Please write your ideas down!

The tools I use to keep them from leaking out of my brain

I don’t need to write this down, I’ll remember it.

Just this morning, chatting with a writing friend, I had a brilliant idea for a post. What was it? I now have no idea, because I committed the cardinal sin of not writing it down. What a rookie error!

Please, I beg you, don’t fall into the “I’ll remember it” trap.

I’ve recently turned 47, so my instinct is to blame the “p word,”but this problem has existed far longer than my forties. If you’re much younger than I am, best get the habit of recording things in place now.

The tools are there.

What irritates me so much about this lost idea is that I know better. The hubris of trusting my memory is always a mistake, and hopefully this won’t happen again anytime soon. Let’s refresh on all the options I foolishly chose not to take.

Here are my preferred ways to track ideas:

1. A good old-fashioned notebook. I keep a notebook based on the bullet journal system for daily plans, to-do lists, and notes while I’m running calls for students to note down ideas. I had it right in front of me this morning… sigh.

2. Highlighting. When I read, I get ideas all the time. I frequently read paper books, which requires a physical highlighter, but I’m also a huge fan of highlighting when reading eBooks or articles. I have a Readwise account, which collates my highlights and is an absolute godsend. If I have the quote that sparked the idea, I can often get the idea back. Also, highlighting in an ebook allows you to make a note that accompanies the highlighted text, so I see both when referencing Readwise.¹

3. Visual memory. Recently, I learned about a program called My Mind, which is essentially a private Pinterest. Every time I clip something from the web, the service automatically tags it with the type of item it is (Recipe, Article, Image, Song etc) and adds an AI summary so I can find it again. I can create groups inside this space, like one for my latest novel, so just clicking on an image or research article I want to refer to when writing takes care of it. I can also make notes on the platform so I could have typed the forgotten idea up in 2 seconds.

4. Voice notes. It’s not always safe to write something down when we have ideas. If you’re driving a car, say, I do not recommend writing or typing anything. But what if the solution to that nasty plot twist appears when you’re stuck in traffic? Record a voice note. You can either listen back to it later and note the idea down or, if you want a quick conversion to text, a service like Otter or Descript will transcribe the audio for you incredibly accurately. Otter offers a trial of several hours before you have to get a paid subscription, so this could last you a little while for free to see if you like it.

5. Waterproof suction cup notepad. Yes, really. At one stage, I kept having writing ideas in the shower, only to have them all disappear down the drain as soon as I grabbed my towel. While bringing a phone or notebook into the shower won’t help, some clever person invented Aquanotes, which is a notepad you can stick to the wall of your shower with coated pages you can still mark with pencil. If you are a shower idea person, this might be just the ticket.

Above all, don’t be proud.

Don’t let not having a nifty tool or pretty pen to hand stop you from making a note. Try the notes app on your phone, send yourself an email, grab a napkin, the back of a receipt and get that idea down on the page. Always have a pen in your bag, but don’t be afraid to ask to borrow one if you get stranded.

And just imagine how much we would have enjoyed that other post I forgot today. Even so, I hope writing this one instead has protected other stories and ideas for posterity. Do as I say, not as I did, ok?

Have you got any hot tips for keeping track of ideas? Please please, share any and all tools and tricks in the comments. Let’s help each other!

1. Besides saving highlights, Readwise now has a Reader feature, much like Pocket or Read Later, which allows you to read articles and forwarded newsletters without the distraction of ads and click bait. I’ve forgotten ideas so often because I got sucked down a clicking rabbit-hole only to shake myself out of it later, idea totally gone. Get the article away from its original site, then read and highlight in peace and keep your precious ideas.