4. Projects over categories.

When capturing an idea, instead of categorizing it in a folder, it is better to join it with other documents that have a clear objective such as a project or activity.

Example: You want to be more productive, gather all the ideas that help to that end.

Break the project you don't want to start into smaller pieces.

Breaking it down into small tasks and adding those to your to-do list isn't exactly fun, but it is less overwhelming than working. And it's also useful: When you finally do get around to starting, you've got a strategy.

Unfinished work continues to exert an influence, even when we try to move on to other things.

When you start working on something but do not finish it, thoughts of the unfinished work continue to pop into your mind even when you've moved on to other things. Such thoughts urge you to ...