Allen is the author of Getting Things Done, a book with a simple premise: that our brain is for having ideas, not for holding them. An empty brain is a productive brain, and the more stuff we get out of our heads, the more clearly we think. You’re already familiar with this idea if you keep a calendar. You’d never be able to think clearly if you tried to keep track of all of your appointments and meetings in your head. You’d forever need to devote some portion of your attentional space to upcoming events, and this would be extraordinarily stressful. Keeping a to-do list has a similar effect:
...more
