Write it Down

Ernest Hemingway Wrote it Down

There are many ways to keep track of the pieces of information careening in and out of your life. There is your iPhone or Blackberry, your blog, the napkin at your lunch table, even the gum wrapper in your pocket. All will do for jotting down a phone number, a grocery list, the next great idea that will change the world or what have you. But where will you consolidate this meandering mess? Thoughts come to you in an instant and just as quickly escape into the ether. How do you keep track of the comings and goings, and how do you recall or review the thoughts, ideas or telephone numbers in the dusty corners of your mind? You write it down. A man should keep a journal on his person at all times. Whether for business, for pleasure, for personal, for private, for sketching, for doodling, for a chapter outline or business idea, you should have a neat little place to deposit the pieces of your life. I am not talking about adolescent yearnings or school-boy crushes, though these too can be found within the pages of your notebook. I am talking about the millions of pieces of information that cross your mind every minute, every hour, every day of every year. Keep your journal by your bedside, at your desk, in your man-bag or briefcase. Take your trusty companion on business trips, holidays, even home to see you parents. The idea here is to record the minutia of your life and this minutia will bring you great rewards. In an age where we are bombarded every second with information, it is necessary to filter ruthlessly. When some nugget falls through the filter and sits at the front of the brain, write it down. It makes common sense. It will also make you more productive. If I am in a meeting and someone sits down without a notebook, I know immediately that this person in not reliable. I have been wrong, of course. Some people have photographic memories and do not need to write everything down. But this is the exception and the exception proves the rule. Write it down.

SocialPrimer recommends: the college-ruled composition notebook found at any office supply store or pharmacy for less than $2. For a sleeker, more professional look you can not beat the Moleskine large-ruled notebooks found here http://www.moleskineus.com. Of course, there are the designer notebooks for two, three, and four hundred dollars you can find at Hermes or T. Anthony but this seems a little “emperors new clothes”, unless you receive as a gift. Then by all means jot down your fleeting thoughts in your pricey journal.