Someday/Maybe Projects and Actions

E

eowyn

0
I gather that the someday/maybe list is a list of projects.

What if I have a project that has been moved to the someday/maybe project list, (ie not neccessary to progress this week/month) however there was an action in a context, which can stay on the next action list as one of my options in that context.

If I happen to select that action, then my project has been advanced even though I hadn't planned to progress that particular project that week.

How do you deal with this?

Although my next action list is long, I do not feel that it is cluttered.

Regards
eowyn
 
eowyn said:
What if I have a project that has been moved to the someday/maybe project list, (ie not neccessary to progress this week/month) however there was an action in a context, which can stay on the next action list as one of my options in that context.

If I happen to select that action, then my project has been advanced even though I hadn't planned to progress that particular project that week.

How do you deal with this?
Click to expand...

I have a small celebration, because I had enough time to accomplish more than I expected and move the Someday project forward sooner than I expected. Yay!

If I want to hide the actions for Someday/Maybe projects, I can flag them as Someday/Maybe as well. Whether I bother to do this or not depends on the reason why I am delaying the project, the number and complexity of the actions, and how diligent I'm feeling when I make the move.

My Someday/Maybe list contains both projects and actions. Because they are Someday/Maybe items, I don't worry as much about having clearly defined outcomes and actions as I do for current stuff.

Katherine
 
If you move a project to your someday/maybe, the weekly review should catch the next actions within @ context.

My own advice is to take the next action out of the @ context list. Spend your energy were it will generate the highest reward, which usually is the current projects.
 
eowyn said:
If I happen to select that action, then my project has been advanced even though I hadn't planned to progress that particular project that week.

How do you deal with this?
Click to expand...

PANIC!

Sorry, just kidding. So, you made further progress on a project than you had planned to. How is this a bad thing?

Personally, if I move an active Project to the Someday/Maybe list, I try to remember to delete the corresponding Next Action. If I don't, no biggie; it'll get done, I'll erase it, and I'll move on.
 
eowyn said:
I gather that the someday/maybe list is a list of projects.
Click to expand...

Not necessarily. A next action could go on the someday/maybe list because it takes too long to do right now. Just because an action takes a long time to do, doesn't mean that you can't do it right now- if you have a big enough chunk of time.

eowyn said:
What if I have a project that has been moved to the someday/maybe project list, (ie not neccessary to progress this week/month) however there was an action in a context, which can stay on the next action list as one of my options in that context.
Click to expand...
But what's the reason you want to put the project on hold? I suggest it might be the next action that is causing the hold up. Is it really a next action?
 
There are times when opportunities arise that you had not expected and you are able to move forward or complete a s/m project. I am reminded of the story Jason Womack told in his blog where he was somewhere doing a training and he was at his hotel and saw a bunch of dolphins swimming. So he quickly grabbed his snorkeling gear and went out and swam with them just because it looked like fun. Shortly after that, he was going through his s/m list and lo and behold, one of the items on his list was "swim with dolphins."

There is no rule that says you cannot do anything on your s/m list and that items must be moved to your current project/next action lists in order for you to act on them. Chances are, you won't do much of your s/m items in a given week because they are not a high priority, but if a sudden opportunity comes you way, I think you're crazy not to make the most of it.
 
This exact thing has happened to me, not swimming with dolphins, but I have done something because the conditions just happened to be right- and it happened to be on the SDMB list. Also, I might be reviewing the list and I realise that certain things have changed that mean I now can easily go ahead and do one of the things. Or, occasionally, I now really MUST do one of the things on the list.
 
And yet, if you had never placed that item on your S/M list, you might not have recognized the opportunity when it arose.

My husband and I both have a list of "50 things I want to do before I die," which I suppose is a variation of the S/M list. Once a year we review and pick one or two to try to accomplish in the next year. But as we review, we're always amazed how many things we did in the last year that were on the list -- but we had forgotten they were there! It's as if some part of our brain were looking for those opportunities even as our conscious minds were focusing on the Stuff That Has To Be Done.

Carolina Songbird
 
"be open to buy"

Doing a n/a on an SDMB project reminds me of a concept I read about in a book on creating and maintaining a nice wardrobe. It suggested that one have a list of cloths and accessories with notes as to the preferred colors, sizes, fabrics, etc. that one would "be open to buy" if you found them at the right price and had money left over after buying the necessary cloths and accessories. In the same vein, some home economists suggest that, if possible, one should allocate a portion of the food budget to items that are not needed for that week but are available at a good price, and if there is yet still some money available, to use it for a few "luxuries" that although expensive have such a short season that it would be a shame to pass up.
 
I often have low priority/ long term projects where the next action (or one of the next actions) is to buy something when I can find it for a good price. A lot of the hardware/ DIY stores thrive on people having to buy a simple screw or widget when they need it RIGHT NOW because of poor planning. The GTD philosophy is of course get the thing as soon as you know you need it, rather than get the thing when you need it.

This doesn't stop the washing machine suddenly needing new motor brushes when you've got nothing clean to wear or the computer packing up when you've got an urgent document to write, but there are steps we can take to plan for this kind of thing also.
 
eowyn said:
What if I have a project that has been moved to the someday/maybe project list, (ie not neccessary to progress this week/month)
Click to expand...

Someday/maybe does not mean "not neccessary to progress this week/month". The whole problem you are stating becomes none, when you stop misusing your next/action-lists as some sort of week/month working plan.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top