughts. In fact, we’re so awful at remembering certain thing things that we’re better off forgetting them. We should use our minds for creative thinking, problem-solving, and coming up with new ideas. We can’t do that when we’re stressed out of our minds about what needs to get done.

Overwhelm isn’t inherently good or bad — it shows there is a problem — but it can be very uncomfortable. The good news is that there’s a way out of the mental fog. And it starts with a few simple steps.

As a disclaimer, GTD is a complex system that can cause overwhelm itself when you first implement it. There are plenty of resources, books, and websites that explain it in detail.

The tips you’re about to read are a diluted, simplified, and digital version of this method that has provided my husband and me with much needed mental relief, and we’ve been using it for a couple of years now.

Let’s dig in.

Capture your thoughts.

The first and the best thing you can do to release yourself from overwhelm is a Brain Dump.

Even though it’s redundant, putting thoughts on paper is hugely beneficial and brings almost immediate relief. I still use this technique to this day, apart from the GTD method, whenever I have nagging thoughts and negative emotions.

The rule is simple. Whatever has been making you anxious, whatever has been on your mind obsessively, write it down and watch it lose its power over you. Write down all things, big or small, urgent or not.

According to research, unfinished or interrupted tasks occupy much more mental space than other types of thoughts, so be sure to get those off your chest.

Write good things too, dreams, stuff you’d like to do, books you’d like to read. Places your friends have mentioned, and you want to remember to visit.

If you need to, walk around the house and see what else pops into your mind, you’ll probably think about a dozen other things — write those down too. Repeat the same process at work if you must.

I should warn you: this first step will be the lengthiest. It first took me a couple of hours and lots of pages to fully empty my mind of all the “to do’s” I’d accumulated over the years. Holding on to them had been so draining, and now it was like I could see the clear sky for the first time.

Set up a system on your phone & computer.

GTD is ultimately a method of organizing all your tasks, thoughts, appointments, and reference materials. Structure is where it excels.

The book talks about a filing system, which I found very difficult to implement. I don’t work in an office, and I like to move around from room to room when I’m at home. I needed a system that was available digitally and that I could access both from my phone or my laptop.

I’m a visual person, so I chose the Trello app thanks to its board and intuitive lists and cards. You may already have an app that you like. It doesn’t really matter as long as you stick to these principles and find it easy to use.

Once you have all your thoughts on paper, this is how to use them. Don’t skip these steps, or you’ll just end up with a huge to-do list, and that’s never helped you before.

Create the following categories in Trello:

A list for “Inbox”

Imagine the “Inbox” is where all your thoughts land. You may be waiting in line at the coffee shop, and you remember something that needs to get done. Dump that thought in the “Inbox” list, don’t let it consume your brainpower any further. You now have space in your mind for better things, like day-dreaming and coming up with new ideas.

Inbox is like a second brain, an external memory at the tip of your fingers. It’s still chaotic and diverse, but at least nothing is forgotten.

A list for “Next Action”

Your Brain Dump list is likely filled with to-dos. Some are urgent, and some aren’t. Some are big projects, and some tasks take less than 5 minutes.

“Next action” should be a home for all those tasks that only have one actionable step.

You can put labels on them, sort them in different categories, and assign them a due date. Trello has many options.

If you have any major to-do with more than two steps, save it as a “Project.” Then, gradually break it down into smaller actions.

You might also have some unrealistic tasks that you know you’ll never do; you just wrote them down to feel better about yourself. Do yourself a favor and scrap them entirely.

A list for “Waiting for”

Whatever you can’t do yourself, delegate it if you have that option. But don’t just forget about it.

Keep that person accountable by keeping track of your request in the “Waiting for” list. This list also comes in handy when you’re waiting for an important delivery or a reply from someone.

A Calendar

Any critical dates — birthdays, vaccinations, expiring documents — insert them in the app’s calendar, or any calendar of your preference. This one is obvious, but surprisingly few people do this. I’m not a proponent of time blocking everything, but what you don’t assign time to, won’t get done.

What you don’t assign time to, won’t get done.

A list of “Completed”

Did you really think that I was going to rob you of the pleasure of visually ticking things off your to-do list? Enter — the “Completed” list.

One by one, completed tasks will accumulate and restore faith in your ability of adulting.

Now, you can no longer say that you didn’t get anything done. Just look at all you’ve accomplished! Not to mention, in Trello, you can archive them and access them later if you need to.

Other lists

For other categories: like “Reference,” “Incubate,” and “Someday/Maybe,” consult the book. I use them only sparingly. I can promise you that even with the four categories above, you’ll reduce your stress significantly.

Two-minute rule

David Allen has this rule about how, if an action takes less than two minutes, you should do it right then and there.

I don’t recommend you do this when sorting your first brain dump session, but it gives you quite a boost in productivity when you decide to tackle your “Next Action” list on a later date.

Don’t beat yourself up if you can’t follow it, though. We all procrastinate at times — just forgive yourself and move on.

The Miracle of the Universal Inbox

There is something magical about not having to worry anymore: worrying about forgetting things, worrying about not having a plan, not being able to prioritize. The GTD method brings so much clarity.

When everything is set up, sit back and enjoy the magic. Whatever thought comes to my mind, instead of letting it devolve into an endless loop — put it in the “Inbox.” Zero judgment, you’ll sort it later.

Then, set a designated time, daily, or every couple of days, to go through your inbox and see how you can organize and execute those actions.

Something miraculous happens a few days after doing this. You experience silence. Your mind knows that it’s all been taken care of; you no longer need to remember all those things. You can relax now.

“There is no reason to ever have the same thought twice, unless you like having that thought.” — David Allen

Closing Thoughts

The GTD method has saved me from becoming overwhelmed when embarking in a new career, organizing a wedding, building a house, and pretty much in the mundane of everyday life.

It takes a little bit of effort to get started, but all good things in life take some work. How much is having a clear mind worth to you? A mind that lets ideas come through. A mind that is better equipped to handle distraction.

We’re human, and we get stressed at times, even with all the tools available. One more reason why we should attack stress with everything we’ve got and create mental space for focus and awareness.