Someday/Maybe List

furashgf

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My someday/maybe lists continue to baloon in size. Even if I prune them, I'm still left with an ever growing list of things I might do (I currently have just a big, unordered list).

What do peple do with these? Organize them? Delete entries older than a year you haven't acted on, etc.
 
I haven't been using GTD for more than a year and therefore I cannot explicitly answer your question.

However, having recently re-read the book, I would suggest that you read Chapter 11. You will find useful guidance there.
 
If the list grow too long, I prune it. Then one of two actions happens. First, if the item has some value I place it in my reference files ... these files get reviewed yearly. So effectively I've given myself another 12 months.

If there is no value (now or in the perceived future), then it's trash. And trash goes into the bin.

Another thought, is to by pass the someday/maybe list and place these items directly into the reference system. That way your list should be manageable and only need light purring once in a while.
 
I've started deleting things off my someday/maybe list which is currently running at 207 items. I do try and review it weekly but it is getting increasingly difficult with the size. I realised that there were some things on the list that when I really thought about it, I'm not ever going to do them. I think the weekly review (as well as keeping the system clean and running) is a kind of reality check to weed out some of the over-enthusiastic ideas which you didn't really have any intention of doing in the first place.
 
I review my SDM list whenever I've completed all my time management things for that day. In some cases I run to it whenever I get a new idea. I just keep it as a word document on my computer on my desktop.
 
I've recently changed my Someday/Maybe list into 2 lists. A Someday list and a Maybe list.

In my mind, Someday means that I will do it when I have time, while Maybe means I might not do it but I just want to have a record.

So the process for me is that everything first goes to my Someday list first which I review in my weekly review.

During the WR, I will prune the list and move some items to the Maybe list (I try not to have more than 30 items).

Then every 3 months I will review my Maybe list and see if I want to move it back to my Someday list or Project list. Either way, I rarely delete anything.
 
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