This diagram shows how to manage all your personal, work, and other commitments as projects within a productivity system based around the idea of Getting Things Done (GTD). When something arises that might involve some kind of commitment, the first step is to capture the idea immediately as a project within your system. Decide whether this new project is something that you are committed to working on right now, or if you are just considering it’s potential.
Someday Maybe Projects
If you are not yet sure whether to commit to a new idea, make it a Someday Maybe Project. Someday Maybe Projects can change into Live Projects, if you decide to commit to them. Otherwise, if you decide later that it is not worth doing after all, drop it instead.
Live Projects
If you are committed to a new idea as soon as it arises, start working on it as a Live Project, skipping the Someday Maybe stage. If all goes well, work on the project until it becomes a Completed Project. If at any point the project becomes no longer relevant, drop it.
Managing Projects With Tags in Evernote
I find it helpful to document my projects within Evernote. I create a separate Note for each project and use a tag to denote the current status. As a project goes through its lifecycle, I keep editing the same note with accumulated information on it. I change the tag on a project as it’s status changes. I have tags for Someday Maybe, Live Project, Complete Project, and Dropped Project.
As part of my weekly review, I use Evernote to check through my list of Live projects and Someday Maybe projects. I use a saved searches (“Shortcuts” in the Evernote menu) based on the project tag to generate these lists automatically.
Complete and Dropped Projects
Sometimes it is helpful to be able to see notes from past projects, so I have tags for Complete Project and Dropped Project. These notes don’t get in the way of my current work, because they have a different tag.
Further Information On Working With Someday Maybe Projects
You can find more information about working with Someday Maybe projects in episode 257 of my podcast: