Master Your Life: Proven Strategies to Regain Control and Boost Productivity

This article highlights key insights from an exclusive interview with David Allen, renowned productivity guru and author of the bestselling book 'Getting Things Done'.

David discusses the overwhelming influx of information we face daily and offers practical advice on overcoming information overload when it truly impacts us.

Many readers likely feel buried under endless tasks—emails, messages, calls—being connected around the clock. Has modern stress evolved into something different?

People today often feel overwhelmed because they lack the intense survival stress our ancestors experienced over centuries. Back then, survival was paramount, prompting calm, focused decision-making and swift information processing. The urgency to survive sharpened intuition and concentration.

Without that immediate crisis, everyday distractions flood our lives: rising taxes, minor illnesses, malfunctioning printers, and nonstop digital clutter 24/7.

To manage this flood, we must reclaim the ability to make quick decisions and allocate limited resources wisely. Fundamentally, this hasn’t changed since ancient times; only the volume of decisions we face has increased dramatically.

If focusing is a challenge, learn to distinguish what truly matters in your current world. How can you prioritize amid the noise? You need clear mental maps guiding your actions—different plans for what to accomplish in the next three years versus the next three minutes. Your calendar can serve this purpose effectively, as long as it answers: What deserves my attention right now?

What personal tools do you use to enhance productivity?

I rely on Lotus Notes for corporate communication, enhanced by a custom extension developed by my friend Eric Mac that integrates calendar, email, and task lists seamlessly. These sync with my BlackBerry, though we’re working to enable iPhone compatibility soon.

I also use TheBrain and MindManager—each serves distinct functions for organizing thoughts and projects.

Additionally, I keep a small notebook handy. Ideas often strike unexpectedly, and jotting them down quickly on paper remains the simplest method.

Still, I’m exploring new tools for managing time and cognitive resources. My iPad is evolving from a toy into a practical gadget, especially with Adobe’s app for drawing simple shapes—fun but not yet a replacement for a traditional whiteboard. I also use Microsoft Office on my Mac through Parallels.

What about non-digital tools?

I have a physical inbox where I deposit all notes and reminders—a lifeline named "I don’t want to think about this now." The key is to revisit it regularly before items become stale. While I discard about 80% of these notes, this process frees my mind: I drop something in and forget it until reviewing later to decide its importance.

Though digitizing this workflow sounds ideal, there’s a catch: out of sight often means out of mind. A physical inbox stays visible, whereas digital clutter is easy to ignore. Many tech-savvy people still return to paper for its clarity and immediacy. It takes strong discipline to consistently revisit digital files.

There’s much talk about information overload. What’s your perspective?

True information overload would cause you to collapse in a library or explode surfing the web. In reality, nature is the richest information environment and also the most calming—full of diverse sights, sounds, and smells. Have you heard of sensory deprivation? Prolonged absence of stimuli can drive one insane.

Nature offers vast data, but only certain elements matter to us—animals, edible plants, hazards. The issue with email isn’t volume but the demand for action and decisions it imposes. Receiving a message—from a cousin or a boss—triggers mental preparation for required responses, running through possible scenarios before even opening it. Multiply this by the number of daily emails.

Scattered thoughts and inability to concentrate are major stressors and productivity killers. At work, you worry about home; at home, about work. You’re everywhere yet nowhere, accompanied by persistent anxiety.

Nothing has fundamentally changed except the frequency of these demands. In 72 hours, we absorb as much information as our parents did in a month. In 1912, phones were criticized like today’s emails: "They’ll ruin life quality," "Conversations will become shallow," "Everyone will be distracted." Sound familiar?

Back in 1983, carrying a small daily planner was considered geeky in productivity circles.

Our magazine has explored technology’s impact on knowledge and thinking, for example: "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" What’s your take—are human wisdom and reflection improving or declining?

Remember encyclopedias from childhood? You read them to learn about the world. What’s changed except vastly easier access to knowledge? We live in an incredible era where we can effortlessly connect across the globe.

Imagine the success of a person with a processor in their head—if they were the only one, of course. But if you were the last person on Earth, planners and GTD systems wouldn’t matter.

What’s the key takeaway for gaining full control over life?

Externalize everything from your mind onto reliable storage. It’s that simple! Capture what’s important—even potential priorities—clarify their meaning for you, and keep records to step back and gain perspective.

In short: stop using your brain as a storage unit for all your concerns. Holding everything mentally leads to quicksand where thoughts sink instantly. I dream of a future where we free our minds from clutter and dedicate consciousness solely to wise thinking.

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