Effective at Reducing Anxiety

We all carry many thoughts. As we commemorated Mental Health Day this week, it's a great opportunity to champion mental well-being. A healthy mind covers various aspects: social support, emotional control, physical health, and stress management, to name a few. While we all benefit uniquely from different things, today, I want to share a low-effort tactic that has consistently reduced my stress and anxiety for years: writing down my thoughts.

"Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them. Move everything from your head into a trustworthy system that you review regularly(…) Since you know that the task is captured in your system, you can stop worrying about it.” This quote by David Allen stands as my favorite from my 13+ year-long productivity journey. Professor Brian Little, an authority on human goals, suggests that we juggle around 15 "personal projects" at once, including what he calls a "mixture of trivial pursuits and magnificent obsessions." Finding ways to de-clutter and remove these thoughts from your mind is crucial. Frameworks like "Getting Things Done," "Building a Second Brain," and "Bullet Journal" emphasize the value of capturing tasks and ideas outside the mind to reduce anxiety.

But what's the challenge with these frameworks? They dive deep (well, they try to sell you a book after all!), making implementation feel overwhelming. Don't get me wrong, those who implement them swear by their chosen framework, but I've noticed that a vast majority of people end up not executing anything at all. Here's my take on how to get the core benefit, but with minimal effort.

My Proposal: Keep it simple

• For things that don't require immediate action:

  • Use a free Notes app (e.g. iPhone Notes, Evernote)

  • Create a note for each topic that takes space on your mind

  • For example, topics like minor home renovation ideas, restaurant/book/podcast recommendations, etc.

  • Set a specific time for review (e.g. during your Weekly Review). Without this, you might feel like you're writing things down, folding paper airplanes, and watching them fly away, reducing trust in your system and bringing back stress.

• For things that do require immediate action:

  • Send an email to yourself, preferably your work email.

  • You'll notice it and act as you would to a request from your manager.

  • For example, when you have a toothache and need to visit the dentist or when your car needs servicing.

• For collaborative matters:

  • Personally, my wife and I create WhatsApp groups for specific topics. [This can be done in a proper note-taking app or any group chat].

  • For example: gift ideas for our children (for when family asks), packing lists for our next trip, notes for our cleaning person's next visit, and even a group where we record funny things our kids say or do.

  • Without structured partner-to-partner communication, diverse information can either get lost or lead to anxiety. Again, it's crucial to schedule times for review.

Go share these tips with people like Kylie and Lenny.

Stop "holding ideas",

Jorge Luis Pando

PS: One significant concern that's impossible to get off my mind: the atrocities happening in the Middle East. It would be really insensitive to assume that events of such magnitude can be casually noted and forgotten. They require to be kept in our minds for contemplation. One small suggestion: remember to reach out to your friends, and offer your support. A simple message expressing "I am thinking about you in these tough times", or "You know I am here to support", can be well received during these challenging times.