I keep a Post-It note on my document holder, which is right under my screen. It is updated each day with that day’s to-do list.

The 2nd thing I do is keep a small spiral notebook for meetings/project assignments. I write down the date of the meeting, the subject/name of the project and then any relevant notes.

This little system has kept me on task really well. If I use electronic media for these types of things, they just get lost. The physical act of writing acts like a psychological key or trigger.

At home, I don’t have any such system–I have a general idea each day of what my big tasks are, and as I do them, I take care of anything else that might come up. I save large projects for weekends/days off.

J-Mo

PS: This is a WONDERFUL blog!

@Charlie: You’ve made the right decision with the notebook. Index cards are best if you’re deskbound, have an intray, and have the habit of immediately throwing new notes in the intray. Otherwise, like you said, they’ll just wind up scattered around the house.
@Francis: The Irex iLiad comes close to what you’re describing. It’s a ebook reader that uses E Ink, like the Amazon Kindle, but incorporates a stylus for writing or drawing. You can even annotate documents as a separate layer. But the $700 price tag makes it hard to justify, and it’s not quite A4/letter size.

Now, I use a PDA wallet with a pad — that’s the closest I can come to the perfect capture tool.

When I am without my pad, I sometimes change my watch to the other hand to remind myself that something needs to be recalled at a future time.

I’m thinking about getting a voice recorder for exactly the reasons you mention – and because I’ll oftentimes start creating a song that works and forget the words by the time I get something to write on.

Computer applications come in as the holding tank for reference information – those items that aren’t actionable (right now) but may prove valuable in the future. Everything else gets purged at the end of the notbook.

Great post, Andre!

It’s very mod-able, with writing space (though tiny), pen loops, inserts for cards/cash, and refillable note taking space – but most of all, a zip to make sure nothing falls out.