Habit 1 : ubiquitous capture ... (day 1 & 2)

Ok, let's straight go into it. What is ZTD-habit 1 all about? The first habit worth to have is called Collect. Keep your mind free of thoughts and try not to remember things. As soon an idea pops up in your mind write it down. Don't bother to evaluate it, whether it is worth to make a note. Of course it is. Otherwise you wouldn't have thought about it. You and only you are responsible for your thoughts, so monitor them, write them down and at the right time you will sit down and have a look through it. Then you decide if it is worth to further investigate this idea and or you just delete it.

However, the habit is actually more about having the right tool all the time with you to actually write the idea down. As we are talking about to simplify our life, a simple notebook should be enough and I absolutely agree with that. Index cards or a small notebook size DIN A6 or A7 are just fine. It fits easily in your pocket. You are into something, a chat with a friend or you are just walking around and ... there it is, the idea of the day. What do you do .... put it down and go ahead ;o)

Photo Courtesy by Markus Brosch

Anyway, how have I been doing the last two days? The tool I am using to write things down is actually my agenda with the size of DIN A5. I know, that is not the size I was recommending. I might change to another tools later. I just wanted to give it a try. The most convenient thing is, I have my agenda always with me. In the office at Uni, I have spare paper where I put down my ideas, especially when I am just doing something else. I might have to change that, as spare paper is and always will be spare paper. It should not be used as a idea-collecting tool. I need one small tool, where I can collect ideas and thoughts, and really only one. Having several 'inboxes' makes things just more confusing and time wasting. So, let's see, I get something smaller next week. My agenda is not the right choice, as this includes the actual to do lists, so ... not good for putting down your ideas. Ok, more in two days ... take care and keep collecting ... it's fun :o)