Taming the Busy Mind: How to Get on Top of Your To-Dos, Emails, and Mental Clutter as a Creative Entrepreneur

Last week, during a mentoring session with a new client, I was reminded of a moment from my own early business days — that strange, bittersweet stage when the dream starts to work.

I went from having three clients to fifteen. I was getting calls from people who’d heard about my work. It should have felt amazing — right?

Nope. I was completely overwhelmed.

My kitchen wall became a giant blackboard covered in to-dos and arrows. I forgot to look at it. My head was a swirl of things to remember, people to email, and a low hum of panic that I was already behind.

Then a friend asked me, “Have you heard of Getting Things Done?”

I hadn’t. But learning about David Allen’s GTD approach — or any structured task management system, really — changed my life.