More and more I misplace my thoughts. I’m pretty decent at remembering conversations with people, but the thoughts that pass through my brain seem to disappear in a flash. Some of these are things I am going to do or topics I want to write about. In my effort to increase my personal productivity and become more efficient I have been searching for ways to remember things and to get organized. I shared this with some friends and got some great advice on what others do to remember things. Apparently I’m not the only person who suffers from increasing forgetfulness.
So here is the advice that I received and a few things that I have been doing for a while.
1. Carry notepads, post-its, basically paper and something to write with. This is my least favorite idea because I dislike clutter. I work from a home office and try to reduce my use of paper as much as possible. However, I see the benefit in using notepads to record passing thoughts and to-do items. It might work for you.
2. Evernote. I use this one pretty regularly for taking notes during meetings. Sometimes I even remember to use the app on my phone too. It works well because your notes sync to different devices so you can access them on your computer or smartphone. The downside of this is that I’ve noticed that sometimes it slows down my PC so it’s not always the most efficient note taking tool, but overall I like it. I need to use it more to keep track of the ideas that I have when I am not in front of my computer. For me, it’s rare that my phone is not within arm’s reach so this might work for me.
3. Dragon Dictation. I’ve used this on my Mac for dictating some things that I have written, but haven’t been using it as an app. I just downloaded the app for iPhone. So far I find it works as well as the Mac app (maybe even better). I’m planning to experiment with it as way to record my thoughts.
4. My Aqua Notes. My friend Lara shared this tool for writing down those great ideas that we all have in the shower. I just bought the 5-pack to share with some of my pensive friends.
So I will begin my journey to keep better track of my ideas and to maybe do something with them. The first step is not to forget them before I write them down (I think I’m good for about five seconds).
What tools do you use to record your thoughts? What are the next steps that I should be considering?