Do you run to write thoughts down as soon as they come to you so that you don’t forget them? One of the great lies we tell ourselves is “I’ll just remember.” If your memory is a bit like Polly’s memory, capture your thoughts as soon as they bubble up.
How do you capture your thoughts?
Ha! I’ve been known to do this very thing! I will jot it down surreptitiously if, say, I’m on a Zoom call and others are talking at the time. But sometimes this is necessary in a one-on-one conversation. If I have a recurring thought about something I haven’t done yet it’s usually because I also haven’t captured or scheduled it yet.
Hazel Thornton recently posted…The Menendez Miracles
I totally have to RUN and capture it, which is hard if I’m in the shower or something. It’s crazy!
Oh, this is so true. I only get tormented if it happens when I’m in the shower. Otherwise I quickly text it to myself or use my Notes app.
Tamara recently posted…Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Skies are Blue
The shower thing happens to me all the time. Those “shower notepads” used to seem silly, but now I get it!
Yes, those random important thoughts that crop up in the shower or in bed at night are hard to make a note of and remember. In the shower, I just keep repeating it over and over until I get out and can send myself a text or enter it on my calendar. Night thoughts are harder, but I try to hook the thought on to something I will be doing in the morning. For example, when I make the coffee, I am going to remember to write this down.
Jonda Beattie recently posted…April Is Stress Awareness Month
Night thoughts are definitely the hardest! I’ve taken to keeping a notepad and pen in my bedside table. If I know I need to remember it, I’ll make the effort to write it down. Of course, that can make me awake, and then have trouble getting back to sleep, but otherwise, I know I’m likely to forget. Good trick to tie it to a task you’ll be doing in the morning!
So true. I have to write down everything.
Everything. I mean, I have to write everything down!!
I love Polly! She is so real!!
I carry a spiral bound notebook with me – almost always – so I can capture those thoughts.
Diane N Quintana recently posted…Easter Baskets: the case of the lingering clutter
I always have my planner with me, which is where I capture most of my thoughts. This works for me because a lot of my thoughts are things I need to do, so I can go ahead and schedule them right away. It also has blank pages for random thoughts that I don’t want to lose. Sounds like we have similar systems 🙂
This one SO resonates with me! It made me smile.
I’m not sure I used to be this way, although I have always captured my to-dos. But at this point, I probably won’t remember if I don’t concretely capture the thought on my task list or calendar. And honestly, why take a chance of forgetting when it’s so simple to write it down? I’ve gotten good at letting people know to give me a moment to record the idea (like Polly.)
Yes, that’s so true, we need to ask people to give us a moment so we can record!
I think remembering is harder, but not necessarily because I’m older, but more because I think I have more going on in my brain that I did when I was younger. It’s a lot, actually! Not only do I try and make a general note, but I try and be very specific, so that when I read it later, I will recognize what I was trying to remember!
I can relate. If I don’t write it down, I will forget! Since I always have my phone at arm’s reach, I find using an app like Notes that contains my “to do this weekend” list or my “go to the grocery store” list.
But, if I am in the shower, I repeat the task repeatedly until I can write it out. I have a pen and notepad at my vanity and can write things down when I get out of the shower. =)
Sabrina Quairoli recently posted…Quick Tips to Overcome Procrastination This Summer
Seems from the comments like the shower is a popular place for having ideas pop into our brains! Repeating it over and over is a good technique. I do the same, if I can. I also remind myself that I want to remember “one” thing or “two” things, and that helps me when I am trying to recreate my thought. Speaking out loud is a great technique for all remembering because it automatically engages another one of our senses, right?
I have always taken notes, contemporaneously with any academic or professional meeting, less to remember and more to keep me focused on what’s being said. But when I think of something I want to remember, I tend to write it down as backup so that I will make sure to do it in a timely way; I won’t forget it otherwise, but I may not give it priority. If I think about something in the shower and want to remember, I tend to turn into a little song so that the melody will stick with me until I’m dressed and in a place to write it down. But Polly is so real, and so smart for conquering the distractions that come between idea formation and idea capture!
Julie Bestry recently posted…Frogs, Tomatoes, and Bees: Time Techniques to Get Things Done
It’s funny how many people are talking about having thoughts in the shower. Clearly, the shower is a major “aha” space!
Saying ‘I’ll remember it’ is always a dangerous thing to do. I’ve got to write down things as soon as I think of them, as well, or I know I won’t remember.
Janet Schiesl recently posted…Are you a 95%er?
For sure for me too, 100%!
For sure I capture my thoughts. I try to do it without interrupting someone who is talking to me. Sometimes I think I am getting old, which is true, but it is really that there is so much more going on in our lives and work that there is more to remember than we are capable of doing.
Julie Stobbe recently posted…Is it Possible- Family and Running A Business?
I agree that I feel I just have a lot more going on up in my brain, and that has made writing things down all the more important!