The obstacle is the way.
You are not unproductive. You are just using your brain as a hard drive.
Somewhere in the back of your head right now there is a task you are “trying to remember,” an idea you had last week that you almost caught, and at least three things you said you would do after this. That is not a discipline problem. That is a capture problem.
“Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them.”
— David Allen, Getting Things Done
Capture first, organise second
Get it out of your head. That is the only rule.
Something crosses your mind
A task. An idea. A thing you need to Google. A worry. It does not matter what kind of thing it is.
You open BrainJot and dump it
No folder to find first. No template to fill in. No decision to make about where it goes. Just type it.
Your brain lets it go
It is in the system. Your head knows that. It stops trying to hold it. You can think about something else now.
Sorting comes later. Or never. That’s fine too.