The Benefits of Maintaining a Someday List
Several times a week I receive information through my email or regular mail with opportunities to take a class, buy a product, or attend an event. Often I end up getting rid of the information because what is offered does not appeal to me.
However, there are many times when the information I receive sparks my interest. It makes me think about acting on it. When that happens, though, my email inbox stays cluttered or my countertop in my kitchen piles up with these offers.
One tool I’ve used in recent years to help combat this clutter is what I call a “Someday List.”
The Someday List is just a list with things I want to try in the future. It often includes books I want to read, products I want to try, classes I want to take, or events I want to attend. These are all things I definitely am interested in doing “someday,” however I’m not going to take advantage of them for a while.
I maintain two Someday Lists. One on my computer and one in my planner. I’ll share more about those below.
You may be wondering how a Someday List can really be beneficial. Here are a few benefits I’ve noticed of maintaining a Someday List:
It keeps your email inbox uncluttered.
As I mentioned above, when I hold onto emails that have information I may want to take advantage of someday, I find they usually end up cluttering my inbox. To combat that, I have created a folder called @Someday to file these emails in. I use the @ symbol to keep the folder at the top of my folder list. I check this folder along with a few others each week during my weekly planning time. You can read more about my email setup here.
It’s so easy to read through an email and decide whether it’s something I may be interested in now or in the future. If I’m interested in acting on it now, then I go ahead and do so. If I think I want to act on it in the future, I just file it away in my @Someday folder.
This practice gives me a place to store these emails without cluttering my inbox. And since I check this folder every week or so, I know I will always remember what is in it and won’t let an opportunity pass me by.
It keeps your countertops free of paper piles.
No matter how hard I try, I still struggle with keeping my kitchen counter free of paper piles. I’m much better at keeping it cleaned off since I have a good system, but sometimes it still gets out of hand if I don’t stay on top of it.
When I get flyers in the mail advertising products, books, services, and events, I do the same procedure as I mentioned above with my email. I determine if it’s something that is interesting to me. If it’s not, I immediately throw the information away.
If it is something I’m interested in, I decide if it’s something I want to do now or sometime in the future. I add the things I’m interested in doing in the future to my list in my planner. If the mail I received has information I need to keep, I add it to a folder I’ve titled “Someday”. I keep this folder with my weekly review items.
This helps keep unnecessary papers off my counter and in a place I will check on a regular basis. I know where the information is at all times, so I never have to worry about the information being misplaced. It is waiting on me for when I decide to take action on it.
It keeps you motivated to try new things.
My Someday List is full of exciting opportunities that will help me grow spiritually, personally, physically, and mentally. There are also many ideas that will help me grow my business skills.
Reviewing my Someday List on a regular basis helps me to remember these things and stay excited about them. As I plan my week, I review the Someday List to see if it’s time to take advantage of anything on the list. It’s always fun to be able to add something new to my current projects list or to try something new.
Do you have a Someday List? I’d love to hear about what is on yours. Leave a comment below and share your list with me.
