Ready to capture ideas - anytime, anywhere
Stop letting great ideas slip through your fingers
Do ideas always come to you when it’s convenient for you to jot them down? Of course not. Let’s cover some tips on how to capture[1] ideas when it’s tricky.
In a car
I’ve kept a pad of sticky notes and a pencil[2] in the car within easy reach. When an idea comes to me, I scribble a word or two that resembles the idea. I stick the note on the dashboard. My eyes have been on the road the entire time. When I park the car, I take the sticky note off the dashboard and I refine and rewrite the idea so that it’s a little easier to read and remember later.
When you’re driving with a passenger who has a phone, ask them to send you an email or text message that contains just enough of the idea that you’ll know what it means to you when you see it.
At a dinner
I try to avoid using my phone excessively when I’m having a drink or meal or a coffee with another person. Those conversations, however, are ripe with ideas that I don’t want to lose.
I bring a notebook and a pencil. When something comes up I write it down. The other person is usually stoked that something we talked about was inspirational enough to remember for later.
In the shower
Showers are a common time for ideas to come to me. I think it’s because I feel more relaxed. A relaxed state of mind is more prone to new ideas and making new conceptual connections.
When one of these incredible ideas comes to me in the shower I grab a bottle of shampoo or conditioner and throw it into the middle of the bathroom floor. When I get out of the shower, I see the bottle and it reminds me of the idea. I can now grab my phone and write the idea down.
Riding a bicycle (or doing something similar)
I am relaxed when I ride, like showering. So ideas come to me when both my hands are on the handlebars. This one is probably the trickiest place for capturing ideas.
I do a little time-travelling. I picture myself in the very near future at the next reasonable and safe place that I’ll stop. I picture myself taking out my phone and writing the idea down. For example, I do this when I’m riding to work. If I get an idea, then I’ll picture myself at the bicycle rack at the office, grabbing my phone, and writing the amazing idea that just came to me. Just picturing myself doing it is enough for me to actually do it when I get to the office.
I’ve captured my ideas, now what?
In each situation above, the idea should end up in a trusted inbox that you’ll process later (I’ll cover how to process in another post). It doesn’t matter what this is: Notes, Google docs, Evernote, Notion, a paper notebook.
Capturing ideas in tricky situations means you’ll have a richer bunch of ideas that will inspire your Next Big Thing.
[1] In the book Getting Things Done, the first step is Capture (the five steps are 1. Capture 2. Process 3. Organize 4. Engage 5. Review). Capture as quickly and as effortlessly as you can when an idea first comes to mind. I’ll write more about the GTD system in the future.
[2] Pencils don’t run out of ink and they don’t need a downward angle to keep writing, so they are more ready in more situations than a pen.