An Old Take on New Ideas:
How many times have you tried to remember something that you knew you
were forgetting? As I get older, it seems to happen more often. I'm not
sure if it's because of age, or because I think more and do less.
Nonetheless, I love having a process to capture, store, and retrieve,
relevant information.
For years I've been "a gadget guy." I'm the guy that waits in line to buy the first hot new phone. I always have the best PDA, the newest laptop. And I constantly try different software to capture ideas, produce mind maps, or otherwise give me a creative and competitive advantage.
Surprisingly, the newest addition to my arsenal of productivity tools is a small pad of paper. Yes, I now carry a small pad of paper in my pocket, and I pull it out to capture ideas, phrases, and to-do items throughout the day. It's quick, easy, and I don't have to worry about it recognizing my handwriting. I recognize my handwriting.
Throughout the day, I simply write the ideas, phrases, key words – and of course the to do items that I should do, want to do, or want someone else to do.
At the end of the day (or when my page is full) I call Copytalk and dictate the whole list into the telephone. A few minutes later, I get an e-mail with all of the items in electronic format. I then copy these and simply paste them into a web application called Toodledo, which is a categorized to-do list accessible online.
Toodle-do is a great place to help me get things done. It allows me to list each task, categorize it in ways I want, as well as create priorities, due dates, and different tags that you could use for locations or roles. I very quickly ended up with close to 1,000 to-dos sorted in many categories. So when I get an idea on something to write about, or come up with new development projects or things to talk about with friends, I have one place to go. Best part for me is that when I'm looking for something, this list is easy to search, easy to find, and easy to keep up-to-date.
All-in-all, it's a pretty good system, and I love how it feels to empty my brain every day.
