Security wonks do some of our best work when we're away from the keyboard. Whether we're ruminating on a bug or dreaming up new research opportunities, our brains are almost always running. I've found that having a well-tuned productivity system helps keep my life on track when work gets hectic, and conversely, to be "regular and orderly in my life, so that I may be violent and original in my work" (Gustave Flaubert)

I'll walk you through my productivity management methodology based on David Allen's "Getting Things Done" (2001). We'll cover how to bootstrap a system using a painstaking brain-dump, how to triage and collate your tasks and projects, how to rapidly capture thoughts as soon as they come up, how to set up recurring events to put your life on auto-pilot, how to defer things using someday/maybe lists to hide the stuff you're not ready for yet, and how to use contextual tagging so that tasks come back to you exactly when you can do something about them.

Having a trusted system has helped me to achieve more, manage my stress, and make room for thoughts that are worth having. Whether you're a student, a professional, or just someone with responsibilities, you can be more present, focused, and effective in your personal and professional life.