Creative Focus Isn’t a Personality Trait — It’s a System

Why I organize everything — to protect my energy

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If you don’t trust your system, it lives in your brain. And your brain — especially your creative brain — is a terrible place to store open loops.

I’m a student of David Allen’s Getting Things Done. At first, I thought it was about color-coded lists and being more organized. But over time, I realized what he was really chasing: clarity.

That clicked for me during a year-long deep dive into personal finance. I found that same clarity in the community around the app YNAB — not just knowing where my money was, but understanding what it was for.

That kind of clarity is an enabler. It’s what lets you reach deeper — past the noise and pressure — and access the ideas that actually matter.

Breaking through the noise of modern life doesn’t come from trying harder. It comes from building a system that’s solid enough to keep the noise out of your head, so the signal can come through.

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Not Productivity — Protection

In GTD David Allen teaches that very few things actually belong on your calendar — only what’s truly day- or time-specific. That kind of calendar cleanliness protects what is scheduled, and makes everything else feel more possible. When your calendar isn’t cluttered, your time doesn’t feel like it’s already been spent. That clarity makes room for momentum.

Productivity isn’t about time-blocking your entire life. It’s about having a system you can trust — one that captures not just the what, but the why. The “what” tells you the tools or energy needed. The “why” reminds you whether it matters at all.

When you can review both — in context with everything else going on in your life — that’s when real prioritization becomes possible.

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Letting Ideas Breathe

Every great system starts with easy capture. Ideas don’t usually show up when you sit down to be creative — they show up when you’re living your life. That’s why I need frictionless capture. For me, it’s just a widget — one tap and the thought goes straight into my Todoist inbox. But it could be anything: voice memos, a journal, a notes app, a whiteboard in the kitchen.

The real question isn’t how you capture — it’s how you stop those ideas from joining another list that you never actually look at. A system graveyard.

That’s where the weekly review comes in. It’s the part of the system that gives me confidence nothing will fall through the cracks. It doesn’t have to be elaborate — mine usually takes 15–20 minutes.

The other gift of the weekly review? It gives my ideas space to breathe.

We’ve all had the idea that felt electric in the moment… and cold the next morning. But we’ve also had ideas that felt too small — until we gave them time. A review system removes the pressure to act instantly and gives your instincts time to sort the signal from the noise.

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Organized Enough to Be Free

I don’t organize my work so I can be more productive. I organize it so I don’t burn out. So I don’t forget what matters. So I can keep showing up to the work I care about, without emptying myself to do it.

Having a trusted system — one that protects my energy instead of demanding more of it — lets me make creative decisions from a place of clarity, not chaos.

That’s not productivity. That’s survival. And for me, it’s where the best work begins.