Innovation News
How to capture ideas.
I have been working to improve the process of capturing ideas since the mid-sixties. What I will reveal here are the best methods that have withstood the test of time.
Over thirty years ago, back in the mid seventies, I was learning to relax through meditation. The challenge was to ‘clear your mind and let go of all thoughts”. Man, was this hard for me to do. So I came up with high-tech and no-tech solutions.
The low-tech solution was using a note pad and something to write with. I found I preferred a pencil over a pen. It was less messy. The upgrade was using 3 X 5 cards and 5 X 7 cards. Another variation was using colored cards. yellow, blue, green, for different topics. The overly obsessive compulsive types really like the color coding. I will admit it has come in handy on large projects.
The high tech solution of the 1970’s was a hand-held cassette recorder. The cool thing I did with this recorder was to adapt a 1/4 pin jack to a 1/2 with an adaptor, then plugged in a pair of good Sansui headphones with volume controls and I had my version of a low-fidelity walkman three years before the real Sony Walkman units came on the market. Dream it, believe it, conceive it and do it.
There are many products on the market today, the ones I prefer are stable, small, light and dependable. I still use a small, Sony micro cassette recorder because my office is set up to transcribe them. But I also use the I-POD and my voice mail system with my cell phone when it is a short idea - the flash of brilliance, a joke, or a positive thought I may use to cheer up a friend.