I've found that everything I put into gtd system after some time inverts into obligation - even pleasant things. I feel like I'm trying checking off next actions and make my lists empty. I know that our commitments never end and resemble rather stream than lake. I would like to be rather in state of "flow" than "emptying the tank" but it's very hard to acomplish that. Has anyone had similar feelings and coped with them?
I'd like to add another reply.
Its all in the way you think about your lists.
David Allen says "A mind is for having ideas, not holding them"
The way to think about lists, in my opinion, is like a tool, or like a butler holding them on a tray, displaying them and waiting for me to choose one. They are not meant to be like a master, or cause pressure. But until your lists are complete, it may feel like that. I can relate to the feeling that they're an obligation. I now see my gtd tool/lists sort of as a shopping cart holding my stuff, so I don't have to walk through the store (life) holding 153 items in my hands. The cart will hold them for me until I'm ready to do something with them. Imagine the relief of being given a shopping cart when you are holding and juggling several pounds of heavy groceries in your arms. Or perhaps imagine being offered a wheelbarrow when you are trying to carry heavy rocks for several miles. (A wheelbarrow or shopping cart with categorized compartments would complete the analogy.)
I like your lake and stream analogy. I like that idea, of having flow, rather than needing to empty the stream.
If you want to hear David Allen himself saying "A mind is for having ideas, not holding them" you can check out this youtube video:
If the link doesn't work then, try to google "Crucial advice on time management from David Allen"
Also, GTD connect for members has several essays where David Allen describes how getting stuff down on paper is a relief, and enables him to relax, because he can rely on it being there when he wants to do it and he doesn't have to hold it in his head.
Maybe this video can help you change your thinking (and attitude) about the lists. It helped me.
https://nortonsafe.search.ask.com/s...8yNmmHq5hGm24w05V_81FcThgDdg&ts=1533510299236
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Crucial Advice on Time Management from David Allen
Sarah