New ideas-- put them in maybe/someday or project support?

[syrex314]

My maybe/someday list is really getting out of control... and I've been moving things back and forth between that list and project support materials.

My question is: if I think of a maybe/someday item related to a project, do I throw it in a master maybe/someday list or in the project support folder?

Or am I confusing projects with areas of focus? It seems that projects should not be open-ended, but should have well-defined endpoints. These aren't the kind of things that have maybe/somedays attached. So do these new ideas go into a maybe/someday list associated with their respective area of focus?

Any thoughts?

 

[TesTeq]

No someday/maybies!

My maybe/someday list is really getting out of control... and I've been moving things back and forth between that list and project support materials.

My question is: if I think of a maybe/someday item related to a project, do I throw it in a master maybe/someday list or in the project support folder?

Every project has a clearly defined successful outcome. So where's the place for any someday/maybe? There may be alternative paths of execution but no someday/maybies!

 

[kelstarrising]

My question is: if I think of a maybe/someday item related to a project, do I throw it in a master maybe/someday list or in the project support folder?

I would say either place, but it depends on what you mean by "related to the Project." Do you mean you'd want to consider it while you're working on the Current project? Or it's just related to the topic and is another idea not necessarily to be considered while you're working on this project?

Current Projects are typically completed within the next 12-18 months. So if at the conclusion of the project you still see that item parked in your project support folder, you might want to triage it to Someday Maybe. Or put it on Someday right from the start.

 

[JohnV474]

My question is: if I think of a maybe/someday item related to a project, do I throw it in a master maybe/someday list or in the project support folder?

Any thoughts?

The answer, I think, is that it depends on when you want that information to be available to you.

If you have an idea about a particular project, and you want that idea to be handy while working on that particular project, then I would say to include it in your Project Plan or Project Support materials. For example, just making a note onto an existing mindmap or adding an entry to your Project Plan could work.

In this case, when you are reviewing your project's progress, or making plans for the next parts, or during your Weekly Review, you will be reminded of this Someday/Maybe that relates to this project. The disadvantage with this approach by itself is that you do not have that idea in your master Someday/Maybe list as a future possibility--though surely we could figure out a way to have it there also.

If you want that idea to come up during your Weekly Review only, but not necessarily while doing ad hoc project planning and review during the week, I would add the SDMB to your master list. If you want, you could have a SDMB category for this project.

Assuming you do your Weekly Reviews regularly, either approach will work. My own SDMB includes so many items that I do not trust that I would find the SDMB for a particular project in it. Instead, I prefer to include ideas for a project IN the project support materials itself. At the end of a project, I "wrap up" the project by archiving any notes I want and adding any SDMB that are still relevant to the appropriate SDMB list.

Hope this helps,
JohnV474