I use Omnifocus and a physical notebook. Omnifocus: I throw everything that comes to mind to the inbox, whenever it occurs to me. Usually on weekends or whenev

I use Omnifocus and a physical notebook. Omnifocus: I throw everything that comes to mind to the inbox, whenever it occurs to me. Usually on weekends or whenever I panic about feeling things are spinning out of control, I'll go through and organize it, grouping things and adding dates. In the morning while waking up, I browse a bit, deciding what needs to happen. Two things that work well for me about it: - the geolocation context stuff is a godsend for remembering random things I need to pick up. - The fact that uncompleted tasks don't automatically roll forward means I don't constantly have 647 overdue items, and makes me think about what I'm actually, really going to get done. Notebook: Paper still works best for me for a lot of things. I still make lists there, sketch box diagrams when thinking through things, sketch ideas for stuff to make, collect random info, things that amuse me, etc. Also, it serves as a binder for loose paper/receipts/etc that are still in-flight. I trained myself to write the date and location on every page, and to write out sufficient context for even throwaway notes to actually remember what a given thing is later. This makes them very useful after they're full - I have years of full notebooks on my shelf and reference them more than you might think. Some not-strictly-related things that reduce the cognitive load of existence for me: - Once I got to a financial place where I could, I forced myself to start paying every bill the minute it came in. Not having to mentally keep track of due dates and all of that leaves room for worrying about a bunch of other stuff. Nobody gets auto-withdrawl permission, but doing things this way offers the same effect and is trivially easy now that everything is online. - I scan any paper artifact that doesn't need to be paper. Organizing it is still tedious, but the payoff of actually being able to find something when I need it seems magic. Things tend to build up until I spend a couple hours on it, and then in to the shredder they go. Make sure your backup regimen is solid. - A little, slightly hokey thing that nonetheless is useful for me: I started writing my (nonwork) goals on a whiteboard in my home office. Just whatever is important right now. Having it physically on the wall seems to provide a little bit of focus, something I frequently need.