Write THIS Down: Tools to Capture Your Strategies, Insights, and Bold Ideas Quickly

In the spirit of spring cleaning, I’m tackling YOUR biggest questions about productivity and your personal productivity style with the idea that sometimes spring cleaning doesn’t necessarily mean a complete overhaul of your life, but perhaps it means just tweaking a couple things that you’ve let slip over the last several months. Or - better yet - maybe you're just ready to kick it up a notch.

So, tell me if you recognize this.

A client, a co-worker, your partner – maybe you - will keep scraps of paper or post-its with notes. And they’re everywhere – on her desk, in her car, in her Levenger planner, on her notepad, in her handbag.

On one level, you know what she’s doing - she’s jotting down insights, strategies, to-do items as they occur to her.

(We all do that, right?)

Unfortunately though, that means she has scraps of paper everywhere. Where does she start to organize this, so she can stop losing time? When does she find the time to gather all these notes in one place or organize them, write them somewhere else – and then, actually implement them?

Step 1: Use that technology that you’re always carrying with you as your note/idea capture tool.

You need one and only one tool to capture your notes and ideas. Ideally this tool is portable and can always be with you. This could be a technology tool, like an app, or a low tech solution like a small notebook.

If you decide on a technology app my top favorite note taking apps are:

1. EVERNOTE – This app helps you remember everything-and by everything, we really do mean everything. The service's webapp, desktop apps for Windows and Mac OS, mobile apps for iPhone and iPad, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone, and even WebOS mean that Evernote can help you take notes, save them, tag them with a location, create and organize notebooks, and share them anywhere you are and on any device you happen to have on you.

What’s great about this option: Evernote is great for taking notes and organizing them, but it's just as good at letting you capture, scan, and save objects in real life, clip web pages you browse, and share them with friends, colleagues, and classmates.

2. MSONENOTE - The tool functions like a basic word processor, but it saves automatically, lets you enter any kind of information anywhere, create and save notebooks for specific subjects and projects, and then share those notes and notebooks with others.

What’s great about this option: While OneNote is part of Microsoft Office, you can download versions of the suite for the iPhone and for Windows Phone, and use the OneNote webapp to take and save notes on the go from any web-enabled device.

What we’re not talking about, that we NEED to talk about to focus fully: Now, if you are taking notes on your smartphone because that works best for you and your productivity style, just let your colleagues know that; it can be a quick heads-up that this is how you are using your device so they don’t think you are multitasking and checking email when they expect you to be engaged during a meeting.

Step 2: Collect and organize your scraps of paper.

Go on a hunt and find all of those scraps of paper. Don’t overlook your handbag, pockets, and any flat surface. Once you have collected all of the scraps of paper divide them into three stacks – tasks to do, reference or project information, ideas. Add all of the tasks to do to your to do list. Put the reference and/or project information in either a reference or project file or notebook. Add your ideas to your new idea capture app or in their own idea notebook.

Decide on your note and idea capturing tool. Use it consistently so you can put into action all of your big, bold ideas. Remember – some of our greatest products, ideas, books, restaurants, concepts, innovations were born on scraps of paper. We just have to make sure we don’t lose ‘em.

Ready to kick it up a notch?

Brainstorm and collaborate virtually. Share your MSOneNote and Evernote notebooks and tap into everyone’s creative insights as they occur – in real time – not in a prescribed brainstorming session.

• Be bold. Stop curating ideas and actually take the first step to bring your idea into this world. Feel the fear and do it anyway.
• Want to share your insights and ideas with others OR spark a new idea, check out https://clustercrowd.atizo.com/.
• So, let's back it up a bit: What's the first question to get all this rolling - What's YOUR productivity style? Find out here.
• Learn more work-life strategies that will inspire conversations about personal productivity; purchase a copy of Work Simply for you and for your team or office library.

Carson Tate is the founder and principal of Working Simply, a management consultancy. Our mission is to bring productivity with passion back to the workplace. We do this by providing tailored solutions that help people to work smarter, not harder.

Her new book, Work Simply,was published on January 2, 2015.