Use Evernote to create the ultimate GTD Someday/Maybe List!

What is a Someday/Maybe list – Good Question! It’s a list that’s captures anything you might want to do. I also use it for things I may want to buy. You can also use it for places you may want to visit – i.e. when in Rome do this.

 

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I’ve tried a few different methods to capture my someday/maybes. Using the tag system in Evernote has been the most effective system by far for me. 

Here’s how I break it down:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • ?Apps – I like to keep a running list of apps that might be useful to me in the future.
  • ?Blog – I store anything here that I might want to do with my blog in the future. This could include widgets or plugins that I may want o use in the future.
  • ?Blog Post Ideas – You guessed it, I keep my list of blog post ideas here.
  • ?Books – A list of books I want to read. I love asking people what books they are reading now.
  • ?Buy – The web clipper is great for this! If I see something I clip it and tag it. I can also set a reminder to review this in the future – which is like a digital version of a tickler file.
  • ?Great Idea – We all have them but do you write them down? I do.
  • ?Improve – I keep a list of skills I’d like to improve upon or a class I may want to take in the future.
  • ?Office – When I come across a good idea for the office I write it down on this list. It might not be something to implement now but it might be perfect to do in a few months. I also make notes about potential lunch & learn opportunities for the staff.
  • ?Personal – This is a pretty broad category and includes someday/maybe’s for hobbies that I have or things that I want to do in my personal life. Start a blog was on this list!
  • ?Visit – When I see a place I’d like to visit I note it here. Also if you travel frequently you can turn this list into a “when I’m in X place be sure to visit this place” list.

One of the great features of Evernote is the web clipper which I mentioned earlier. I think this tool was designed for the someday/maybe list.  You can clip stuff from the web right into Evernote.

A tip I picked up along the way was to take a someday/maybe and turn it into a project or action once a week. This way you list doesn’t become stale. A great time to do this is during the weekly review.

One of the great things about Evernote is its flexibility and portability. I can retrieve and create notes anywhere. In conjunction with the web clipper you have a powerful and very easy way to keep track of those “one day I might want to…..”.

Do you have a Someday/Maybe list or do you plan to start one? Let me know about it on Twitter.