Notes

Reading the last few entries of this blog, it could argued that I’m fixating a little bit with notes, note taking and what you could call note keeping, information farming, information retrieving…

Not surprisingly, the subject seems to be a popular one.

Brighter people than me have devoted a lot of time thinking, researching and writing on it. I for one, am sure that its not a trivial subject matter. You’ll be able to find many articles on it, and even whole websites, forums as well as a large number of software products devoted in one way or another to this very purpose.

What is it with all this note taking business? Well, I don’t know about the very bright reader… but in my case, my brain constantly comes up with all kinds of ideas, tasks (ToDos), and whatnot that should be dealt with in one way or another.

As I have mentioned before, I run my own show. In my business this means that I deal on a daily basis with different Clients and projects so as you would imagine I have many things to keep tabs on. Things upon which, be it taking into account, be it executing… depends whether I’ll be able to bring home some money. And while I’m not asking for any kind of recognition, I’ll also let you know that I’m very well above average (happily) involved in the daily chores of running a household with two kids (one of them a seven month old baby).

Oh, and I forgot to mention, I don’t have an assistant.

So this might seem like a commonplace advice, but I find it worth repeating to myself every so often: write it down!

Always carry something in which you are able to quickly jot down whatever important idea or piece of information your brain or the environment decides to present you with.

More often than not I get all kinds of looks whenever I take out of my pocket either a bunch of cards or a small notebook and write something down. I might be in the middle of the street, at a restaurant… some of the oddest looks I got were at a live blues bar in Chicago very, very late in the a.m. …

You never know when that relevant info its going to hit you. And its been long ago since I know better than trusting my mind to remind me of anything. It might or it might not, but I’d rather not take the chance.

I’m sure you are already familiar with the very frustrating experience of going around thinking on that thing you know its relevant and that you told yourself to remind you of later.

Keeping a set of cards, notebook, something in which quiclky scrible that idea, that ‘to Do’, that something that all of a sudden popped up to your mind is a must for me.

Later I arrive at a desk, fire up my mac (sometimes my tablet PC), and another daunting process starts… OK, so which app would be the best to ensure that this particular piece of info doesn’t get lost and that it would be presented to me when relevant? AH! the holy grail of information farming… that is one elusive beast…