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Ask HN: How do you keep track of your creative thoughts?

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Re: Ask HN: How do you keep track of your creative thoughts?

#211

Post by aaachilless »

vinayms wrote: post #194

This might be against the grain here but I prefer simply to practice remembering things well, like humans did before writing was invented. Its hard but worth attempting. I usually engage in the thought for a while, thoroughly milk it by letting the mind wander wherever it pleases, and it typically stays etched. This has worked for a long time now. I am someone who despises the modern human reliance on technology for…

First I'd like to say that I think this particular critique, that of considering to what extent we ought to offload our skills into various technologies, is definitely worth engaging in. It seems to me that at some point certain new technologies might very well have negative marginal value.

That said, this is a perplexing comment. Surely shunning writing "as much as possible" would include shunning HN comments.

Re: Ask HN: How do you keep track of your creative thoughts?

#212

Post by ilamont »

tonygrue wrote: post #30

Wunderlist is where I landed 5 years ago after many failed alternatives. I like that it’s primary interface is a simple entry box with an add button. I can review my ideas periodically and add more detail. It’s very cross platform and very simple; and in the years I’ve used it the app hasn’t experienced the typical feature bloat.

I also use Wunderlist, after trying many of the other tools described on this page - text docs, paper notebooks, audio files, etc.

I think the cross-platform support is crucial, which is why I was dismayed to learn that Microsoft acquired the parent company. I don't want to be tied into a Microsoft account to use Wunderlist, or see second-rate versions of the tool become the norm for the non-Windows platforms. Strangely, Wunderlist has not been shut down nor have people been forced to migrate (yet) even though this was announced a few years back.

I still use paper notebooks from time to time, especially when I am listening to someone talking or I need to digram something out.

Re: Ask HN: How do you keep track of your creative thoughts?

#213

Post by dj-wonk »

toomim wrote: post #204

The best way to store your ideas is to memorize them. This is the ultimate goal. If they are baked into your consciousness, they become an automatic part of everything you do. Humans have a long evolved history of memorization. Before we had writing, we had to memorize the things that mattered. Don't forget that this practice is baked into your genes. To get there, it helps to write down your ideas, and to organize t…

I appreciate some of what you say, but:

1. I'm skeptical of a claim such as "But the actual medium doesn't matter as much as the practice you follow". I recall hearing about studies that show tactile experience (physical writing for example or being physically present during a lecture) forms better memories, at least in many people.

2. I strongly disagree that the best way to store your ideas is to memorize them. First, memorization isn't feasible, information-wise. Second, memorization is not most people's general goal. I would suggest a more general goal is to recall the salient features of your ideas and connect them to your task at hand. This suggests a mix of storage mechanisms: some memorization (i.e. for indexing, summarization, and connecting) with other higher-bandwidth, less-error-prone storages.

To prove my second point with a counterexample: I highly doubt that visual artists can remember every brush stroke on their favorite canvases. It is more important, arguably, that they organize their work in a way that they can refer to it. And, for the purposes of creating future work, I doubt that memorizing exact details of previous work is the most important. Remembering the inspiration and the techniques is probably more important.

Re: Ask HN: How do you keep track of your creative thoughts?

#214

Post by janci »

I write it down on A4 paper, often with diagrams. When I have time to develop the ideas, I make few skethches some of them to be thrown away.

I put them to a ring binder together with project notes, specs etc. Works well with note block papers with holes or classic papers & hole puncher. Ocassionaly I review the content of the ring binder, throw away outdated stuff and make note of forgotten ideas worth developing more.

I like Feynman problem solving strategy: keep two or three problems in back of your head and when you encounter interesting method, try applying it to the problems you keep in your mind.

Re: Ask HN: How do you keep track of your creative thoughts?

#216

Post by aaachilless »

madrasman wrote: post #200
vinayms wrote: post #194

This might be against the grain here but I prefer simply to practice remembering things well, like humans did before writing was invented. Its hard but worth attempting. I usually engage in the thought for a while, thoroughly milk it by letting the mind wander wherever it pleases, and it typically stays etched. This has worked for a long time now. I am someone who despises the modern human reliance on technology for…

Totally agree - constantly trying to jot down thoughts as they occur is both distracting and can get overwhelming to revisit. I was taught this technique that helped me strengthen my memory. In the afternoon and before going to bed, take 10 mins to mentally recall (and maybe write down) the day's events and thoughts. Another helpful technique is to consolidate your thoughts on a topic by writing it out (or with a blo…

Doing this really drove home how neurotic and generally distracted I had become. I'd do some reading at lunchtime and by bedtime couldn't recall much of it at all. I don't know for sure, but it really felt like my memory was being thrashed by the music, websites, podcast, etc that came between lunch and bedtime.

Re: Ask HN: How do you keep track of your creative thoughts?

#217

Post by senderista »

vinayms wrote: post #194

This might be against the grain here but I prefer simply to practice remembering things well, like humans did before writing was invented. Its hard but worth attempting. I usually engage in the thought for a while, thoroughly milk it by letting the mind wander wherever it pleases, and it typically stays etched. This has worked for a long time now. I am someone who despises the modern human reliance on technology for…

I had the same experience of forgetting musical ideas when I had no means to record them. It was incredibly frustrating. Now I just use Voice Memos on my phone for that purpose (hum if I’m away from home, otherwise piano).

Re: Ask HN: How do you keep track of your creative thoughts?

#219

Post by randomsearch »

If this dispersed collection of ideas from so many minds ticking away over time holds potential to improve the world, can we tap it?

Is there some way to make visible and actionable this potentially vast resource?

An open source model for ideation?

A marketplace for ideas, insights, observations?

Re: Ask HN: How do you keep track of your creative thoughts?

#220

Post by Jarwain »

randomsearch wrote: post #219

If this dispersed collection of ideas from so many minds ticking away over time holds potential to improve the world, can we tap it? Is there some way to make visible and actionable this potentially vast resource? An open source model for ideation? A marketplace for ideas, insights, observations?

Honestly? It reminds me of Twitter, or what the platform enables. Like how the OP just sends themselves messages, it's easy to open up Twitter and send out a bite-sized idea to share across the world.

Mastodon could probably fill a similar niche

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