Subcategorizing Someday/Maybe

S

ssavanna

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I have decided to implement some sub-categories in my Someday/Maybe lists. I know that over categorizing can often lead to even more problems, and i've been pretty good at avoiding it unless absolutely necessary.

In this case, I feel like I need more clear edges in this category. There must be some distinction between projects I want to do in the near future and fantasy projects or actions I may want to do sometime in the distant future.

I remember listening to an older teleseminar a while back where David had a caller mention how she is using subcategories in her Someday/Maybe lists, and David seemed to really like the idea. If I recall she had some categories labeled "Not Now but Later" and "Not Now but Soon" as well as another category for more fantasy type items.

Is anyone using Someday/Maybe like this? It really seems like a great way to give some distinction between all of these different types of ideas.
 
Yes, I have separate lists

I have separate folders for Someday and Maybe. Someday is for things that I 100% want to do, but can't fit into my Active Projects right at the moment (e.g., really good research ideas, books I want to read, places I want to see before I die), whereas Maybe is for things that I think I might like to do at some point, but no big problem if I never get to it (e.g., less good research ideas, climbing Mount Everest, courses I might want to take).
 
My GTD evolution currently uses SDMB in three places.

My main SDMB list is the least concrete. I drop stuff in there when I am processing my collectors. I review this list during Monthly Review. If I think it's ready to go then it gets assigned to one of my Areas of Focus for queueing.

Each of my AOFs is a folder with an Excel document in it and each has its own SDMB sheet. Here I massage ideas into a linear list of future projects. So when my current project for that AOF ends, I return back to my AOF document and pick a Next Project off the queue. The idea is that related ideas get reviewed together and at any one time I have a single best next project running per AOF. Because these topics are reviewed together, a single AOF project will often combine multiple SDMBs into a combined outcome.

I also have a background project called Miscellaneous. It queues up single-action tasks, such as "Buy a CD by X", that I will do Someday, but not Maybe.
 
I have a Not Yet category for things that I definitely want to do but cant (whether due to timing, money or just workload). These tend to be resticted to projects that would take place in the next few months.

I then have SDMB, which is for things I havent actually decided on, but just want to keep the thought. This can be any timescale.

The Not Yet I review every week in the weekly review. The SDMB, perhaps every few weeks.

i also have separate SDMBs for work and personal, since they tend to be very different beasts.
 
I don't subcategorize, but I reserve my Someday/Maybe list for deferred projects, not aspirational items like learning languages or travel destinations--unless they were genuinely imminent. My SM list is just another list in Google Tasks, along with project list and other action lists.

For products, like books or gadgets, I keep snippets of specs, descriptions, reviews, photos, etc. in Evernote. They don't need to be reviewed on a weekly basis.
 
Sometimes you MUST subdivide

My someday-maybe (SDM) lists probably have 500+ things on them. I cannot possible have just one. I have SDMs for:

- various cities and what I might do when I'm there
- books (separated by fiction and non-fiction)
- movies and shows on Netflix
- vacation ideas
- big ideas
- purchases
- things to watch/read online
- a general SDM list

Chip
 
Geekgirl;88543 said:
I have separate folders for Someday and Maybe..
Click to expand...

Agree.

Someday AKA not this week (or month, etc)
Maybe is the perhaps someday I might want to that David talks about.
 
chipjoyce;88581 said:
My someday-maybe (SDM) lists probably have 500+ things on them. I cannot possible have just one. I have SDMs for:

- various cities and what I might do when I'm there
- books (separated by fiction and non-fiction)
- movies and shows on Netflix
- vacation ideas
- big ideas
- purchases
- things to watch/read online
- a general SDM list

Chip
Click to expand...

Hi Chip,

I have plenty of lists that fall into the "Someday/Maybe" category like yours, such as things to buy, movies to watch, books to read, etc... My question is regarding subcategorizing what you call the "general SDM list". Having a place to put projects that I want to do just not until a later time as well as projects that are more fantasy related are the types of project categorizing i'm speaking of.
 
ssavanna;88592 said:
I have plenty of lists that fall into the "Someday/Maybe" category like yours, such as things to buy, movies to watch, books to read, etc... My question is regarding subcategorizing what you call the "general SDM list".
Click to expand...

I categorize my Someday Maybe items into my major areas of focus. So I have the potential future projects in folders in Omnifocus under Sheep, General Farm, Orchard, Poultry, Wool, Personal Development, Keeping House, Computers & Technology and so on.

I also have the specialized lists Chip describes.
 
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