I have always LOVED Taking notes, writing my thoughts on papers, my ideas, my feelings just everything. I've got over 35 spiral notebooks full of this stuff.
I'm also all over the place, I lose where I wrote it or I go back to find it and get distracted with all the other awesome stuff that I wrote but I forgot that I wrote because my ADHD brain says "squirrel"
With that being said, recently I switched to keeping EVERYTHING in one notebook. I sectioned it out and created title pages. Three weeks later, I've realized that I just stopped writing in it all together because I'd say I'll remember to write this down later and I never did.
I don't know what it is about switching from 35 notebooks to just one notebook that threw me off, but it did. Now I feel like I'm starting all over on a new slate right back at square one.
So thank you for this idea! I'm going to download ToDoList and transfer any notes I've got scattered through other apps in my phone. I'm going to commit to one app on my phone.
Yes, do you have any suggestions for me? On ways I could digitize or categorize everything? Cause it's literally holding me back from writing and I'm not sure how to fix it.
But sometimes to get unstuck, you may just need a small first step, not an entirely new system. For example, can you just scroll through your notebooks until you find the first idea that resonates and start writing about that?
I keep trying to have one solid place, but my mind is all over the place, and it’s really hard! Currently I have running lists in Notion, which I really like as a place to organize ideas, but generally default to Notes on my phone. It’s easy and always there. definitely want to get better organized around this. Thanks for the inspo!
I used to store my ideas on paper ... until my mom found them and burned them.
I used to store my ideas (whole novels) on my computer ... until my HDD crashed twice.
I used to store my ideas on a cloud server ... until the server was hacked, password was changed, and my ideas were held at ransom for $10,000 which I refused to pay.
Now, I store my ideas on a USB thumb drive with 2 backups. Starting over from 0 sux!
This was in 2014. I don’t remember. I only remember the frustration. I went back to storing locally and had my 2nd HDD crash in 2016. I stopped using computers altogether (except my smartphone) for about 5 years.
Are u saying that hacking, data breaches, & ransom don't happen anymore? Before it was idle teenagers. Today, it's sanctioned state actors engaging in digital warfare.
So I wrote a text to myself. I pinned it at the top of my list and now I add to it. My computers both house scrivner where I do all my writing and I have a creation journal that I keep my ideas in. This has been very helpful for me maintaining ideas for novels. I need to work on it with article ideas to.
I have always LOVED Taking notes, writing my thoughts on papers, my ideas, my feelings just everything. I've got over 35 spiral notebooks full of this stuff.
I'm also all over the place, I lose where I wrote it or I go back to find it and get distracted with all the other awesome stuff that I wrote but I forgot that I wrote because my ADHD brain says "squirrel"
With that being said, recently I switched to keeping EVERYTHING in one notebook. I sectioned it out and created title pages. Three weeks later, I've realized that I just stopped writing in it all together because I'd say I'll remember to write this down later and I never did.
I don't know what it is about switching from 35 notebooks to just one notebook that threw me off, but it did. Now I feel like I'm starting all over on a new slate right back at square one.
So thank you for this idea! I'm going to download ToDoList and transfer any notes I've got scattered through other apps in my phone. I'm going to commit to one app on my phone.
I have a good feeling about this one 🙂
Thanks again. :)
Thank you for letting me know.
You need to find what works for you. But a single archive makes it far easier.
If you prefer paper, you probably need a way to digitize or a method to categorize and recover things. For me, it takes too long.
Yes, do you have any suggestions for me? On ways I could digitize or categorize everything? Cause it's literally holding me back from writing and I'm not sure how to fix it.
To digitize, have you tried AI? Just ChatGPT or Microsoft CoPilot could work.
But there may be some specialized app.
Once everything's digitized, it's easy to categorize.
There are also ways to categorize paper notes, like Ryan Holiday's commonplace book https://ryanholiday.net/how-and-why-to-keep-a-commonplace-book/
But sometimes to get unstuck, you may just need a small first step, not an entirely new system. For example, can you just scroll through your notebooks until you find the first idea that resonates and start writing about that?
Thank you! I love this idea of a commonplace book!!!
I keep trying to have one solid place, but my mind is all over the place, and it’s really hard! Currently I have running lists in Notion, which I really like as a place to organize ideas, but generally default to Notes on my phone. It’s easy and always there. definitely want to get better organized around this. Thanks for the inspo!
Two places are already good, if you stick with them.
You can also regularly review Notes and bring everything into Notion. Or maybe create an automation.
Same!
I used to store my ideas on paper ... until my mom found them and burned them.
I used to store my ideas (whole novels) on my computer ... until my HDD crashed twice.
I used to store my ideas on a cloud server ... until the server was hacked, password was changed, and my ideas were held at ransom for $10,000 which I refused to pay.
Now, I store my ideas on a USB thumb drive with 2 backups. Starting over from 0 sux!
That's crazy!
Which cloud server was it?
This was in 2014. I don’t remember. I only remember the frustration. I went back to storing locally and had my 2nd HDD crash in 2016. I stopped using computers altogether (except my smartphone) for about 5 years.
A long time ago! I think now things are safer.
Are u saying that hacking, data breaches, & ransom don't happen anymore? Before it was idle teenagers. Today, it's sanctioned state actors engaging in digital warfare.
It's not what I'm saying.
I'm saying that technology has evolved and it's harder to lose all your notes because your account is hacked.
So I wrote a text to myself. I pinned it at the top of my list and now I add to it. My computers both house scrivner where I do all my writing and I have a creation journal that I keep my ideas in. This has been very helpful for me maintaining ideas for novels. I need to work on it with article ideas to.
Whatever works for you!
I could never make a single document work. I need more structure. That's why I'm using Notion.
I've always had an idea cache.
But for writing I started adding out ideas 6 months(!) before I ever hit publish.
I'm no where close to worried about running out ideas, because I'm backlogged by about 50 of them.
Talk about a margin of safety...
Yes, it's inevitable when you start writing!
That's logical and honestly I love that idea. I don't think you can ever have to many ideas personally.
Yes, too many is impossible.
And it's hard to admit, but most of them suck, despite the initial enthusiasm.