Q: I feel like I’ll spend all my time maintaining these lists.
David Allen: If by “maintaining” the lists you mean, “write action reminders down in a retrievable place that you’ll look at when you need to.” then it’s not going to take you nearly as much time, effort, and stress as filing it in your head, constantly feeling pressured about what’s in there, and having the thought occur again (and again, and again) in your mind because it doesn’t trust your system.
Hi-I recently changed my approach to GTD by having a projects list rather than a list for every project. This way I could complete my weekly review in under an hour rather than in two or three.
I think the “real” question here is “why doesn’t GTD magically make all my work go away.” I think D.A. answers this in places, but not every time this question comes up. For me the answer is, GTD is just a framework to help you manage your existing commitments. It doesn’t eliminate the commitments for you. However, it can help you identify those commitments more clearly, and if you decide those commitments don’t provide you value, get rid of them. Again, this really has nothing to do with GTD, and GTD won’t magically make it happen.
I have been using GTD for over 3 years now, and I know what you mean. Sometimes it feels like a hassle to maintain the lists.
The way I see it… the lists don’t always have to be maintained. They provide a place to put your thoughts.
GTD purists probably don’t recommend this, but having my inbox (ubiquitous capture) and my other lists (context-based, waiting for, etc.) gives me comfort that my thoughts are captured somewhere. Whether they are in my inbox or somewhere else… I know, at some point, I will get to it because it’s been captured.
Will you need to “maintain” and process your lists at some point? Yes!
Do they always have to reflect your current reality? No, that’s what the weekly review is for.