In our last post, we talked about doing tasks right away rather than adding them to the to-do list for later. Here’s a corollary: keep a scratch pad next to the phone or computer to jot things down quickly. If you keep your to-do list on the computer, you can sometimes minimize the window or task pane, and jot it down on that list as easily; but if you don’t, it’s sometimes helpful to jot things down to remember later.
If I’m writing an article for a magazine, I may want to remember to include an anecdote. Rather than write a formal outline of the article, I’ll simply jot down “include story about xyz” to ensure that I don’t forget to include later on. Is this something that needs to go on my to-do list? Probably not, since I’m in the midst of writing now (although “write article by next Tues” may be on my list, subtopics under it most likely are not). By use of this throw-away technique, you can ensure you are making the case in point while not cluttering up a more formal memory jogger instrument like a to-do list.
Makes sense? What are your thoughts?