Would You Like a Second Brain?
How many times have you paused and wished you had a process to capture those little ideas and organize them. I know that they happen to you! They happen to all business owners, the trick is to stop and capture them in a simple way that’s not intrusive to your way of life.
Early in 2020 as I transitioned from a web design business to a marketing business, I had all kinds of ideas for webinars, blog posts, etc - However I didn’t have a great way to capture my ideas. Sometimes I would write them down on a sticky note, some were captured on my Evernote app and some were written down in a notebook in my purse and my work notebook.
Let’s count, that’s 4 separate places!
Now I don’t know about you, but when I sat down to write down anything, it was a mess. Half the time I would ponder, where did I put that note and spend most of my time looking for it. What a waste of time - that resulted in me being so frustrated that the inspiration for the idea was lost to me.
Well, fast forward a few years later and I’m happy to report I’ve found a much better method thanks to a few resources and I’m happily passing this onto you and my clients.
First I happened to listen to a podcast from a business coach person, I’m not sure what category she falls into - but Kristen Kalp called out how vital it is to drop what you are doing and capture your inspiration. My inspirations aren’t at the best of times:
walking the dog
driving
doing dishes, etc.
It’s like a magnet is pulling me to capture the idea but I want to finish the task I’m doing (like driving).
Second, the trick is to capture the idea in a way you can easily find it. That’s where the book “Building a Second Brain” comes in. I’ve been using a free version of Evernote for years but not very well. So I started reading Tiago Forte’s book and became more aware of how I can focus on my tagging and organization of Evernote, it clicked! Using a tool to collect ideas and mold them into a project or share them with people helps calm your brain!
Since reading this book, I now have a great system to share for my work and personal life (They always seem to blend)
My AirBnb messaging for my guests and management
All of my blog ideas
Marketing ideas I want to implement in the next year
Ideas and tools for my clients
All of my recipes I used to bookmark NOW I can find them fast with search and tagging
Ideas to decorate my new home
Much more, but you get the idea
Notion and Obsidian are other tools that sync between computer and phone app to capture and organize notes and more (free and paid versions). I know colleagues who love them, as an alternative to Evernote. In fact, my husband mapped out worlds of notes for his work on Obsidian, it's really impressive and helps him work more effectively!
I really appreciate ONE place to brain dump and store info that I can access on my laptop and phone. I don’t scramble anymore. I can easily share info with clients, friends and family because it’s captured in my Evernote and it’s still the free version. I am viewing the tool through a different lens and making it work harder for me.
Inspired by this? Drop me a line and let me know if you are looking for help, this especially works well with managing all of your marketing ideas and activities!