photo credit: David Masters

One of the things David Allen advises in “Getting Things Done” is to have a folder (both physical and virtual, in your Email) for “Someday.” This folder is for anything that you would like to do sometime in the future, but without a definite timetable except … someday. It could be anything, from books you’d like to read, to places you’d like to visit, to projects you’d like to undertake. I never really saw the value of this folder until recently.

Even though I had decided to focus my home business efforts based on my back-of-the-church-flyer plan, I found myself still getting distracted by the many – and tempting – offers of various Internet marketers and copywriting gurus. I had exerted a lot of willpower to unsubscribe from many lists I had joined, but still I was getting quite a few a day. On the other hand, I found these useful to me as I wrote marketing copy for my own clients, as they provided me a swipe file for what’s effective in terms of E-mail marketing, squeeze pages, and sales page.

But the worst part was when I would find myself clicking the “Order Now” button for yet another course that was truly valuable and being offered at such a low price. I mean, really, how can you argue with something that costs $8 or even $27? Yet I knew that even if the next new thing didn’t empty my wallet, it would rob me of my precious time.

So I finally decided to create a “Someday” folder in my virtual mailbox. There, I place announcements of courses, products and other tempting offers that I know are relevant to my business goals but that I just don’t have the time or money for right now.

You know what? It really works. There’s much less temptation to spend so much time reading the offers and deciding if the price was fair. Somehow putting something in my “Someday” folder gives me the assurance that I really will get to it in the future, when the time is right. This quiets the voice inside me that would otherwise nag me and make me feel like I would miss the boat if I didn’t buy/subscribe/join right now.

However, the true value of “Someday” can only be realized if you do act on it. David Allen says you should review your “Someday” folder regularly. In my case, I think every 6 months is best. It gives me something to look forward to and motivates me to complete the tasks for today.

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