The index card to storage worked for me, at least in the past. After I switched to notebook, I never looked back, though. Sure, index cards neatly stored in some kind of cabinet are easy to search, don't get lost that easy (usually), and are to be found in one place. Especially the latter cannot be said about notebooks, that one's for sure. So why do I like the notebook-approach so much?
Context. I don't know about you, but as ideas age they tend to become somewhat cryptic. Did you ever try to make sense of a short note you scribbled years ago? A quick glance at the card usually refreshes our memory and we remember, but (you saw this one coming, didn't you?) sometimes the note either does not sound that interesting or does not make sense at all. Why? Because it is read out of context. This means, it lacks the surroundings that sparked the idea in the first place. There are two ways to overcome this situation:
- Create some system to put the idea into context again. Say, number all cards and put the relevant numbers on every card to establish the context later.
- Rely on your memory to put the idea into the original context.
Option 1 is a little demanding because it either interrupts your workflow or requires time to be set aside for adding all the context-related numbers. Option 2 didn't work for me, if it works for you, congratulations.
Enter my notebook-system, everything is in context provided I did not rip out pages for whatever reason. The notebooks are archived, means they are marked with the timespan I used them and put into a shelf in my office. Context-related information? It is already there, I just have to flip through the pages and thus be able to put every single word or seemingly cryptic scribbling into context again. It works for me, your mileage may vary.
How do you deal with idea-storage?
