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December 23, 2005
Power of the Someday/Maybe list
A recent e-mail from someone in our network - another great example of the more-than-meets-the-eye syndrome of GTD:
Hey David,Never underestimate the power of the Someday/Maybe List
A quick note to share with you something that happened to me a couple days ago. During my weekly review while reading through my list of someday/maybe items one of them popped-up crying for attention. Typically I breeze through this section but on this day for some reason I really focused on what I why this item was there.
The one liner read "SEAT Mary inquiry". Right there I sent a 12 word email (under 2 minutes) to a colleague of mine in Boston that read: Did Mary ever send the SEAT information we discussed back in August? A domino effect followed. He contacted Mary, she wrote back to both of us and now after a few emails I have a summer intern, a new tool to improve the direction of my program and the possibility of a nice fat grant down the pipeline. All of this because of a single item that kept waiting for its moment to shine. I am glad I caught it.
What I have learned is that things are not necessarily what they seem. This small pebble ended up doing a big splash in the pond - by the same token, big boulders might end up being small menial things hence the need to constantly evaluate our aim. I had a tendency to label the "someday/maybe" list as trivial and unimportant - now I think of it as an incubator of great ideas that are waiting to shine. You don't plant bulbs in winter, there's a time for everything. I digress. Happy ho ho, - Azur Moulaert - Burlington, Vermont
Posted by David at December 23, 2005 12:00 AM
Comments
Thanks for the uplift. I think I needed to be reminded of the power of incubation.
Al
Posted by: Al Rossi at December 26, 2005 06:09 PM
This could also be titled Power of the Weekly Review. . . and also reminds us why getting everything written down in a trusted system can yield wonderful things. Wishing you, Mr. Allen, and all other GTDers a great 2006.
Posted by: Laura at December 27, 2005 06:04 PM
Heh, nice to see how a snowball can create an avalanche.
Posted by: Game Producer at December 29, 2005 12:02 AM
I just saw this on Lifehack.org, December 30 entry. "Getting Things Done was the hottest topic in 2005. During June-July 2005, Techorati reported that David Allen’s Getting Things Done book was the most talked book on the Net." Congratulations on getting people talking and working more effectively. Best wishes for continued success in 2006.
Posted by: Sharon at December 31, 2005 09:28 AM
My first thought reading this was that maybe the item could've been on an @Waiting For list also... :) But I understand the intended point and it's a good reminder to pay more attention to the Someday/Maybe list, 'cause you never know...
Posted by: Todd at January 4, 2006 06:56 AM
