Organize IT

Someday in the future I want to get out of my apartment and get a house complete with a garden. I’ll be able to play my music as loud as I want and have somewhere to kick a football around. Someday, maybe in a few years time, I want to learn a new language and write a book. Someday. Maybe… If this sounds like the sort of thing you say, a quick trip to the productivity doctor would probably reveal that you’re suffering from a bout of Someday disease.

I think that everybody gets Someday disease (also known as Someday syndrome) nowadays, it’s as widespread as the common cold. Whether it be a big hobby you want to try or that company revamp you’d like to implement, that classic film you’ve always wanted to see or that friend you feel like catching up with, ask yourself why you’re putting off doing all these things. Then consider this quote by Tim Ferriss of The 4-Hour Work Week which probably sums it up best:

“Conditions are never perfect. ‘Someday’ is a disease that will take your dreams to the grave with you. If it’s important to you and you want to do it ‘eventually’, just do it and correct course along the way.”

From my experience I’ve found Someday disease manifests itself with a certain mindset. A sufferer of the disease will believe that conditions have to be just right – that they have to know enough, have enough, etc. In other words they believe all pieces of the jigsaw have to be in place before then can take action. This is well intentioned but in the real world grossly naive.

When it comes to overcoming Someday disease you have to change your perceptions and realize, as Tim Ferris pointed out, that conditions will never be perfect for you to start and that it’s easier too just set off and correct course as you go, rather than waiting around for the right winds in order to set sail. With all this in mind, the following are the two key mantras you need to follow if you want to break free from this ‘Someday’ mentality.

• There is never such a thing as the right time
  When you’re waiting for the right time to do something, what you’re really saying is you’re waiting till you’ve run out of excuses to start. Very rarely will everything come together perfectly and at the right time. You might have enough money but not enough time, you might have a great idea but not enough knowledge or experience… whatever the excuse understand that things will never come together unless you take action first.
• You learn more by taking action
  Reading and researching or waiting till you have enough experience is all well and good, but none of it compares to practical training in the field. You learn the most by doing and from making mistakes. However, putting yourself out like that can be scary or unpleasant, so we’ll often slip into the ‘right time’ excuse until we feel like we know and understand enough.

Next week I will do a followup piece that looks at several practical techniques to help you overcome the influence of Someday disease. However, in the meantime remember the two rules above and share your experiences in the comments.

Related reading

• Best Of Organize IT: November 2009, Plus Feedback Wanted
• 5 Ways You Can Cure Yourself Of ‘Someday’ Disease
• Best Of Organize IT: Year In Review 2009
• GTD Dictionary: Someday/Maybe
• Someday/Maybe And 101 In 1001