Clearing up Pet Projects

These last few cold days have inspired a lot of "house cleaning". Anything that prevents me from bundling up like a zombie in order to prevent frost bite is what I've been up to.  This time is not reflective time where I ponder the meaning of life or Danico for that matter, but time to clear the decks of the pet projects.  Those should have been done a long time ago projects and jus' cuz stuff that goes onto a "someday" list somewhere.

We all have them.  Those things we think of that don't really have an immediate application but are fun to work on.  If you are like me you have your client work, your volunteer work, your family work, and your personal work.  With all of that work, sometimes it is hard to find time for the fun-jus'-cuz stuff.  

Some programming friends have really cool pet projects like building a mobile app for some game they love.  Designer friends work on new quirky designs they hope to impose - um, use on a new project.  Writing friends took the time to dabble at composing the-next-great-american-novel that is of course available in every e-book format available.  

I wish I could say mine, the pet projects on my back burner, were so interesting.  Don't get me wrong they are fascinating to me but others around me, well they just humor me.  Mine are around process improvement, reading about and testing out new tools and coming up with new avenues for my clients.  The tools are techie, heady and geeky, all at the same time.  (Hey wait, I think I just summed myself up in those three words).  You've heard the saying "out of the box" , well the new avenues are just that.  The seemingly far-fetched ideas that in the go-go-get-it-done mode we seem to be in most often, would not even bubble to the top of the list of action items.

I took my pet project on new processes, new content, new design, new works of writing, just writing itself, and most of all Danico to my cabin fever ridden friends and clients. Ya know what?!  It inspired some new projects - not pet projects, but actual projects. I would love to say that was the grand plan to turn a pet project into a real project, but no, that wasn't it.  I had a thought about something in my mind that seemed like a fun thing to do and put it on the "someday" list.  

With the Polar Vortex, Chiberia temperatures, a couple of jus-cuz-someday-pet-projects, became a full fledge time boxed project. (Sorry the project manager in me just came out).  Now, I'm not saying I want more cold and snow, please no more.  Just reflecting on how the forced slow down helped clear the decks some.  

Do you have a "someday" list?  When's the last time you dusted it off?