As powerful as our brains are, they suck at holding thoughts in memory.
Chris Bailey, author of Hyperfocus, talks about how quickly we lose stuff we're actively trying to remember:
For all the power it provides, the content of your attentional space is ephemeral; its memory lasts for an average of just ten seconds.
This is why it's so easy to forget that great article idea that popped in your head.
I don't even think I get ten seconds to remember something. It's more like five for me.
Ideas don't appear conveniently
They appear in the shower. Or on the way to work, or out on a walk.
Our brain makes connections all the time, underneath our direct consciousness. These connections surface with some kind of trigger, which we may be able to identify, or not.
The idea for this article came on my way to work.
It took every shred of my concentration to remember it until I could capture it.
Capture is a good word for this. Ideas almost want to be forgotten, it seems.
Idea Capture 101
The faintest ink is better than the best memory. ~Chinese Proverb
Also:
My friend has a baby. I'm recording all the noises he makes so later I can ask him what he meant. ~Steven Wright
Also:
Pics or it didn't happen. ~Lots of people
Write it, record it, snap it.
Get that idea in a medium that lasts longer than your memory. Like, right away.
My tools for capturing ideas
You can have different ones but these are mine:
1. Bathtub crayons
Those million-dollar ideas that happen in the shower? Well, these bathtub crayons work in the shower too.
Embrace your inner kindergartener and draw stuff in the shower. Why not?
2. Small notebook
This one I've come to use at work a lot, since I can't use my phone in the building.
Here's the one I use. I like that it's rigid enough that it doesn't bend the paper pad when I carry it around.
Another option I've tried is a small stack of 3×5 index cards held together with a small binder clip. This is less convenient than a pad, though.
3. Larger notebook
I have one of these at my desk. I'll take it into meetings. I use 6″ x 8″ hardback journals for this.
Another good option is thinner flexible-cover notebooks like these. I've played with using these strictly for to-do items but I haven't made up my mind yet. They would also work for capturing ideas, of course, and they're a bit less expensive that the hard-back journals.
4. Phone
Either for texting or voice recording. I need to figure out a convenient way to use it in the car.
5. Computer
If I'm at my computer, I'll just open up a page in Obsidian and put things there.
Also, I have a streak going doing speech-to-text into 750Words.com.
The key to not forgetting an article idea ever again
The best tools, though, are worth nothing if they never see any use!
I'm still working on the triggers to write down things immediately when the idea strikes. (I get five seconds, remember?)
I often recognize I'm having the idea, but don't write it down.
Then squirrels, and the idea is gone.
This has cost me dearly in lost content ideas.
The key, then, is to make it a practice to record your ideas immediately when they hit.
Then you won't ever be lacking material for your content!
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header photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash