Instead of a big-ass text file, I recently started a 3-part memo system: (1) an Olympus VN541-PC voice recorder for thoughts while driving; (2) a pocket memo pad for notes where extra working memory is needed for thinking, like tables or lists; (3) a memo.txt file synced with my primary devices for convenience.
I've found this approach extremely powerful because I no longer need to figure out ahead-of-time where to put todos, ideas, questions, and my self-indulgent philosophical musing: everything that bubbles up to conscious mind is added to one of my memos and then will be filed into other note systems, categorized, and/or elaborated at my convenience in the future. There are quite a few things I've memoed that surprised me when looking back at it later in the day, because I had already forgot.
It makes me wonder how many interesting mental tidbits I've lost over the years before I started capturing/organizing them systematically.
I've found this approach extremely powerful because I no longer need to figure out ahead-of-time where to put todos, ideas, questions, and my self-indulgent philosophical musing: everything that bubbles up to conscious mind is added to one of my memos and then will be filed into other note systems, categorized, and/or elaborated at my convenience in the future. There are quite a few things I've memoed that surprised me when looking back at it later in the day, because I had already forgot.
It makes me wonder how many interesting mental tidbits I've lost over the years before I started capturing/organizing them systematically.