Top Tips for a less busy life
Why Do We Need to Write Everything Down?
Some ideas should be kept locked away
I’ve always had this urge to write thoughts down.
Even if it’s a recipe for a curry, or an idea for space flight. I have to jot it down in case it vanishes and I never see it again.
I’m not talking about lists — like a shopping list or a Christmas list.
Dear Santa, this Christmas I want a horse, a bike, and a rabbit.
I’m talking about something that might make a difference, instead of a list of things you might forget at the store.
But the question is. Do I even need to do that?
I recently wrote a piece on evolutionary biology. It wasn’t groundbreaking, but as I was interested in the subject, I decided to make an article out of it.
It was only later that I realized I didn’t need to write it down, or even publish it. It was a topic I was interested in. I didn’t have to turn it into an essay or a post. Why couldn’t I just play around with the thoughts in my head. Enjoy the privilege of having this large Homo sapien brain that allows me to analyse information.
It’s what we call THINKING.
Why can’t I be happy thinking about things instead of writing them down.
“Oh, here’s another thought that’s just sluiced into my brain just as I sit on the toilet. Any toilet roll spare?”
Maybe as we get older, and our brains become more ragged, we have the urge to record our thoughts as we’re scared of forgetting them.
When I was three-years-old, I was probably absorbing five trillion pieces of information a second. Forming ideas and theories every other minute as I slurped down my custard.
But I wasn’t writing them down. One I couldn’t write, and two, I didn’t need to. I was having too much fun being a three-year-old. Wondering who this lady is who calls herself ‘Mum’. And this other human who calls himself ‘Dad’. And why do I have to eat this puréed food every day when they get steak and fries for dinner. Have I done something wrong?
Fast-forward 45 years and I’m so scared that I might miss that killer idea that even if I hear a whisper on the bus, I’m copying the dialogue down on my phone.
“Two tickets to Corby, please.”
“Certainly, sir. That’s eight-fifty.”
Scribble scribble scribble — that might be a good line for that screenplay I’m writing!
I’m joking of course, it’s only five-eighty. Eight-fifty to Corby, are you kidding!!
But you know what I’m saying. This obsession of writing ideas down. As though if you don't note them they’ll fly away. But here’s the thing. They won’t. They’ll just ferment in your brain like Sauerkraut does. And when you ease off the top of that glass jar, they’ll be ready. Your ideas will flow out like warm treacle onto the page, just the way you like them.
You don’t forget your name, or your age, or where you were born. So why should you forget ideas?
The brain’s a big place. Bigger than you think. Like one of those video adventure games where even if you spend a year exploring it, you never find the gold. The brain is like that, only a billion times bigger. And there’s so much gold in it, you need a truck the size of the universe to carry it out with.
So don’t worry. Whatever idea you think of and fail to write down, leave it to ferment. One day it’ll come back to you. Bigger, better and stronger than before. Just like Sauerkraut.
Thanks for reading, for ideas I did write down, check out