Never Lose a Thought – 5 Indispensible Methods to Capture the Muse

A couple of weeks ago, lying in bed, I had a thought in my head for a great post.  There I was drifting off to sleep when the sugar plums started dancing in my head (seriously…was there any time in history where people actually dreamed of dancing sugar plums?) and I knew that if I didn't act I might lose the thought.  Normally, I bring my journal and pen to bed but I must've tossed it in my bag to process earlier that day.

I weighed my options, One, get up in the dark and risk stepping in cat puke  (I've done it many times…totally ruins the mojo) or sleep it off and hope that I remembered it in the morning.  Guess which path I chose? 

Don't underestimate the fear that cat puke can invoke.

Needless to say, the next morning I woke up refreshed, no cat puke on the feet and ready to write my totally awesome blog idea. 

Gone…just like those damn dancing sugar plums.

To this day, I still try to figure out what that lost thought was.  The Muse can be a spiteful witch if you ignore her calling. 

It was at that point that I vowed to never be without a means to capture life's great ideas again. 

Here are five great means to capture your ideas:

A Notebook for Every Room

I mean every room.  Always have one by the bed, one in the car, one in the kitchen, one by the TV, and even in the bathroom.  Like Archimedes, sometimes your best ideas come in the shower (or bath) when your mind is just wandering.  Little notebooks are cheap, you can buy them in bulk packs.  And don't forget the pens!

Hipster PDA

Yes, I know this is an older concept, originally named by Merlin over at 43folders.com.   But it's BRILLIANT!  He managed to put a cool tag on a concept that many folks practice.  Basically, it's a bunch of index cards held together by a binder clip that you carry with you wherever you go (again, don't forget the pen!).

Not too many folks use PDA's anymore.  Can I call it the Hipster IPOD Touch?  or the Hipster SmartPhone? Gluteus Pocketus Appicus?  Butt Pad?  Ok, enough…

Record it

Cell phone, digital record, the IPOD Touch, they all come with the ability to do Voice Memos.  You can even call your home phone and leave a message, or even your buddy's phone since he's probably screening his calls.

Digitize It 

 If your not online at the moment, you can always just keep some files on your computer or your IPOD Touch to upload later.  It so happens that my IPOD needs WiFi to stay online, as does my laptop obviously, and there are many areas of my city where you can't find a network when you need it. 

Online

I've been working with Nozbe lately.  Developed by a group of GTD (Getting Things Done) enthusiasts, it's a subscription service, though if you are tracking five or fewer projects, it's free.   Basically, it allows you to track your time and your projects via a web-based service that you can also sync with your IPhone (IPOD Touch). 

Is there an IPhone app for everything?  Because if there is, then I'd like a cat puke detection app.  If anyone can recommend one, please let me know. 

There's also Jott which allows you to record your voice on the IPhone (or IPOD Touch) and then it will transcribe it in an email and send it to you. 

For me, I prefer simple means.  While Nozbe is quite good, there are a number of features I will never touch.  I don't like getting bogged down in maintaining a system.  I Project Manage large global projects by day and notice that it's easy to get caught up in managing a project plan, at the expense of getting other things done.  That's why the good ole' Butt Pad works best for me for daily tasks but I often find that I use a combination of the above. 

The important thing is that you get the information down and then spend some time each week (or daily if you prefer) processing it into lists of things to do. 

If anyone has any other great capture techniques, please share.

Funny little post-script to this article.  After I finished the first draft last night, it was after midnight and so I trapsed (stumbled) off to bed.  My wife warned me when I walked in the room that there were three cat puke piles around the bed.  You thought I was kidding.  Needless to say, I found it an odd coincidence…fear the kitties!