4 Ways to Capture Ideas

If you are a creative and/or curious person, you probably spend a lot of time looking, reading, researching, thinking and coming up with ideas. How to store all this information can be a challenge.

If (like me) you happen to have a mediocre memory or (also like me) find yourself hampered by the brain fog of midlife, remembering your best friend’s name can sometimes feel like a small victory. Having a tried and tested method to capture your thoughts, ideas and inspirations is not only useful, for some (like me) it is imperative.

A few years ago, on the point of burnout and looking for ways to rebalance my professional and personal life, my Information-Retention-System-1.0 came into being. I needed to find inspiration and come up with ways to revive the passion and energy I used to have for my work, without compromising other aspects of my life (like family, friends, personal interests, fun, health etcetera).

I threw myself into the project of life re-ignition with gusto. Reading, watching Ted talks, listening to podcasts, writing in my journal: the amount of information consumed and considered was growing exponentially month by month. I needed an effective method to keep track of all the information I was gathering and ideas I was generating.

At the ripe age of forty-nine, I found a solution that works - for me at least. The specific components of my technique may not be exactly right for you, and is fullevolving for me, so I would encourage you to experiment until you define a way of capturing information that works for you.

Do so and be amazed as you recall facts and details that pre-Information-Retention-System would have sunk without trace into the murky pool of deepest, darkest memory.

Here are some of the methods that work for me:

Listening

It may seem obvious that listening is a good way to gather, retain information and spark new ideas, but most of us are not as good at it as we would like to think. I used to be a prolific note-taker during meetings. During my training as a Co-Active coach, we were encouraged to put down our notebooks and give the person we were listening to our full attention (Co-Active call it the “Three Levels of Listening”). This showed me how much easier it is to retain information when you focus fully on what is being said (and sometimes not being said), saving the note-taking until later when it can be summarised in a neat précis.

Digital

There are a number of great apps and programs for keeping track of things. Much will depend on how much time you spend on your desktop or mobile, and whether you are an Apple or Android user. (Disclaimer: I am no digital aficionado. This is just my take as a middle-aged Apple user who has found something that works for them.)

Apple Notes or Evernote: I came across the Evernote app (which works on both desktop and mobile) thanks to Tim Ferriss, author of The Four Hour Work Week.?As a huge information-gatherer himself, it is understandable why he chose this app to make sense of it all. It offers basic note-taking and also has a variety of templates (ranging from meeting notes to project plans). What gives it the upper hand over basic note-taking software is that you can save clips, pages and probably lots of other things direct from the internet. No doubt it offers far more than I am aware of.

Voice Memos: A friend of mine never writes anything down. Everything is noted via “Hey, Siri, open Voice Memo!” and a voice note, recorded on the move. Great if you do not spend much time at your desk or process ideas better through speech than writing. I find voice memos useful for capturing initial ideas, but need to act on the idea quickly or find another way of saving it to make it stick longer term.

Online Whiteboards: These are great for those who think visually or spatially. Great for mind maps, mood boards, brainstorming, there are a variety of such resources to choose from. The one I use is Miro.

Social

Why not use a platform built to share ideas in order to capture your own? Ubiquitous, easy to open and contribute to, social media is an easy way to store your ideas - and you do not necessarily have to share them unless you want to.

Analogue

I personally feel most comfortable with a pen and paper when it comes to capturing ideas and taking notes (and I imagine there are a few other mid-lifers out there who would agree). The question is: what paper and what pen works for you?

Notebook: A couple of years ago, I started keeping notebooks solely devoted to “Captured Thoughts” (no shopping or To Do lists allowed) gradually generating a collection of these over the years. Whenever struggling to come up with an idea for a blog, article or illustration, I can delve back into the pages of ideas and thoughts gone by and usually manage to retrieve something useful.

Sticky Notes: Whenever drafting an article or presentation, I enjoy the flexibility of sticky notes. Specific points can be moved around or edited out as the work progresses. I also use them to adorn my monitor with things I want to keep top of mind.

Highlighter Pen: My worship of the humble highlighter pen is legendary among those I have worked with in the past. I work with a coded colour system to mark notes according to priority and importance. The highlighter is also my trusty reading companion: stripes of neon adorn the pages of the books on our shelves.

Finding sure-fire ways to capture information and ideas is key to personal development. Choose a method that works for you and commit to it so that you can curate your own bespoke and easily accessible library of information to draw on now and for many years to come.

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About Sophie

Sophie Neilan is a certified professional coach, a graphic designer and creative mentor. She coaches high-achieving (and overstretched) women to channel their precious time and energy into what’s important.

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