Interesting idea... I remember reading the Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci when I was a kid. I dreamed of creating a complete memory "system" in my own mind.

Not sure what the orthodox GTDers would think of this, but it would be an interesting challenge to implement a GTD system in a memory palace. I could imagine, for instance, twelve distinct rooms for the 12 months (and thus an entire calendar system in one's head).

Technically, this method would not be the same as "keeping stuff in mental RAM," since the memory palace technique was designed as a way of storing mental items in a secure and trustworthy way--so that they are not always on your mind, but rather accessed anytime you visualize a particular space and its objects.

Besides, I've come to believe that David Allen grossly underestimates the capacity of memory. The strength of a GTD system is not that it gets everything out of one's head, but rather that it provides helpful, orderly tools for sorting through and analyzing the stuff in one's head. A memory palace could serve the same purpose, while at the same time preserving a richer and more intense inner life. For me, the most troubling GTD mantra is "get everything out of your head." Yes, by all means objectify and analyze all your commitments, goals, etc. But when DA waxes on about the beauty of an empty mind, I get a little bit frightened.

Creativity comes from one's conscious and unconscious engagement with mental "stuff." Tossing everything out might reduce stress. But more often than not, the aim seems to be to cultivate some serene blandness and robotic happiness. I need some cluttered corners of memory to get anything interested started.

On that note, thank goodness to 43 Folders for making GTD more chaotic and colorful.