You think of that one todo.
Or you come up with a brilliant million-dollar idea.
Then later, it slips your mind. You can’t remember it, no matter how hard you try.
Don’t let important ideas escape you, always write them down immediately.
The Forgotten Task
It happens to the best of us.
Out of nowhere, you think of that random task, but you are in the middle of something else.
“I’ll do it later,“ you tell yourself.
And then of course, you forget. It slips your mind even though it was important.
The best way to avoid these lost todos and ideas is to capture them as soon as they come up.
“Always stop when an idea hits, and capture it before it is gone.”
It doesn’t matter what you are doing… stop what you are doing and write it down immediately. (Unless it’s a safety issue, of course.)
Stop walking. Stop talking. Just stop. And write it down. It will only take a few seconds.
You’ll be glad you did. Later, when other activities and interruptions have taken your attention elsewhere, you will still have your important todo or idea documented.
Write it Down, Right Now
Capturing todos as soon as they occur is a productivity skill that will serve you in all your endeavors.
Initially, you may view it as an interruption. However, it will quickly become second nature.
It will be a habit that enables you to continue your flow, even when another good idea hits.
Question: How do you ensure that you always capture tasks and ideas before they are forgotten? You can leave a comment by clicking here.
Oh, how I wish I would do this. Don’t always have something to write with or on, but generally, I always have my phone. Anyone know of a good app, or something within the iPhone to record a thought quickly? I think iPhone has voice notes, maybe? Can it be set up as a hot button?
John, I use Evernote’s widget on my phone to click the microphone icon and record a quick audio note to my workspace. There’s also a button for quick image and simple text notes on the fly.
Thanks, Mike. I will check it out.
This is such a crucial principle, Craig. If I don’t jot things down right away I often times forget about them. Right now I use Wunderlist to keep track of my tasks. It works on my smartphone, tablet, and computer. It’s super helpful, has lots of features, has a clean interface, and it’s free. I highly recommend it.
I use Evernote, which syncs with Facilethings. Nothing forgotten.
42 years ago my major professor nagged his grad students to form the habit of carrying a few 3×5 cards and a pen or pencil in a pocket to jot down ideas, observations, useful info. To-dos, etc. I still carry them but also use my phone to text myself info using its voice to text capability.
We love this post. It’s so important to capture our ideas and to-dos as soon as they pop-up in our minds. “I’ll do it later” is the typical mindset and one that HAS to change! We agree that in order to be truly productive and to ensure that we get things done, whenever something comes to mind it should be a habit to write it down. To answer your question, this is exactly the idea behind ClickMe – a simple and quick tool that easily helps capture thoughts and tasks right as they come to mind!
I wonder if our failure to act immediately on ideas, at least by recording them, sends a message to the brain that the idea or task is unimportant, giving it permission to forget it.