How Do You Capture Your Thoughts?

By on March 19, 2007 in Cool Tools with 13 Comments

Moleskinepdaactions Where and how do you capture your thoughts and imagination? With the multitude of incoming data our brains receive, it’s getting tougher for me (no – it’s not a sign of age).

I’ve always carried a notebook, though now I call it a WUP. A recent post at Creating Passionate Users motivated me to upgrade my WUP to a productive Moleskine.

This has been great for me because it still fits in my pocket. I haven’t got it as organized as Kathy yet, but its a work in progress.

Guy_8597This morning, I caught a glimpse of how Guy Kawasaki marks a book, and I’m going to employ his technique immediately. I might even buy the book he reviews in the post.

The use of Post-Its in both cases is similar to how I read feeds with GreatNews. When I see a post I can use later, I ‘label it’ in folders I’ve created (share it; blog it; use it).

Sometimes, incoming data has such a rapid pace, my imagination doesn’t have time to recognize the opportunity to get involved. These simple techniques help.

How do you capture your thoughts?

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  • http://www.allthingsworkplace.com Steve Roesler

    Ya know, Mike, I’m seeing a little trend here.
    I, too, have used a Moleskin for some time now. I always have the latest PDA to satisfy my inner-Geek. But I always seem to come back to pencil on paper. There is something very comforting about it that is just unexplainable.
    With the small Moleskin, you can just wrap the band around the pages to note your last entry and put in in your pocket or briefcase. (I’m not very good at following systems for long periods of time).
    “Capturing Thoughts” is a fascinating topic. Will check back later to see what others are doing.

  • http://lenski.com Tammy

    Hey there Mike, happy Monday to you.
    I keep a Moleskine in the office and use it there and when I’m reading mags, blogs and books. I mark books pretty much just like Guy, except that I write little annotations on my stickies so I can remember specific thoughts that occurred as a read…this is standard “how to read a textbook” advice I give to my grad students too, as research has shown we’re much more likely to retain what we’ve read when we engage it in some way.
    Like Steve, though, I found myself returning to paper and pen again and again, particularly when I’m on the road. It’s because most of what I write in notes ends up somewhere on my laptop anyway. So now I keep a little artist’s tin in my briefcase, with pen, 3×5 cards, business cards, stickies and the like. I write ideas onto 3×5 cards, then toss them onto my desk for next steps…this makes sure I attend to them rather than closing the Moleskine and not necessarily taking the next action.
    Cheers,
    Tammy

  • http://www.strategycentral.org Mark Howell

    There is a trend. I try to use my Treo to jot down what needs to happen. After reading GTD I’ve tried to remove the scraps of paper technique. But I still find myself searching for a really effective method. I briefly gave a shot to the book mark-up idea Tim Sanders talked about in Love is the Killer App…but then reverted back to my normal way of starring and underlining and folding down corners. I’m still looking. May need to try the moleskin idea!
    mark

  • http://www.artdinkin.com Art Dinkin

    Strangely enough, I don’t take too many notes. I used to. There was a time in my life when I diligently took notes, highlighted books, wrote in journals, and spent hours keeping them organized. Problem was I never went back to painstakingly obtained data.
    Today, I try harder to listen rather than take notes. I may jot down something on the back of a business card, in my palm pilot, or on some scrap paper. But only when I intend to use it quickly. For larger scale items, I keep a fairly extensive filing system but I will not file it unless I am positive I just can not live with out it.
    I try instead to focus on the source of the information. For instance, I don’t need to know a lot about blogs because if I have a particular question, I know who to go to!

  • http://completehealing.wordpress.com Anthony J. Davis, D.C.

    My primary thought capture device is a Dell Axim PDA, works nice for jotting things down or recording short voice messages.
    At times when it is not handy to tote around my PDA, I’ll slip a stack of index cards cut in half secured with a binder clip and a small pen in my pocket.
    I’ve found that Pilot Pocket G2 Retractable pens are great for this function.

  • http://bloggingforbusinessbook.com Ted Demopoulos

    Pen and paper — often random little bits, which sometimes get lost, but just writing things down makes them more permanent in my mind.

  • http://getanewbrowser.com Andy Brudtkuhl

    I’m a moleskine person myself. I prefer the squared version (looks like grid paper). I have them in several different sizes. In many cases it’s just easier to have that handy little notebook.
    For marking books and magazines i use the post-it flags.

  • http://www.PerformanceManagementCenter.com Howie

    I also take down notes but not all the time. I only write down thing that came in an instance like an idea. I usually forget these thougts because they are sudden and are new.

  • http://profile.typekey.com/coachingwizardry/ Joanna Young

    Good question – and it is fascinating to see the different approaches we use. Might be interesting to find out if anyone has ever found a system that works and lasts…or are we all always searching for something new?
    For me the cornerstone is pen and paper – any bit of paper will do including serviettes and bus tickets, which means I can capture thoughts, quotes, ideas anywhere so long as I have or can borrow a pen.
    I’ve recently started using the post-its for books – it makes me more relaxed when I’m reading to know I can log a good point without having to stop and write it down.
    The notes and scraps and post-its then (at least in theory) get turned into electronic material on my “i*write” journal – it’s a great format for recording thoughts, ideas, drafting new material (including blogs) and is easily searchable. For example if I have an idea that I think could turn into a blog later I just type the word “blog” in brackets and search for my previous ideas when I’m ready – or stuck!

  • http://www.psych101online.com Helen

    I use voice recorder. I find it a lot easier to listen to what I said than to read on something I wrote. With voice, I can just listen to the ideas I came up with before I sleep or when I am eating.

  • http://www.converstations.com Mike Sansone

    >Steve – pencil & paper have long been a standby. Got rid of my Palm seven years ago and haven’t looked back.
    >Tammy – great thought about 3×5 cards. I used to have that habit, wonder what happened to it…
    >Mark – when you dogear the page, do you also note why somewhere? that’s been my hurdle…months later, I forget why I was saving the page. The post-its I’ve been using now have notes on them:-)
    >Art – You must’ve upgraded your memory, right?:-) I agree about listening intently, but what about in personal study…how do you capture thoughts?
    >Anthony – Another great example of index card use (and love the lovemark for the G2)
    >Teddy D – And what becomes of the notes once jotted? I have a basket I go through at the end of each week, transferring notes I want to save.
    >Andy – Good practice with diff sizes.
    >Joanna – Great tip on the transferring the notes to a journal for safe keeping and searching.
    >Helen! – Another great idea. A mini-cassette recorder is a great way to capture thoughts and I always have mine…but I usually forget it’s in the glove compartment.
    Good stuff gang!

  • http://www.dsmbuzz.com Sherry Borzo

    The folder tip is a great idea. I’ll give that a shot in my feedreader. Thanks for directing me to Christine Kane too in another post and also I found you used something cook called Filmloop when you created FoundThings site. Very fun. Still can’t get over all this great creativity out there. Have you used JumpCut by chance? Still trying to figure out all you talked about regarding Delicious. your meetings are terrific!

  • http://www.blogopreneur.com Kian Ann

    Hey Mike,
    I have a challenge recording my thoughts! Now, I either scribble on the book directly, or use Guy Kawasaki’s method as shown above (plus jotting little notes on the post it pads before sticking them on)
    I wish there was a “blog this” button on the book :P

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