Do You Keep Someday/Maybe Lists?

When interesting items cross the path of a solo entrepreneur, it's often at a moment when we can't take advantage of them. Enter the Someday/Maybe list. For the last 20 years, when I've discovered something I want to act on later, it gets filed (either on paper or digitally) in this place of honor.

What can be found there? Articles about new restaurants to try when visiting a favorite city, lists of books I may want to read, an ad for a software utility that may make my work more productive, reviews of a spa that friends have been raving about, notices of museums to visit, pictures of that to-die-for fashion item I may splurge on someday.... You get the idea.

Why do I keep such a list? Lots of reasons, but here are three:

1. It's fun.
Moving something to my Someday/Maybe list makes it one step closer to actually happening. It's a way to corral all those ideas of future possibilities. For some entrepreneurs, it's a very powerful motivator to make sure your business generates enough profit to make these Someday/Maybe items come true. For me, it's primarily a way to say "That would be fun to have or do." It keeps the creative juices going.

2. It's fiscally effective.
On one level, stashing an item in a Someday/Maybe file circumvents irrational spending. Thinking about splurging on that item that just popped into your inbox? Maybe a day or two in your Someday/Maybe area will provide more perspective -- and save you from some financial troubles down the road. Some soloists keep a Someday/Maybe file so they can pull it out when that extra bit of money comes in and they know it's time to reward themselves. The file offers them a ready-made collection of choices -- or leads them to something new.

3. It's a snapshot of one's interests.
Most of all, my Someday/Maybe list provides me a snapshot of my thinking. I can look at past lists and see what was high on my radar but has now faded, or what has proved to be an enduring interest. Few items may ever get purchased, only some of the sites get visited, but all ideas are collected and considered -- if only for a short while. The Someday/Maybe list becomes an archive of my thinking and a springboard for the future.

If you haven't created one yet, perhaps your Someday/Maybe list starts today.

-- Terri Lonier
Founder, WorkingSolo.com

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