Jot it down

AdviceToWriters: Always Carry A Notebook

from WRITERLY WISDOM OF THE AGES/Collected by Jon Winokur

Always carry a notebook. And I mean always. The short-term memory only retains information for three minutes; unless it is committed to paper you can lose an idea forever.

WILL SELF

One bright commenter, Common Superman, added this bit of wisdom to carry a notebook: "and a pen." More likely these days, you can use your smart phone or similar device, but the intent is the same.

Keeping the memory is not the only value. Even if you don't look at the notebook again, you will be developing a habit of paying attention to:

• what is around you.
• what creative ideas might be floating through your head.