Hi Richard,
You're definitely not alone in this one. Couple of thoughts :
1) Do you take daily time to clarify incoming stuff, or do you wait until the WR?
There is for me a proportionate correlation between the time I have spent during the week to keep clear and the quality of my thinking during the WR.
Remember that the reason we feel mind like water lies in the fact that we have defined what doing looks like (1) and that we know what we are not doing (completely) (2). Now, why would you not have mind like water if you've gone through the WR?
Here again, relating to my personal experience, it helps me to remind myself that doing the WR is an actual thinking job and that decision fatigue kicks in at some point. My point is that if I wait until the WR to get clear I will spend a great portion of my limited decisional capacity on getting clear. Because I am a really lazy person, this will lead me to rush more than I'd like through the GET CURRENT phase, which means I will glance at all my commitments, without Renegotiating what is in there. It has happened a number of times that my list were simply NOT CURRENT anymore, but I did not notice it..
2) Do you change your general mental and physiological state when doing the WR?
I need to signal my body and mind that I am leaving the DOING mode and getting into the REVIEW mode. If I have been sitting, I'll be standing (and vice-versa). If I have been listening to music, I'll stop (and vice-versa). The same thing happens with my entries: Phone/Emails/Chats where I will download everything and than work offline (easily done with Airplane Mode on iPhone and "Work Offline" in Outlook). Everytime I do this, I sigh because I know I won't get interrupted (instead of hoping it).
3) Do you take the means for the goal?
Having had a hard time to develop the habit of the WR in the first place, I have in the past religiously followed the recommendations of doing a weekly 2-hour review. Most of the time it delivered on its promise. But careful if it did not ! !
We should not forget that the weekly review is what we need to do to be back in control and feeling relaxed. Maybe you are at a particular time in your life needing more reviews than at other times? Maybe you could benefit from cutting yourself some slack and do some longer reviews ?
I am saying that, because just before Christmas I hit a wall and was exhausted. I could not book flights and train tickets and it felt a bit scarry. That was a humbling experience as being a GTD Certified Trainer I was suppose to "know better". Yet this is a life long journey we're on and what works at some point may need to be revisited every once in a while.
Hope any of it is useful and looking forward to reading your experience down the road.
Best,
Adrian