Use the someday list as a values barometer
What you keep adding to the someday list — and what you keep not doing — reveals what you actually value versus what you think you value.
Key takeaways
- What it is: What you keep adding to the someday list — and what you keep not doing — reveals what you actually value versus what you think you value.
- Why it works: Revealed preference (what we actually choose over time) is a more accurate indicator of values than stated preference (what we say we value). The someday list makes revealed preference visible: items that are repeatedly added but never activated, and items that activate quickly despite long deferral, both carry information about genuine motivation. Treating the list as a values instrument adds a layer of self-knowledge beyond simple task management.
- Evidence: Plausible mechanism, limited direct outcome data.
- Avoid: Defending the self-image held in the someday list against the evidence of the activation pattern — the list says who you think you want to be; the activation pattern says who you are.
Why it works
Revealed preference (what we actually choose over time) is a more accurate indicator of values than stated preference (what we say we value). The someday list makes revealed preference visible: items that are repeatedly added but never activated, and items that activate quickly despite long deferral, both carry information about genuine motivation. Treating the list as a values instrument adds a layer of self-knowledge beyond simple task management.
How to do it
- 1At each annual review, categorize your someday items: "always added, never done," "added and activated quickly," "never added but doing."
- 2The first category likely reflects identity aspiration rather than genuine desire.
- 3The third category may reveal genuine values not yet named.
- 4Revise your stated values in light of what the revealed pattern shows.
What the evidence says
MechanisticRevealed versus stated preference is a foundational distinction in behavioral economics and motivation research; actual behavior over time predicts values more reliably than self-report.
Honest caveat: The values-barometer application is a practitioner inference; using task activation patterns as values evidence is reasonable inference, not a studied method.
Common mistake
Defending the self-image held in the someday list against the evidence of the activation pattern — the list says who you think you want to be; the activation pattern says who you are.
IX Coach surfaces the pattern in your someday list over time — what you keep adding, what activates, what stagnates — as an input to values conversations rather than only task management.
Practice this with IX Coach →