This great idea comes from Matt, a GTD enthusiast who has lots of great ideas.
I have some of my best ideas in the shower. I don’t know if it’s the hot water or the lack of distractions, but things pop into my head and I know that I’ll need to take action on them.
wet floor, and the other means I spend the rest of my shower anxiously trying not to forget.
Of course, the GTD answer would be to write it down. But pen and paper don’t survive long in the shower. Fortunately, I remembered that when I’m scuba diving I sometimes carry a small writing slate to more easily communicate underwater. I grabbed my slate and put it in the shower.
Now, I write down anything that comes to mind when I’m showering. After I’m dressed for the day, I can grab the slate and add any action items to my queue.
You can get a dive slate from your local dive shop, or from an online store.
My place for ideas is mowing the lawn. I have been trying to come up with a solution for capture but so far nothing.
There are these things called “AquaNotes”, which are designed for this!
I’ve bought mine here: http://www.lifehackingshop.nl/lifehackingshop/DetailServlet?detailID=2762
Another option is to use kid’s bath crayons.
On a similar note, I keep a dry erase marker in bathroom to write notes on the mirror.
Gosh!!!!
I’ve had the same issue for years but never found a solution.
Diving equipment, will look for this at once….
(hmm, should’ve started diving at some point in my live….)
A quick search on Amazon for diving slate shows that they are pretty cheap. Cool.
Or you can make a slate yourself, if it’s cheaper to do so. Just find/buy a piece of perspex and sandpaper the surface, punch a hole and tie a pencil to the slate board.
Stores that do advertising signages may have the odds and ends that are big enough for you, plus you don’t really need a big piece 😀
Perhaps a solution to the things that pop into your head while mowing would be a small clip and notepad – similar to the ones you find on golf carts. A simple clamp would make it easy to affix to either the steering wheel of a riding lawnmower or the handle of a push mower. Of course, you’d want to have one that has a way to attach a small pencil.
Just the solution I’ve been looking for, but couldn’t find! Thank you – my GTD setup will soon be perfect!
Wow, these comments are great. You guys are the best. Shower ideas were always things I wanted to capture too. By the way, I LOVE the dry erase/ mirror idea…Now, I’m rethinking if I actually need to buy that extra dry erase board after all…
LOVE this idea! I use the voice recorder on my phone when I am driving.I might be good for yard work too. Not good for the shower though:)
Great idea, thanks for sharing!
A shower of ideas… Here’s a quick look at my system.
http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/BLOGS/emonline.nsf/dx/Shower
iPhone, Omnifocus, waterproof phone case.. Priceless – actually find myselfticking items off and organising in shower – wired 24/7 to iPhone/pad w/omnifocus. In town, on treadmill – never a wasted moment- I swear to you all, omnifcus on phone pad (3G) and mac! The best. I’m a skint musician but forked it out because if you can’t GTD you’re dead. Omni easily allows you to add items to project lists, actions lists, s/m, w/f, and tickled dates if necessary and even syncs it wherever you are, including the shower.Amazing..
Hardly a need to weekly review because you’ve done most of it on the move.. Love it!
Need I say more – in the low tech side, if you have a tile and scrub off the gloss with sandpaper that works too with a pencil – rubs out pretty easy providing you have a good rubber..
I use the kids bath crayons. Best idea ever- both shower and mirror. Lots of colors and since the crayons are really soap they wipe right off. My biggest problem is that I moved and my mirror is now 18x24inch instead of 4x6ft. Miss it terribly and still trying to months later.
I’ve been using “Rite in the Rain” notepads and pens in the shower for a few years and love them: http://www.riteintherain.com/
Here’s a Next Action item recurring everyday.
FOCUS ON WHAT YOU NEED TO DO IN THE SHOWER AND SAVE WATER. Then you can really relax and come up with even better ideas
Mirror from WalMart, Target, etc. waaaaaay cheaper than whiteboard or whiteboard paint. Dry erase marker, able to write in huge letters anything urgent/messages for my husband.