Capture this. Forget that.

How I avoid the headache of forgotten ideas

Have you ever had an idea so great that you just knew it was "THE ONE" (it doesn't matter that the idea was for your cousin's doomed to fail business venture, it was still "THE ONE")? Have you ever let "THE ONE" get away because you didn't commit it to pen and paper or even some digital format that would have preserved your thoughts?

"Been there done that" is too slapstick a term to remotely capture the number of ideas I have had that, due to my less rigorous capture policy, I allowed to waft into the destructive wind of forgetfulness like a plastic grocery back on the Santa Anas.

I often find myself having my best creative mojo when I am either A. half asleep or B. two cocktails into a stimulating conversation. In those relaxing moments of bliss, my mind wanders about too and fro, stretching the limits of reality. By reality, I mean what ideas I can realistically achieve either at work or in my personal life. I naively forget my mind is worse than a fickle lover. I remind myself to remember (that's a thing everyone does, right?) that this idea is the best one. Then in the morning, like that fickle lover I am again pining for, it's out the door with my wallet, and I'm left disappointed and empty.

I tell myself, never again! I am going to start writing or sketching my ideas out so that I can keep them collected for the moment when they WILL be needed in some not too distant, potentially dystopian future. Maybe I'll start carrying my sketchbook with me or try to keep a notebook by the bedside again. I look for solutions to help build resolve while hoping that I WILL stick with it and become a consistent thought hunter, always stalking my prey, capturing those wisps of random genius, ensuring I WILL SUCCEED!

Then my fickle lover returns; I forget my sketchbook, my backpack is now too heavy, and I have so many notebooks; like a parent with multiple children, I get overwhelmed at the thought of choosing a favorite. My efforts fall short, and my ideas again begin to fade into time immemorial.

For me, it's so cyclical I could almost mark a calendar by it! Something, somewhere, sometime triggers me to feel more creative, so I think to my forgetful self, time to start capturing those great ideas again! Time to sketch, time to take more notes, and time to write down those genius thoughts, getting them out of my head and somewhere permanent, maybe even on paper! But alas, the mood passes. The task of carrying a man-purse everywhere becomes too tiresome, and I revert to my old tactics.

How do I overcome this constant struggle with myself? How do I capture those ideas I know are great and wrestle them into existence? How do I change my habits to be "BETTER"? For me, the answer is that I don't. You see, my friend, I believe we are all creatures of habit, and that habit includes going through cycles of exhilarating creativity, where your mind is awash with ideas, and the juices never seem to stop flowing. Then comes the desert. That dry spell where you have to beat your head against the wall to get those ideas to fall out. It's in those two modes of feast or famine that I think I have found a few tactics that work for me and may work for you, encouraging you to utilize both modes to take advantage of your strengths and weaknesses and bring to fruition a slate of creative concepts that can morph into reality!

Here's where you will wanna grab some pen and paper or bookmark me!

1. The BedTime Pal - I noted earlier that I like to keep a notepad (think field notes) by the bed, not always, but I try regularly. I constantly fight with my need to have surfaces clean of clutter (and cleaning in general), and when I see that notebook, unused for several days or even weeks, I decide it's time he vacate his position. I return him to an office drawer to resurface when the creative fruit is ripe for the picking once more! When I'm not beating myself up for having too much "stuff" and the ideas are flowing, my notebook is there, by my bedside, when needed. I even try to use something with a little more aesthetic, so maybe it won't be an eyesore. The National Park Collection by field notes is undoubtedly eye-catching and is a tribute to one of America's greatest gifts to mankind, the National Park System.

2. Carry that murse and MAKE IT LIGHT - Choice has always been hard for me. Walking into a Baskin Robbins always felt more like torture than pleasure! How am I supposed to choose between 31 flavors, I mean, seriously? But then I always remind myself, there ARE some things you don't like, looking at you mint chocolate chip. So I go through a process of elimination. I take out of my bag what I don't want. That's the easy part. I then eliminate duplicates. Who needs multiple pens? By the time I'm done, I am down to the necessary items needed, and my bag is all the lighter for it. Also, limit the size of the bag! The more volume, the more likely you are to grow into it like a plant. Try something like mine—a small cross-body message bag by SwissGear.

3. Always carry a raven... I mean a writing desk... no, I mean a writing UTENSIL - I am not one to travel with my sketchbooks and note pads all the time. After all, I only have my bag, and it doesn't go with every occasion or even every outfit I own. So, like a gentlemen, I always try to carry a pen with me to commit any sudden surges of creativity to any piece of paper I can find, be it a napkin, a menu, or an envelope. One Christmas, I had blue pens made for my family to match our family crest color. An artisanal purchase from a high school friend, hand-crafted with skill! It is undoubtedly a pen I like to carry and use!

4. Don't be afraid of digital capture - Who doesn't travel with a phone? There are plenty of apps to help you capture your creative thoughts. Your notes app for one, or you could try Miro, a white boarding tool. If you are so lucky to have a device like the Apple Pencil or even the hybrid and intuitive Moleskin Smart, you can easily pack those suckers around to use at your leisure; cocktails be damned!

5. Remain in your comfort zone, NO REALLY! - Nobody likes to be uncomfortable. I recently attended a conference where award-winning writer and speaker Terri Trespicio dropped some profound wisdom. That was REMAIN IN YOUR COMFORT ZONE and draw ideas into your bubble. You don't have to stand in the pouring rain berating yourself to try and force a change of habit! You can use your comfort zone to your advantage and grow. If you find you are comfortable with specific sizes or types of notebooks, writing utensils, or even digital mediums, then USE THEM to your advantage!

6. Capture ideas AS THEY HAPPEN - Repeat after me... YOU WILL NEVER REMEMBER IT! The more you realize you are human, and humans get busy, get distracted, and forget things, the more you realize you need to think about the moments when ideas happen for you and be prepared to capture them... AS, THEY, HAPPEN. Be ready to sketch, take notes, or use voice memo. This habit will help your feeble mind by committing those ideas to a more permanent and reliable medium.

In the end, we're all human, we seek ways to improve ourselves everyday! This includes how we manage and capture our best ideas! Start with what works for you and use your strengths and weaknesses to really help bring your greatest ideas to life!

Think, capture, create!