M
Mike Ferguson
Guest
Every week since reading GTD in February I feel progress and this week I not only had more pond-like moment than any week since beginning my adoption of the GTD system, for the first time I felt like I was cranking widgets, just going down the list a knocking off actions and not thinking as much about the system as just moving through it. But then something happened once, then twice, and then a third time. I experienced shadow tasks. Like shadow limbs, they were tasks that had been removed but I suddenly had the sensation that they were still there, a brief panicked moment of feeling like I had dropped a ball, left a loop open, and then remembering that no, I had entered that task into the system and then completed the task as it rose to the surface of time, energy, intent, context, etc. It was gone. My first thought was that I’m not yet trusting my system, and this would not be totally without justification. I am happy with my steady progress but still short of feeling like I can claim brown belt status, at least regularly. But why after several weeks of weekly reviews and capturing commitments with some grace (if I do say so myself), and very little mind-chatter, do I get these shadow tasks? Are these pre-GTD flashbacks? Has anyone had this experience, diagnosed and treated it? Perhaps it is normal and it works itself out, to be expected after years of trying (and failing) to keep everything in my head.
