Difference between "Someday" and "Maybe"

[xuetu]

Hi there!

I've tried to search, but unsuccessfully.

How are you thinking, is there a difference between "Someday" and "Maybe"? Sure, the list "Someday/Maybe" should have any pending tasks. But, in my mind, exist the difference between "Someday" and "Maybe".
"Someday" in my opinion, means "Any moment in the future, without a certain date". For example, "I want to buy a ski. I'm waiting for the sale. I will do it anyway".
"Maybe", meanwhile, has some different meanings - "It would be nice to taste a snake. Or it would be nice to read the last book by Stephen King. It will be nice. But it's not necessary. I could be happy without it".

I may be I'm wrong because English isn't my first language. I appreciate any answer to my question.

Thank you!

 

[schmeggahead]

Hi there!

I've tried to search, but unsuccessfully.

How are you thinking, is there a difference between "Someday" and "Maybe"? Sure, the list "Someday/Maybe" should have any pending tasks. But, in my mind, exist the difference between "Someday" and "Maybe".
"Someday" in my opinion, means "Any moment in the future, without a certain date". For example, "I want to buy a ski. I'm waiting for the sale. I will do it anyway".
"Maybe", meanwhile, has some different meanings - "It would be nice to taste a snake. Or it would be nice to read the last book by Stephen King. It will be nice. But it's not necessary. I could be happy without it".

I may be I'm wrong because English isn't my first language. I appreciate any answer to my question.

Thank you!

I think there is some intention in using the ambiguous phrase Someday/Maybe. I might want to do it in the future and maybe I won't get to it or lose interest down the road. I don't have to make that distinction now unless I want to make it.

A maybe list example might be "books to read", "movies to watch", etc. We may never get to them all and if we don't so what?
A someday list seems more aspirational to me. Examples might be a "bucket list" "experiences to have"

The point of the someday/maybe category of lists is that they are to incubate the items, meaning defer them to the future for consideration later. I might want to activate them into actions or projects.

Hope this is helpful.
Clayton.

You are the authority in your own life, not I.
- Gary Zukav

 

[mcogilvie]

Hi there!

I've tried to search, but unsuccessfully.

How are you thinking, is there a difference between "Someday" and "Maybe"? Sure, the list "Someday/Maybe" should have any pending tasks. But, in my mind, exist the difference between "Someday" and "Maybe".
"Someday" in my opinion, means "Any moment in the future, without a certain date". For example, "I want to buy a ski. I'm waiting for the sale. I will do it anyway".
"Maybe", meanwhile, has some different meanings - "It would be nice to taste a snake. Or it would be nice to read the last book by Stephen King. It will be nice. But it's not necessary. I could be happy without it".

I may be I'm wrong because English isn't my first language. I appreciate any answer to my question.

Thank you

Because anything in the general Someday/Maybe category is something you are not doing now, you are free to slice up this category any way that helps you. Split Someday from Maybe, sure. Organize by time horizon if you want, or by area of focus. Whatever you do, you must review these lists regularly. You may find that regular review will teach you what works for you, better than any abstract considerations.

 

[René Lie]

I agree to all that's been said, and in addition, I see "Someday" more as a commitment that is not now, but låter, and "maybe" being more loose ideas. For this I have created a list called "next actions on hold" for things that should be done but not now (usually for "bandwith" reasons, wheras "Someday/Maybe" is things I have not committed to do anything about.

 

[FocusGuy]

I agree to all that's been said, and in addition, I see "Someday" more as a commitment that is not now, but låter, and "maybe" being more loose ideas. For this I have created a list called "next actions on hold" for things that should be done but not now (usually for "bandwith" reasons, wheras "Someday/Maybe" is things I have not committed to do anything about.

I understand it like this. I have two tags in Omnifocus. One is someday where I put task I need to re evaluate later. It's a commitent for the future. I need to review it regularly. I can't do it now but I will do it later. May be is for something I don't know If I will do it.

 

[FocusGuy]

About Omnifocus The gtd guide precise not to tag future tasks. I dont do that. I even tag reference as reference. Untag means to me that the item is not clarified

 

[Max34]

"Someday, we might just find ourselves living out our wildest dreams, while 'maybe' leaves the door open for endless possibilities, but with a hint of uncertainty. It's like 'someday' is the distant horizon we're reaching for, while 'maybe' is the stepping stone we're cautiously testing.

 

[Dave Edwards]

I discussed how to use...and how to manage Someday Maybe lists with David Allen:

https://daveedwardsmedia.com/2024/04/17/how-to-use-a-someday-maybe-list/

 

[bishblaize]

I've long since had both a Someday-Maybe and a Not-Yet list. The Someday-Maybe is for bluesky stuff I just want to be reminded of from time to time. The Not Yet list is stuff I definitely want to do in my work but I can't do right now. For example, stuff we can't do til the end of the financial year, that sort of thing.

 

[nlemon3434]

I personally don't have any problem with the ambiguity between Someday/Maybe, because as others have mentioned, the important distinction is "Not Right Now." I don't want to forget about the idea, but I am not ready to commit energy and resources toward accomplishing it. Given that goals and priorities change, something that feels like a definite "Someday" right now might become a "Maybe" in a year when I am ready to actually evaluate it. I find the ambiguity helpful because I am acknowledging that I am not ready to make a decision regarding my future commitment now; I'm just capturing a point of interest that I may want to revisit in the future. I find that I find myself moving items to my Current Projects List or simply deleting them about an equal number of times. I think another issue to consider is your bandwidth for the number of lists you can juggle. I have a lot of current complexities & issues in my business, so right now I don't have the bandwidth to break down my list more granularly. I also don't look at it very often right now, but once I solve some big current issues, I hope to spend more time with those items.

 

[Matt_M]

First off, I must say that this is a phenomenal question. I have been mulling it over because I never really thought about it ... at least not in the way you're thinking about it.

I always took it all (the term itself and the concept) as a suggestion or arbitrary thing that is just a placeholder. Ironically, the concept of "Someday/Maybe" is something I have put almost no thought into how I use it yet it's something I have put a lot of thought into since I have sub-lists for it and a lot of flexibility around to be able to support multiple different ways of using it. It's a strange sort of paradox that just works. If that makes sense.

I don't have a strong, concrete definition to provide or any kind of rules for the concept of "Someday/Maybe". I have always interpreted it as a concept, abstractly and less of a concrete entity. It's called "Someday / Maybe" to give it a term and a sort of shape for referencing but it's ultimately arbitrary. For me, it's a concept of "I don't care"/"I care". It's something that allows me to maintain those opposites without needing to reconcile them logically or internally. You know what I mean?

It's that whatever I have designated as someday / maybe items are things that I can be (and am and are) completely fine ignoring and forgetting about. I care ... but I don't. If that makes sense. It's stuff that I could look at again but I don't ever need to look at again ... unless I want to or feel like. Again, that's super unclear but kind of super clear at the same time.

Put another way, in my world, it's something if you try to think about it ... it doesn't work and doesn't make sense. If you don't think about though, it makes perfect sense. It's weird like that. It's all intuitive, more or less.

I hope any of that helps.

 

[gtdstudente]

Hi there!

I've tried to search, but unsuccessfully.

How are you thinking, is there a difference between "Someday" and "Maybe"? Sure, the list "Someday/Maybe" should have any pending tasks. But, in my mind, exist the difference between "Someday" and "Maybe".
"Someday" in my opinion, means "Any moment in the future, without a certain date". For example, "I want to buy a ski. I'm waiting for the sale. I will do it anyway".
"Maybe", meanwhile, has some different meanings - "It would be nice to taste a snake. Or it would be nice to read the last book by Stephen King. It will be nice. But it's not necessary. I could be happy without it".

I may be I'm wrong because English isn't my first language. I appreciate any answer to my question.

Thank you!

@xuetu

Someday/Maybe list(s) for possible Project(s) without a Next Action or an Action without it being a Next Action commitment to remove their ability to cause any unnecessary distraction to ones current Project or Context lists ?

As you see GTD fit

 

[bcmyers2112]

"Someday" is something you'd like to do, but not now. "Maybe" is something you might want to do in the future. It's that simple. I'm comfortable putting both of those things in a single list. But as with all things GTD, it's about how to get things off your mind. If splitting Someday/Maybe into two separate lists would help you keep your mind clear, go for it. If slicing and dicing those lists in other ways would help, by all means, do that too.

The only expert on what gets things off your mind is you. Experiment to see what works best for you.

 

[HelenM]

Hi there!

I've tried to search, but unsuccessfully.

How are you thinking, is there a difference between "Someday" and "Maybe"? Sure, the list "Someday/Maybe" should have any pending tasks. But, in my mind, exist the difference between "Someday" and "Maybe".
"Someday" in my opinion, means "Any moment in the future, without a certain date". For example, "I want to buy a ski. I'm waiting for the sale. I will do it anyway".
"Maybe", meanwhile, has some different meanings - "It would be nice to taste a snake. Or it would be nice to read the last book by Stephen King. It will be nice. But it's not necessary. I could be happy without it".

I may be I'm wrong because English isn't my first language. I appreciate any answer to my question.

Thank you!

I think your description matches my thinking on it. Someday is more something I could realistically do, just not right now (for whatever reason) and I'm not wanting to make it a project or task because of that. For example I do a lot of knitting and crochet. There are HUNDREDS of things I'd quite like to make, but I have a bunch of projects on the go already. I keep a rough list of "blankets I'd like to crochet" which would fall under Someday - I'll review it when I am ready to start a new project.
Maybe is "oooh that could be fun" or "I should probably look into that at some point" or "I will need to keep an eye on that occasionally in case it becomes a problem".
But I think it really is up to you. You could have a different meaning applied to Someday for example, as long as it makes sense to you.
It's an area I really need to put some effort into, now I'm thinking about it. My list is tiny and rather uninspiring, the most daring thing is maybe learn German, which I'm still not sure about!

 

[Mrs-Polifax]

I don't have a Someday-Maybe list yet, except for one item, which is to get a kitty-cat. I have not been ready to do that since my last kitties died at age 17. When I do have a Someday-Maybe list, it will contain all the stuff I don't have the bandwidth to do now. This is the stuff I need to do or want to do that someday, sooner or later, maybe I will do, or maybe I will never do.

Since there is only so much time, and I will never be able to do everything I need and want to do, the only sensible choice is to stop expecting the impossible of myself and accept that some of the things I need or want to do will never get done. The prospect of being able to take this less driven and more peaceful view is why I love the Someday-Maybe list. What a relief!

As it is, there are so many things I need or want to do, but I can't get around to doing, that things keep piling up even more, and I keep getting behinder and behinder. It seems that everything must be done right now or sooner. I often want to cancel out everything on my plate for good and make a magical escape, but I doubt it would actually happen. This is not stress-free productivity by a long-shot.

I need to learn how to let some things go, so I can get the things done that matter, reduce my stress, do more of what I love, and enjoy life a whole lot more. Congratulations to those of you who are managing this well, since I think it is a real art form.

 

[rbngp]

I agree with the previous comments. Maybe just to add some food for thought, in case it might be helpful, @xuetu.

Somebody else already mentioned Someday/Maybe list should be part of your Weekly Review.

It's very tempting and easy (especially in the digital world) to populate a list with uncountable items, so you could go with a single Someday/Maybe list if you have, let's say 20-40 items there (an amount that is comfortable for you to review at least on a weekly basis).

But what happens when that list grows and grows over time and you find yourself with thousand of items? Some useful strategies could be:
• purging it regularly enough to keep it at that reasonable size.
• letting it grow without needing to purge it so regularly but then having to decide what to review when; a proposal that might be useful in this regard could be splitting it into 2 or 3 categories. Those are in my case:

Someday (splitted in 2):
Not this week: stuff I'm not committed to this week but I want to keep close at hand, so it should be the minimum part of my SD/MB I will review as part of my Weekly Review
Not this month: stuff I'm not committed to this week, but is not necessary to review on a weekly basis; it's OK if I review it on a monthly basis.

Maybe: stuff less critical than the previous ones, so it's OK if I review it on a quarterly basis, for example.