Select an app, or open a text file, or use a physical notebook, and dump every open loop that you can think of in one place, not in multiple apps. Add new items as soon as they float into your mind.

The payoff is that you won't have to obtain all your peace of mind from completing every item on the list, as the list is certainly too much for one person to handle. Faithfully capturing open loops will bring an instant dose of relief.

We often feel overwhelmed when we have too many tasks floating around in our heads. One way to calm that feeling of anxiety is to follow productivity guru David Allen's advice: You really should capture your open loops.

An open loop is any kind of commitment or tas...