{"id":16647,"date":"2018-02-21T13:36:36","date_gmt":"2018-02-21T21:36:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/?p=16647"},"modified":"2018-02-21T13:42:14","modified_gmt":"2018-02-21T21:42:14","slug":"capturing-good-ideas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2018\/02\/capturing-good-ideas\/","title":{"rendered":"Are You Capturing Your Good Ideas?"},"content":{"rendered":"

How many thoughts and ideas do you have daily which represent useful things to do or potentially enhance or improve projects,\"\" situations, and life in general? How many have you had and forgotten, and forgotten that you\u2019ve forgotten?<\/p>\n

\u201cI ought to call Susan and ask her about where she stayed in Hawaii…\u201d
\n\u201cI need to write up the meeting agenda and email it to the team.\u201d
\n\u201cWonder what marinade I’d use to cook a lamb on the grill…\u201d
\n\u201cI ought to update Bill about my conversation with his customer
\nEtc.<\/p>\n

Most people have (or could have) many more of these kinds of thoughts than they realize, during the course of any 24-hour period. Most people don\u2019t get value from many of them, because they lack both the habit and the tools to collect those thoughts when they occur. If they aren\u2019t captured, they are useless, and even worse can add to the gnawing sense of anxiety most people feel about things \u201cout there\u201d they know they\u2019ve told themselves they should or would like to do, but don\u2019t remember consciously what they are.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve had thousands of ideas and fun or important to-do\u2019s actually come to pass, and kept a refreshingly empty head about all of them, because I\u2019ve managed to create the habit of grabbing those thoughts when they occur. Many people view improving personal organization skills and tools as a \u201cfix\u201d or at best a \u201cmaintenance\u201d need. Yet from my experience gaining the habit of capturing and organizing all of my thinking can take on a much more creative and proactive spin.<\/p>\n

Two things are needed to implement this standard and make it easy:<\/strong> (1) a collection tool with you at all times, and (2) the habit of processing all the thoughts within a short period of time (ideally, every 24\u201348 hours).<\/p>\n

(1) Simple, small tools are required. They can be analog, digital, or both. I\u2019ve used a note-taker wallet for years for this purpose because it has critical plastic cards and is with me ubiquitously. I also capture into my portable digital tools by grabbing thoughts I forward as new emails for me to process.<\/p>\n

(2) You must process these thoughts into your organization system soon, and completely. If you leave emails unprocessed in your inbox, or paper notes piled up in a briefcase or notepad somewhere, the whole process is defeated, and your motivation to continue will disappear.<\/p>\n

But if you do get the tools, use them when you think, and organize the results into your system, I guarantee you\u2019ll have more thoughts. And good ones, too.<\/p>\n

The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas.\u00a0<\/em>
\n\u2014Linus Pauling
\nDid you ever stop to think, and forget to start again?\u00a0<\/em>
\n\u2014A.A. Milne<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2013David Allen<\/p>\n

This essay appeared in David Allen\u2019s Productive Living Newsletter.\u00a0Subscribe for free here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How many thoughts and ideas do you have daily which represent useful things to do or potentially enhance or improve projects, situations, and life in general? How many have you had and forgotten, and forgotten that you\u2019ve forgotten? \u201cI ought to call Susan and ask her about where she stayed in Hawaii…\u201d \u201cI need to … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Are You Capturing Your Good Ideas?”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13984,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,736,1,716,32],"tags":[22,745,42,58,287,291,521,611,1261,1262,1263,1264],"class_list":["post-16647","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-david-allen","category-educational-tools","category-featured","category-free-resources","category-productivity-tips","tag-getting-things-done","tag-david-allen","tag-mind-like-water","tag-collect","tag-creativity","tag-ubiquitous-capture","tag-organize","tag-process","tag-capture","tag-five-steps","tag-five-phases","tag-creative","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAre You Capturing Your Good Ideas? 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