1
00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:09,440
Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.

2
00:00:10,720 --> 00:00:16,360
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

3
00:00:16,360 --> 00:00:21,280
Speaker 1: tip is to make a someday maybe list. You can

4
00:00:21,360 --> 00:00:24,640
Speaker 1: keep track of things that could or should happen in

5
00:00:24,680 --> 00:00:29,840
Speaker 1: the future without making a regular to do list unusable.

6
00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:34,760
Speaker 1: So I know that lots of folks who listen to

7
00:00:34,840 --> 00:00:40,040
Speaker 1: this podcast have also read David Allen's famous book Getting

8
00:00:40,080 --> 00:00:44,800
Speaker 1: Things Done. One bit of productivity advice that Alan shares

9
00:00:45,520 --> 00:00:50,319
Speaker 1: is the someday maybe list. The idea is that we

10
00:00:50,520 --> 00:00:54,440
Speaker 1: all have stuff we could or should do at some point.

11
00:00:55,640 --> 00:00:59,360
Speaker 1: Many people just add these items to their daily or

12
00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:04,319
Speaker 1: weekly today do lists. The problem is that the presence

13
00:01:04,360 --> 00:01:07,920
Speaker 1: of things like come up with idea for next year's

14
00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:13,479
Speaker 1: Christmas vacation, or organize garage or host a progressive party

15
00:01:13,480 --> 00:01:17,880
Speaker 1: in the neighborhood, or order replacement silverware on a daily

16
00:01:17,959 --> 00:01:21,160
Speaker 1: to do list is that these all serve to make

17
00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:26,000
Speaker 1: the daily to do list unusable. You are not going

18
00:01:26,080 --> 00:01:29,600
Speaker 1: to do all those things today because you don't have

19
00:01:29,720 --> 00:01:33,560
Speaker 1: to do all those things today. On the other hand,

20
00:01:33,640 --> 00:01:36,039
Speaker 1: you don't want to forget that you'd like to order

21
00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:39,679
Speaker 1: some replacement silverware and talk to the neighbors about your

22
00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:46,160
Speaker 1: party idea. So enter the someday maybe list. You create

23
00:01:46,280 --> 00:01:50,000
Speaker 1: an ongoing list somewhere of things that you need or

24
00:01:50,040 --> 00:01:52,560
Speaker 1: want to do in the future, but you are not

25
00:01:52,640 --> 00:01:56,720
Speaker 1: ready to commit to a certain date or commit to

26
00:01:57,200 --> 00:02:01,680
Speaker 1: with one hundred percent certainty. Where you make this list

27
00:02:01,880 --> 00:02:05,880
Speaker 1: doesn't really matter. Mine is in a little notebook that

28
00:02:05,960 --> 00:02:09,720
Speaker 1: I keep on my home office desk. Some people like

29
00:02:09,800 --> 00:02:13,040
Speaker 1: to use Apple Notes because they always have their phone

30
00:02:13,080 --> 00:02:17,000
Speaker 1: with them, or people use a management software like Trello.

31
00:02:18,200 --> 00:02:22,320
Speaker 1: Don't get caught up with that particular question. The location

32
00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:27,080
Speaker 1: is much less important than the purpose, which is perking

33
00:02:27,200 --> 00:02:32,560
Speaker 1: things that you would like future you to think about now.

34
00:02:32,600 --> 00:02:35,920
Speaker 1: I know that sometimes a someday maybe list can start

35
00:02:35,960 --> 00:02:40,760
Speaker 1: looking long and unwieldy, but unlike with a daily to

36
00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:45,520
Speaker 1: do list, that is not a problem. You are not

37
00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:49,200
Speaker 1: committing to any of this at a certain time. You

38
00:02:49,280 --> 00:02:54,400
Speaker 1: are just getting items out of your head now. Of course,

39
00:02:54,520 --> 00:02:59,320
Speaker 1: some of these things may become time sensitive eventually. I

40
00:02:59,320 --> 00:03:02,320
Speaker 1: don't need to figure out next year's Christmas plans now,

41
00:03:03,120 --> 00:03:06,840
Speaker 1: but I do need to do that before December. I

42
00:03:06,880 --> 00:03:09,280
Speaker 1: do need to buy those plane tickets for a trip

43
00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:11,799
Speaker 1: I know is happening three months from now, even if

44
00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:14,720
Speaker 1: I don't need to buy those tickets write this minute.

45
00:03:15,919 --> 00:03:18,079
Speaker 1: So it is a good idea to look at this

46
00:03:18,160 --> 00:03:22,400
Speaker 1: list relatively frequently and see if there is anything that

47
00:03:22,440 --> 00:03:26,360
Speaker 1: should migrate. I do this when I am planning my weeks.

48
00:03:26,600 --> 00:03:30,240
Speaker 1: On Fridays, I will take a quick glance at the

49
00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:34,160
Speaker 1: Someday maybe list and see if there's anything I want

50
00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:38,760
Speaker 1: to put on next week's priority list. Sometimes I just

51
00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:42,320
Speaker 1: go ahead and pull something off the list right then

52
00:03:42,680 --> 00:03:45,720
Speaker 1: it isn't that hard to order more spoons if I

53
00:03:45,800 --> 00:03:49,560
Speaker 1: know my pattern, and then it feels very exciting to

54
00:03:49,760 --> 00:03:54,280
Speaker 1: cross that off the big list. Sometimes things are a

55
00:03:54,280 --> 00:03:58,160
Speaker 1: bit more complicated, but it is time, so I will

56
00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:02,560
Speaker 1: pull filling out camp healths over to the list for

57
00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:07,880
Speaker 1: the next week. This Someday maybe list can also help

58
00:04:07,920 --> 00:04:10,880
Speaker 1: you feel productive during times when you've got some open

59
00:04:10,920 --> 00:04:14,440
Speaker 1: time or you aren't feeling like you can tackle anything else.

60
00:04:15,720 --> 00:04:18,520
Speaker 1: If I have finished my work a bit early, I

61
00:04:18,560 --> 00:04:21,480
Speaker 1: will go over there and see if there's anything easy.

62
00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:25,680
Speaker 1: That is how a lot of my plane tickets get ordered.

63
00:04:27,120 --> 00:04:30,159
Speaker 1: In any case, a daily to do list should be

64
00:04:30,200 --> 00:04:35,200
Speaker 1: a contract with yourself. You should only put things on

65
00:04:35,240 --> 00:04:38,080
Speaker 1: your daily to do list or your weekly priority list

66
00:04:38,680 --> 00:04:44,000
Speaker 1: that you actually intend to do during this timeframe. There

67
00:04:44,040 --> 00:04:46,640
Speaker 1: is no point in putting something on a to do

68
00:04:46,720 --> 00:04:51,600
Speaker 1: list and then not doing it. It is just as

69
00:04:51,720 --> 00:04:54,400
Speaker 1: not done as if you would never put it on

70
00:04:54,400 --> 00:04:58,640
Speaker 1: the list in the first place, only now you feel

71
00:04:58,640 --> 00:05:01,960
Speaker 1: bad about it. But we all have stuff that we

72
00:05:02,080 --> 00:05:05,039
Speaker 1: have to do that we don't have to get done today.

73
00:05:06,240 --> 00:05:08,720
Speaker 1: A Sunday Maybe list is a great way to think

74
00:05:08,760 --> 00:05:13,480
Speaker 1: about this. If you try making one, you just might

75
00:05:13,680 --> 00:05:20,440
Speaker 1: find yourself feeling more focused and getting more done in

76
00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:26,359
Speaker 1: the meantime. This is Laura, Thanks for listening, and here's

77
00:05:26,400 --> 00:05:36,320
Speaker 1: to making the most of our task. Thanks for listening

78
00:05:36,320 --> 00:05:40,760
Speaker 1: to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback,

79
00:05:41,080 --> 00:05:50,400
Speaker 1: you can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.

80
00:05:50,520 --> 00:05:54,560
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts

81
00:05:54,600 --> 00:05:59,200
Speaker 1: from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or

82
00:05:59,200 --> 00:06:01,040
Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.