WEBVTT - Second Cup: Make a someday/maybe list

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is to make a someday maybe list. You can

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<v Speaker 1>keep track of things that could or should happen in

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<v Speaker 1>the future without making a regular to do list unusable.

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<v Speaker 1>So I know that lots of folks who listen to

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<v Speaker 1>this podcast have also read David Allen's famous book Getting

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<v Speaker 1>Things Done. One bit of productivity advice that Alan shares

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<v Speaker 1>is the someday maybe list. The idea is that we

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<v Speaker 1>all have stuff we could or should do at some point.

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<v Speaker 1>Many people just add these items to their daily or

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<v Speaker 1>weekly today do lists. The problem is that the presence

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<v Speaker 1>of things like come up with idea for next year's

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<v Speaker 1>Christmas vacation, or organize garage or host a progressive party

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<v Speaker 1>in the neighborhood, or order replacement silverware on a daily

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<v Speaker 1>to do list is that these all serve to make

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<v Speaker 1>the daily to do list unusable. You are not going

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<v Speaker 1>to do all those things today because you don't have

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<v Speaker 1>to do all those things today. On the other hand,

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<v Speaker 1>you don't want to forget that you'd like to order

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<v Speaker 1>some replacement silverware and talk to the neighbors about your

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<v Speaker 1>party idea. So enter the someday maybe list. You create

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<v Speaker 1>an ongoing list somewhere of things that you need or

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<v Speaker 1>want to do in the future, but you are not

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<v Speaker 1>ready to commit to a certain date or commit to

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<v Speaker 1>with one hundred percent certainty. Where you make this list

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<v Speaker 1>doesn't really matter. Mine is in a little notebook that

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<v Speaker 1>I keep on my home office desk. Some people like

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<v Speaker 1>to use Apple Notes because they always have their phone

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<v Speaker 1>with them, or people use a management software like Trello.

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<v Speaker 1>Don't get caught up with that particular question. The location

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<v Speaker 1>is much less important than the purpose, which is perking

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<v Speaker 1>things that you would like future you to think about now.

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<v Speaker 1>I know that sometimes a someday maybe list can start

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<v Speaker 1>looking long and unwieldy, but unlike with a daily to

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<v Speaker 1>do list, that is not a problem. You are not

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<v Speaker 1>committing to any of this at a certain time. You

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<v Speaker 1>are just getting items out of your head now. Of course,

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<v Speaker 1>some of these things may become time sensitive eventually. I

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<v Speaker 1>don't need to figure out next year's Christmas plans now,

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<v Speaker 1>but I do need to do that before December. I

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<v Speaker 1>do need to buy those plane tickets for a trip

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<v Speaker 1>I know is happening three months from now, even if

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<v Speaker 1>I don't need to buy those tickets write this minute.

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<v Speaker 1>So it is a good idea to look at this

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<v Speaker 1>list relatively frequently and see if there is anything that

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<v Speaker 1>should migrate. I do this when I am planning my weeks.

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<v Speaker 1>On Fridays, I will take a quick glance at the

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<v Speaker 1>Someday maybe list and see if there's anything I want

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<v Speaker 1>to put on next week's priority list. Sometimes I just

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<v Speaker 1>go ahead and pull something off the list right then

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<v Speaker 1>it isn't that hard to order more spoons if I

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<v Speaker 1>know my pattern, and then it feels very exciting to

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<v Speaker 1>cross that off the big list. Sometimes things are a

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<v Speaker 1>bit more complicated, but it is time, so I will

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<v Speaker 1>pull filling out camp healths over to the list for

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<v Speaker 1>the next week. This Someday maybe list can also help

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<v Speaker 1>you feel productive during times when you've got some open

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<v Speaker 1>time or you aren't feeling like you can tackle anything else.

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<v Speaker 1>If I have finished my work a bit early, I

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<v Speaker 1>will go over there and see if there's anything easy.

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<v Speaker 1>That is how a lot of my plane tickets get ordered.

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<v Speaker 1>In any case, a daily to do list should be

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<v Speaker 1>a contract with yourself. You should only put things on

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<v Speaker 1>your daily to do list or your weekly priority list

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<v Speaker 1>that you actually intend to do during this timeframe. There

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<v Speaker 1>is no point in putting something on a to do

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<v Speaker 1>list and then not doing it. It is just as

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<v Speaker 1>not done as if you would never put it on

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<v Speaker 1>the list in the first place, only now you feel

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<v Speaker 1>bad about it. But we all have stuff that we

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<v Speaker 1>have to do that we don't have to get done today.

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<v Speaker 1>A Sunday Maybe list is a great way to think

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<v Speaker 1>about this. If you try making one, you just might

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<v Speaker 1>find yourself feeling more focused and getting more done in

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<v Speaker 1>the meantime. This is Laura, Thanks for listening, and here's

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<v Speaker 1>to making the most of our task. Thanks for listening

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<v Speaker 1>to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback,

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<v Speaker 1>you can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts

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