Take note: Why I write everything down (and you should, too)

Early in my career, I became a project manager. Working for many startup companies, I found myself managing lots of projects, and that continued throughout the 30-plus years I worked in the corporate world.

I brought three assets to my work managing projects:

1. I had a great memory for details. I could keep a whole project and all the elements of it and their connections in my head.
2. I was extremely analytical. Leaning on my training in mathematical logic, I could clearly see how things needed to be organized to come together in the end and what depended on what. Just as important, I could see what would need to happen if something went wrong or somebody was late.
3. I took careful notes on every meeting and call and organized them in a way that was easily accessible.

I lean on the written word as a prosthesis for my brain

Things have changed. My brain is older. My memory, once among my best qualities, is no longer dependable. I’m disappointed and chagrined at how much I forget.

Even so, my analytical qualities remain intact. Reasoning is not the same as remembering.

And my habit for taking notes has expanded.

Now, as a freelancer, I’m juggling a bunch of client projects. Each has its own folder on my cloud drive. I take notes on every call, emphasizing in my note-taking who has promised what including dates and details. I also typically write a followup email to all participants including many of those details. I try to do this soon after the meeting, when my memory, aided by notes, is fresh.

The clients may see that as being organized, but my secret agenda is just to get everything written down. Before any meeting, I’m reviewing not just my notes but email chains. I can only do that if things are written down.

I’m often using search features to search my notes in Google Drive and to search within my emails. This allows me to appear to be just as sharp as I used to be, even if my memory is not as good.

And all these tips I’m sharing on my blog aren’t just for you. I often search my own previous advice. If I thought something through before, I may as well reuse that insight when communicating with a client.

Writers remain effective even as memory weakens

Here’s my advice to you if you’re in your 20s, 30s, or 40s.

Write.

Write about your experiences.

Take notes about your meetings.

Organize your thoughts so they are easily accessible and searchable.

You may think having an AI note-taking tool take notes for you in meetings is a sufficient substitute. It’s not. It will miss things you should have noticed were important. And it will not engage your brain the way that taking notes will. It won’t be dependable later when you need it, and it will encourage you to be lazy. Like all AI tools, AI note-takers are a fine supplement to using your brain, but only engaging your actual cognitive and writing skills will keep you sharp and your recollection accurate.

And never stop writing.

You are going to slow down. Your memory is going to weaken. If your sense of your personal skills is tied up in your memory, it will suffer.

But writing will not only keep you sharper, it will enable you to compensate for weaknesses in your memory.

And that will keep you productive and contributing happily for a long, long time.