Productivity Tip: Take Note

I find it useful to have a dedicated place to jot down notes and record things that I want to remember. For example, people are always recommending books to read or movies to watch. Sometimes verbally and sometimes electronically. Prior to developing my system, I would always do my best to remember the recommendation. Inevitably, the information would fly out of my brain the moment I was at the book store, searching the library catalog, or perusing options on Netflix. Or I would save the electronic message for a long time until I could take action on it. If I remembered it was there.

Even if I did write down the recommendation, rather than tricking myself into thinking I would remember it, I could never recall where I had written it down. Was it in the notebook, my paper planner, a tiny scrap of paper tucked away somewhere?

To resolve this challenge, I dedicated a place to record these types of things on my smartphone. One centralized place specifically for taking notes, writing down recommendations, or cool things to look up later. On my phone I have a few different lists in Trello to capture notes while I’m on the go. Or sitting around.

Trello is a web-based task management system. Incidentally, I also use it for my routine and ad-hoc “to-do” lists, plus a few other things. In Trello I dedicated a list for Book and Media recommendations. Every time I hear about an album I want to buy, a good book, or a cool movie, I add it to the list. Then when I’m looking for books at the library, I can consult my list for items to borrow or add to my account wish list for later. I do the same thing with Netflix. Every so often I go through my media recommendation list and see if any of them are in Netflix to add to my account. Then I delete them from my phone.

I also use Trello to jot down ideas and notes for this blog. One never knows where and when inspiration will strike for the next great posting. You don’t have to download Trello to replicate this system. The most important part is to dedicate one place to record things for yourself. It could be a note app, Google Keep, or anything that you already use. Then remember to use it!