4 Effective Techniques to Take Notes and Remember Your Ideas

If, like me, you're the kind of person who can't stop thinking about tons of different things daily, take notes. It sounds stupid-simple, right? Yet I don't know a single person who does that. And I'll tell you the truth, I haven't been taking notes until recently.

So, what's the deal? My friend, the deal is you're forgetting thousands of ideas and thoughts, per day. If you tend to spend a lot of time in your mind, you must have had these "Hey, that's a good idea" moments. And you just passed to something else in the blink of an eye.

Wanna stop losing all these million-dollar ideas? Read this article. I'll give you some tips and tricks to take notes effectively.

Rollerblades and Taking Notes - Backstory

Your mind is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get. Be it about business, relationships, or anything else, your mind has ideas all the time. And what's great about that is, your brain proceeds by associating a random moment that you're physically experiencing with an abstract thought.

Read the short story below to get a full understanding of this point.

I was recently rollerblading and I almost fell hard on the ground. Then I kept rolling and I had a nice evening on my inline skates. But at this exact moment where I saw myself almost touching the ground, it struck me.

I thought "There are these moments in life when we're on the verge of failing, and that fears us to the point we don't even try doing what we want. And somehow the only solution is to ignore the part about failing, and dive head first without thinking for a second."

In other words, a 2-second moment on rollerblades made me think about this old saying that goes like "Stop strategizing, start doing."

To me, this is extremely deep and powerful. And I'll be honest with you, I'd be extremely frustrated if I had lost this idea just because I hadn't taken notes.

Luckily, I had my phone to take notes!

Some Good Tips and Tricks to Take Notes

You might think this is super simple and anyone could take notes. All in all, this is quite basic. And we've all been to school at least once, so writing down anything on paper isn't too much of a deal. Right?

Then, why on Earth ain't you taking these stupid notes?

Let me give you some tricks that will change your note-taking game.

1. Always carry something to take notes: Be it your phone, pen and paper, or post-it notes, you need to have something on you all the time. Ideas and thoughts don't plan to come at a specific time during the day, so you've gotta be prepared.

2. Do not postpone: This is a no-brainer. Do not, at all costs, think that you're capable of holding an idea that's just popped into your mind for more than 30 seconds. We've all been there. Trust me. You'd better write it down right now. You'll thank me later when you realize how ephemeral your thoughts are.

3. Take structured and detailed notes: One-word notes ain't notes. When you'll be in your bed, 10 days later, relaxed and all, how do you think you're gonna figure out the meaning of your "notes"? If an idea starts building in your mind, write it down but most importantly write everything that revolves around it. This will help you add context, other ideas, and anything else that will make you apprehend it much better.

4. Avoid spelling mistakes: Sounds crazy right? Believe it or not, when your brain reads spelling mistakes, it kinda blocks, and your focus immediately fades out. If you want to experience a nice read when you take your notes back, think of spelling mistakes upstream.

Don't underestimate the power of taking notes. Your mind is a crazy source of ideas, and you're the only one responsible for catching them all.

Before You Go

Taking notes is a habit, and you'll progressively get used to it if you put in the efforts.

Now I'm wondering, what's your technique? Do you have some tips and tricks you could share with us? Any insight or crazy story to share?

Let us know in the comments!