Hi Kim, Nice to see another Aussie on the board.
akr95;46720 said:
I essentially dumped all of my goals (regardless of what altitude level) on my someday/maybe list together with some of the more mundane someday/maybe items like "clean out hall cupboard". The idea was just to get it all out of my mind at first instance.
And that's almost exactly the right thing to do.
Anything that's on your mind is something you need to get out of your mind and into your system. If you're not sure how to work on it, stick it on your S/M for now, I'd say.
I'll expand on this, because I know that some folks out there are already heading for the "Quote this" button to argue the point.
One thing I've found, and many of my clients have found, is that it takes time to 'ramp up' to a fully working GTD system. That is, learning the processes means changing habits, including thinking habits, which are the hardest to change. You're also learning a new way of looking at the world and your place in it, so taken all together that's a big task.
So I generally recommend that, when people are starting up, they don't try to assemble the whole orchestra at once. I remember when I first learnt to swim butterfly (centuries ago ;-)), my coach first had me master the kick, then taught me the arms, and only when I could do both did he get me to work on putting it all together. Oh, did I mention breathing? Often the hardest bit: you can get the arms and legs going together and forget to breathe.
Like any relatively complex action we perform, the whole GTD system really has to be built up in stages. In addition, some of the parts, like the higher-altitude goals, really need you to be free to think clearly at that level, and in order to do that, most people need to have the lower altitudes sorted first. I know David mentions this idea a couple of times in his books.
akr95;46720 said:
I guess my question is, is this the "correct" use of the someday/maybe list? Obviously there will be some items that will stay there for a long while but others that will move to the project list possibly in the next couple of months.
The answer is, it's correct if it works for you. Give yourself some time to get the mechanics working, then, once you're clear at the runway and 10,000 foot level, you might like to rethink how you handle this. You may even spontaneously think of a way that will work for you while you're doing something else.
In general, the S/M list should, once you're up and sailing, contain things that you're not fully committed to doing. If you're sure you should be doing them, then they need to move elsewhere in your system: either as a currently active project, or into the pending tray (Yes, I have one. It's a refinement of the system that works for me, so I do it). If you're committed to it, have a project sheet or folder or whatever for your support materials, and either put Next Actions on your Action lists or schedule it for later (in the Tickler file, usually).
It also helps if you have a list of these goals at their altitudes, so that when you do the monthly/ 6 monthly/yearly/ 5 yearly review, you can assess and re-evaluate. You just need to collect them together in a folder or something, so they're there when you need to be reminded of them.
akr95;46720 said:
Also what do people do with goals like "Be present", "Thank others", and those other positive "life" reminders that I guess are 50,000 feet items but things you need to be reminded of every day.
Checklists.
Checklists are your friends. They help for those repetitive tasks you need to do regularly, things you need to remind yourself of daily, and other assorted routine stuff.
