How to Never Forget Anything Again

"Motivate Thyself" Says:

September 17th, 2008, 19:15 pm

I’ve read the book and found some good insight. I’ve never heard of Anxiety. I’ll have to check that out. On my way to read the post…

JapanDave Says:

September 17th, 2008, 19:27 pm

I commented there, but just to repeat:

Some nice ideas, Leo. And thanks for the links to Anxiety, Jott, and Things. I don’t read lifehacker as much as I used to so I miss out on a lot of these apps.

BTW, awesome picture.

Right now I am simply using txt files on the computer (with quicksilver) and a small notebook (not moleskine… I know, I know.. I’m sorry). But I will look into a few of these ideas.

Thanks!

Ryan McLean Says:

September 17th, 2008, 19:43 pm

This is exactly what I need because I am always forgetting things and my fiance gets really upset with me. She actually said to me that I think about my website too much and I forget other things.
I guess my passion just shuts out other things so I need your tips to stay on top of everything. Thanks

michael p Says:

September 17th, 2008, 20:05 pm

Leo,

Awesome post on 4HWW blog. We would most definitely benefit from a screencast of you using these tools in action. It can be difficult to visualize how powerful productivity in action can be.

-michael p

Penter Says:

September 17th, 2008, 20:20 pm

I am midway through the book and it already change many of my thought, inspiring and I am living more happily than before.

BusyWoman Says:

September 17th, 2008, 20:36 pm

This is a great post. I read Tim’s work all the time and really like it. I enjoyed the book and embarked on my own ‘four hour work week’ journey.

Your writing on ’systems’ is very clear.

Thanks.

Michelle in Australia.

Myrko | AwakeBlogger Says:

September 17th, 2008, 21:06 pm

Nice tools. I usually use iCal to organize my week and tasks completely. Btw. Jott is not available on the german iPhone Store! :( pfft!

The Daily Minder Says:

September 17th, 2008, 21:19 pm

I’ll still forget. I always do.

Rob Says:

September 17th, 2008, 21:22 pm

Thanks for a great article with links to some neat tools. I need something to help me keep track of everything!

Success Professor Says:

September 17th, 2008, 21:23 pm

Great work LEO! And yes, Tim’s book is excellent. I just recommended it to my Entrepreneurship students yesterday.

Tabs Says:

September 17th, 2008, 21:44 pm

Read the post Leo, not kidding I was just sitting here, thinking “God I need a calendar” then I saw the post. I would use outlook but the reminders only work when outlook is on, I guess I just have to keep it on. I want something that pops up the moment I turn my computer on because if it doesn’t I will forget to turn it on. I will be looking into the suggestions you made hopefully I will find something that works. In fact that was a project I was going to work on today, thanks for doing the work.

-Tabs

PS.
I had some memory issues due to high stress living for a dozen months, reading your email just occurred to me that my memory has corrected itself. Can you believe that I just remember that I had memory loss issues.

I need meditation, here’s to zen living… :D

Pizzamancer Says:

September 17th, 2008, 22:00 pm

Hey Leo. Long time reader first time poster (I think). I was pleasantly surprised to open my google reader this morning and see your post on the 4HWW blog. You and Tim Ferris are two of my favorite blogs to read.

One tip that helped me a ton was “Do it now.” If an email needs attention or requires me to do something, I do it, then archive the email. Keeps my inbox empty, and my to do list short. If that requires 5 seconds or 5 minutes, it is time better spent now than in some undetermined time in the future, and you save having to deal with or read the same information twice.

Time is the fire in which we burn.

Debbi Says:

September 17th, 2008, 22:20 pm

Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t the 4HWW based on the notion that you can outsource all your work?

But some work is inherently incapable of being outsourced–i.e., goods or services produced through talents unique to a particular individual.

Besides, if we all followed this strategy, who would be left to do the work?

Leo Says:

September 17th, 2008, 22:47 pm

@Debbi: No, actually outsourcing is just one tool Tim talks about in 4HWW. In fact, the whole book is a collection of tools and ideas that you can use selectively to simplify, work less, and enjoy life more.

Tim specifically says that not all of his tips will work for everyone. I think outsourcing is a great tool but there are many other things he talks about, including elimination of non-essential tasks (something I also talk about), single-tasking, delegation, automation and more.

Leo Says:

September 17th, 2008, 22:48 pm

Oh, and his writings on information diets are pretty interesting too. Actually there are a lot of similarities between Tim’s writings and mine.

Fit Bottomed GIrl Says:

September 17th, 2008, 23:01 pm

I ADORE the gmail calendar. Not sure how I lived without it!

Raymond J Says:

September 17th, 2008, 23:03 pm

Hi Leo,
I have been a long time reader of this post but unfortunately this post has been the most disappointing I have ever read. Why?

- you contradict yourself and state “your brain won’t have to remember a thing again” yet in the 4 critical habits I need to:
- remember to make a note immediately
- use the list and tools consistently

Therefore you are requesting to become brain lazy and allow the tools to do the thinking for you but look to the brain when executing the tasks. A self defeating process.

I suggest instead of categorizing the brain as an out of date computer, look to upgrade the software of the brain so that you can get new found respect for it.

Zen requires self contemplation and intuition (brain required) rather than faith (in this case computer’s).

Something to think about.

Raymond J

Usman Says:

September 17th, 2008, 23:08 pm

I really needed this articles. I have started forgetting so many things!! It’s ridiculous. Thanks alot for this.

Usman

Leo Says:

September 17th, 2008, 23:43 pm

@Raymond J: I can see where I caused confusion, and thanks for giving me the chance to clear that up.

What I meant was that you should make it a habit to make a note immediately and use your lists and tools consistently. A habit is something you don’t have to remember after you’ve formed it properly — for more on this, google “forming habits” with “site:zenhabits.net” to see my articles on the topic.

Once the habit is formed, you don’t need to remember to do these things anymore.

The purpose of these habits and tools isn’t to allow the brain to become lazy … it’s to free up the brain for more important tasks. So you should focus on the important things, like creating your masterpiece, instead of what you need to buy at the grocery store and who you need to call and what appointments you have for today. Your brain doesn’t need to worry about these things — it should only focus on what you want it to focus on.

So this takes away the unimportant stuff, and leaves your mind to concentrate on the task at hand … and to be completely in the moment, without distractions.

lacker Says:

September 18th, 2008, 3:20 am

I read the sample of 4hww (on kindle) and wasn’t impressed. I then read some of the negative reviews for this book at amazon and they painted a very negative picture of the book. I could copy and paste a huge chunk of text but the gist of it all is that the author is shallow and hypocritical and his advice worthless. It worries me to see you endorse the book but I have not read beyond the intro. Is it possible that the negative reviewers are correct in saying his business success is a fluke and his accomplishments achieved through less than ethical methods?

Jochen Metzger Says:

September 18th, 2008, 4:03 am

…did you “FORGET” the pic??

;-)

J.

DanGTD Says:

September 18th, 2008, 4:21 am

Great article.
Should we expect a Tim Ferris guest post here soon? :)

Jochen Metzger Says:

September 18th, 2008, 5:07 am

Honestly,

I find “evernote” quite ridiculous. It is just a store for data that are displayed in web2.0 style.

Sometimes I think people just develop this as a self purpose. Not to save people time or make them remind thinks.

It costs just more time to administer it. I

I rather go for a walk and forget things from time to time instead of spending even more time in front of the screen to “tag” my tasks.

Sorry. I find it pretty useless…

Leo Says:

September 18th, 2008, 5:33 am

@lacker: My endorsement of the book has nothing to do with Tim as a businessman … I don’t know enough about his business practices to comment on that, but if you just go by what’s in the book, there’s a lot of very useful information.

While credibility is certainly an issue with any author, I think we should separate the information in the book with what the author does in his life away from the book, for the most part.

The advice in the book is sound, and I’ve used much of it myself with success — some of it before I read the book, some after.

@Jochen: Evernote isn’t for everyone … the post I wrote was about habits and finding the tools to develop your own system. I find Evernote to be very useful … it’s not just data displayed web 2.0-style, because it’s accessible on the web and as a desktop app, so you can have it on multiple computers. Plus, the ability to enter data in multiple ways is useful — through the web, on the desktop, through email, and of course through Jott … it’s just the best app for my needs.

Again, it might not be for you — there are other good apps you can use instead to capture your data. Do what works for you!

headless Says:

September 18th, 2008, 5:46 am

Leo

Great article, thanks. Nice to see how you’ve pooled the various products together to get best use for you. I always was a little unsure (not enough time to think about it!) how to get different services to complement each other and work together, and worried that alot of info would be lost between the gaps between the different services.

I suppose I have been a Microsoft products user for too long and have been scared to move away from a “joined up” system (allegedly) to one where I have to make the connections.

Thanks for the confidence booster in giving it a try.

I’ll have a shufty at the various services later.

Dave Dragon Says:

September 18th, 2008, 8:18 am

Good posts for those of us who are less than excellent in remembering things.

However, I practice forgetting everything I can; a different Zen habit I know, but valuable.
I have forgotten everything. I don’t remember a single word.

Ride it like you stole it.

Stephanie Says:

September 18th, 2008, 8:19 am

I disagree with this one. You’ll never improve your memory if you always rely on other tools to remember things for you. That’s the down side to jotting things down, taking notes, etc. If you practice simply remembering things by NOT writing them down anywhere, you’ll gradually get better at remembering things. Memory is a muscle, and it’s not a bad habit to develop that muscle, imo.

For example — I used to be great at remembering people’s birthdays and phone numbers. (And other things, but particularly those.) For a while I relied on the phone book on my phones to dial people’s numbers, and then I forgot them all. I relied on iCal to tell me when people’s birthdays are, and then promptly forgot them.

It’s better to train your mind to be self-reliant than to depend on all these outside sources. What if you’re not at your computer and you need to remember something? Your brain has lost its habit of memory. The only way to get it back is to re-train the muscle.

Dumb Darwin Says:

September 18th, 2008, 9:41 am

Just a brief reply to Stephanie:

I agree with training your mind like a muscle but with the amount of information available now, I will go bonkers if I don’t use tools to aid my brain. But I get your point:)

Leo, maybe Tim Ferris can do a guest post here as well.

jackmo Says:

September 18th, 2008, 10:23 am

gmail cloud for the win - I really want to learn how to utilise it better

Finge Says:

September 18th, 2008, 10:53 am

I found Things from Culturedcode syncing with the Things Touch for the iPhone to be my life-saving combo for all to-do’s and GTD. Evernote used in the same fashion keeps my notes available at all times.

Jayme Says:

September 18th, 2008, 11:00 am

I discovered your blog today and am very pleased I did. After digging around through many of your posts I’ve decided to subscribe…so thanks for being here!
OH, and have you ever heard of the Happiness Project? Some of your stuff makes me think you might be interested. You can check it out here: http://www.happiness-project.com Just a thought. :)

d099 Says:

September 18th, 2008, 12:25 pm

for searching, hotmail is far better than gmail.

For instance if you look for productivity email in your box.

You can enter the word “prod” in hotmail, it will find: productive, productivity, etc.

In Gmail we have to enter the exact word so if you mistype productivityy for instance you won’t find it your email.

Dave Says:

September 18th, 2008, 12:35 pm

no one has mentioned rememberthemilk for tasks… it’s a lifesaver! http://www.rememberthemilk.com

Brad Tanner Says:

September 18th, 2008, 13:22 pm

For years I’ve been using a little single page paper planner to write notes on. It has been the single most important item I have to help me remember the things I have to do. It is very handy and I carry it everywhere.

Brad

Stephanie Says:

September 18th, 2008, 13:39 pm

Dumb Darwin: This is a simplicity blog, more or less… I thought you guys were all about minimizing the information you need to pay attention to? Sure there’s a lot of information out there — but how much of it do you really NEED?

Monica Says:

September 18th, 2008, 23:50 pm

I am currently using Anxiety for task and it syncs nicely with omnifocus and ical

Henry Braun Says:

September 19th, 2008, 3:07 am

These tips can work. Thanks for the post..

teevee Says:

September 20th, 2008, 22:28 pm

Great post Leo. I was highly motivated to “zen” my apartment after reading one your posts and have since followed you. Thank you for the insight.

I mentioned your post on 4HWW on my blog.
http://onbecomingaman.com/?p=116

Keep up the great work.

mastar2323 Says:

September 21st, 2008, 7:12 am

Hi,

inspired by your articel, i write my own apprach with the advantage to access the data offline.

http://my.opera.com/mastar2323/blog/2008/09/21/how-to-never-forget-anything-again

Karri Flatla Says:

September 21st, 2008, 19:11 pm

I find it interesting that there has been some negative feedback to 4HWW in relation to Tim’s discussions around outsourcing. How do you think a business grows? One person can only do so much, no matter how many gadgets and reminders and to-do lists he makes ;-)

Outsourcing and/or utilizing a team of whatever model you choose is the foundation for growing a business. Even famous writers who surely work “solo” into the wee hours of the night eventually had to delegate the many other tasks that make their empires run.

It’s not for everyone, but outsourcing is a totally legitimate way to “get things done.” All kinds of things, including even some of your core business activities believe it or not. Just as a Virtual Assistant or a an Online Business Manager or anyone who works as a professional contractor. It’s happening and it’s here to stay.

http://snap-va.com/blog
Just some more food for thought.

Susan Says:

September 21st, 2008, 19:20 pm

I love your blog, leo, but I have to take issue with your endorsement of 4HWW– the truth is, Tim’s ’system’ is really only applicable to people in business for themselves selling a product. This is simply undeniable. I can’t, as a college administrator, outsource my email to some guy in India– it just isn’t professionally possible. Also, he spends little time actually considering the impact of his ’system’ on other people and on the larger world, and doesn’t even stop for five seconds to ask himself is people actually *need* his protein powder. I am sort of surprised, given hoe balanced and thoughtful your approach is, that you’d embrace something so limited and ego driven as 4HWW.

Leo Says:

September 22nd, 2008, 0:48 am

@Susan: I hear you, but if you look at Tim’s book as a collection of tools, you can pick and choose the ones that work for you. While you couldn’t implement his system completely in your line of work, you could look at his sections on elimination and simplifying, and other similar tools for simplifying your work.

Ammar Says:

September 22nd, 2008, 10:47 am

I love using zenbe for my todo lists, since it has an iphone app it allows me to manage my lists on the go.

Dan McKeown Says:

September 22nd, 2008, 11:38 am

Congratulations on being featured on BNet

Anna Says:

September 23rd, 2008, 16:21 pm

I’d recomend the Upvise project, too (www.upvise.com) - it is free for personal purposes and gives a free application for our mobile phones (Windows, generic java, android, Symbian) that synchronizes all the lists, notes and other things. Seems pretty cool.
BTW: Windows Live Mail is also free and is same useful and even more comfortable than Gmail and Gcal, in my opinion, of course.

Rudolf Adamkovič Says:

September 24th, 2008, 4:58 am

I am using Apple’s Mobile Me web interface. It’s in sync with my iPhone. Simple.

Liora Hess Says:

September 25th, 2008, 10:26 am

As a happy owner of a new iPhone, I’ve been exploring applications and am happy to hear of a couple that I hadn’t discovered yet. So far my setup is To Do with Toodledo which works well with Appigo’s Notebook. Entering Notebook info from the web is vital to me. I have the calendar synched with Google calendar, which also synchs my personal and work computers. I do have Evernote, but haven’t found it extremely useful yet. I’ll be checking out Anxiety and Jott. Thanks for the recommendations!