When good habits break down

It is easy to accumulate stuff, like unfiled papers and half-read books or unfinished projects. If left unattended, they can pile up and can spiral out of control. At some point, you can get fed up and tidy up, and then the cycle starts anew.

Unsorted papers and books are as problematic as unsorted thoughts that accumulate over time. "I should maybe do something about X." Once we've collected a few hundred of these mental-sticky notes, the mind becomes a cloud of unsorted stuff that's bothering us.