Getting Things Done as a System: Becoming Like Water

"Water is what it is, and does what it does. It can overwhelm, but it’s not overwhelmed. It can be still, but it is not impatient. It can be forced to change course, but it is not frustrated. Get it?" 

– David Allen, Getting Things Done

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INPUTS (Uncontrollable, Constant Flow)

• Emails
• Meetings
• Deadlines
• Crises
• Unexpected events

Step 1: Capture ("Container for Flow")

• Collect all incoming information (notes, inboxes, voice memos, lists)
• Don't resist the incoming current, just catch it

Step 2: Clarify ("Remove Debris")

• Process each captured item: What is it? Is action needed?
• Define next actions, projects, reference material
• Let go of ambiguity (clearing the water)

Step 3: Organize ("Directing Channels")

• Sort clarified items into systems:

• Next actions
• Waiting for
• Projects
• Someday/maybe
• Calendar
• Each item flows into an appropriate channel

Step 4: Reflect ("Monitoring Currents")

• Weekly reviews
• Reconnect with priorities
• Adjust the system as needed

Step 5: Engage ("Act With Flow")

• Work from trusted lists
• Choose actions based on context, time, energy, priority
• Stay present and responsive, like water flowing around obstacles

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Core System Qualities ("Water-Like Mindset")

• Adaptable
• Non-resistant
• Emotionally neutral
• Always moving, never stuck
• Calm even when fast-moving
• Changes form without losing essence

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Mindset Shift

Instead of fighting complexity or feeling overwhelmed:

• Trust the system to hold the complexity.
• Allow your mind to stay clear and present.
• Flow with change instead of resisting it.

"Water is what it is, and does what it does."

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Systems Thinking Layer:

Your mind + GTD system = an adaptive human-technical system operating inside larger dynamic systems (work, family, world events).

• Feedback loops: Regular reviews keep the system calibrated
• Emergence: Complex projects unfold through iterative small actions
• Path dependence: Early clear captures reduce downstream chaos

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Mindfulness Layer:

• Presence without reactivity
• Awareness of flow and obstacles without attachment
• Acceptance of what arises, acting skillfully in response

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David Allen's implicit lesson:

"You cannot control the river. But you can learn to move like water."

Do something bold everyday

clipped from marcusvorwaller.com 3. Make it a point to do something bold every day. Step out of your comfort zone, leave the routine even if for only a second. This might mean talking to someone that you generally wouldn’t talk to or starting a project that you feel intimidated by. There is no need to plan it in advance–though that might help at times, usually though you’ll find a point during the day when ‘two paths diverge in the woods’ and you have the change to take the one less travelled by. Take it. When there is something that we aren’t accustomed to doing we naturally set up mental barriers against it to protect ourselves from the thought of doing it. It takes a bold move to act and break those barriers.