GTD Simplified: Prune your Someday/Maybe lists
A “Someday/Maybe” is an action or project that you’d like to do…. at some point, not necessarily now. I have to hold my hand up here and say that I don’t really “do” someday/maybe lists. Sure, I might jot down the occasional idea for a blog post or my next project that’s going to make me my first million on the Internet but everything that gets written down generally gets done.
Monday’s are “GTD Simplified” days here at FlippingHeck.com
A “Someday/Maybe” is an action or project that you’d like to do…. at some point, not necessarily now.
I have to hold my hand up here and say that I don’t really “do” someday/maybe lists. Sure, I might jot down the occasional idea for a blog post or my next project that’s going to make me my first million on the Internet but everything that gets written down generally gets done.
I can see how easy it would be though to end up with a Someday/Maybe list that’s beginning to look like a small telephone directory!
So, when it comes to your Weekly Review, make sure that you start to prune down your someday/maybes instead of just adding that project or action to the list that you can’t be bothered to do just yet. Otherwise, your Someday/Maybe list is going to turn into a big unmanageable pile of you-know-what that you don’t want to go near.
It might be that you do want to do everything that’s on the list. That’s fine too but how about splitting it into more manageable chunks like six, 12, 18 and 24 month periods? That way you’re not overwhelmed and can focus on stuff you’d like to start sooner rather than later.
What are your thoughts on Someday/Maybe lists? Do you use them? And if so, how do you manage them without going mad?!
- Follow Katy Whitton on:
“My SD/M list is quite active. When generating a lot of new content for SDM I think of it in term of magma. You have a lot of volatile great ideas that blow out everywhere, and then as they progress farther and farther from where they were birthed they end up cooling, becoming chunky, and eventually you realize it’s just another damn rock. heheWith these rocks I end up pushing them farther and farther away, from SDM thoughts, to SDM maybes, to inactive, to the trash. Each pass I do on a somewhat quarterly basis will end up trashing a slew of ideas that never will make it. Some people like to hold on to these.. That’s really your own call. You might have a deep archive of “”dead”” SDM topics that one day might become trigger material for a new brainstorm. If you’re an iterative improver you can harness this how you like.On the other front SD/M is a place that I believe if you are not doing it today/this week/very soon, all your stuff needs to go to. That way you’re active lists are really active and the stuff you’ll get to next week is safe and sound. Blinders, focus, and all that jazz.Juggling the two modalities takes a bit of consciousness but is easily picked up after a few cycles of trial and error.Anyhow, just some thoughts you triggered. 🙂-a“
“Thanks Andy!I always feel a huge sense of guilt looking at my Someday/Maybes though…Looks like I need an attitude change!”
“Most definitely! Guilt is something you really don’t want to associate with SD/M. Wishful thinking is a good one.Life is creative, dynamic, and, well, alive. We can’t do all we want all the time but it’s good to feel good about housing those desires someplace safe. As time moves forward and you grow some of those things will find life, others won’t fit anymore and need trimming. We can all feel a little sad sometimes that we grew beyond what we thought we’d do/be/want, but it’s the nature of the beast. Keep moving forward and enjoy knowing you’re living and creating.It also goes into that whole 50k foot view. What are you working on today that will help you reach that over-arching goal?Tomorrow is always different than today, eh? 🙂-a”