Writing down ideas on a small notepad is probably one of the smartest and easiest ways to ensure they will be remembered at a later time when you can work on them.

So far I've talked about both the importance of writing a health and fitness journal, and then turning that into a personal written journal.
Now I want to tell you about the best kept secret, and best personal discovery I have made. Writing down all your spontaneous ideas you have throughout the day and night on a small notepad like journal.

Being a writer who posts a lot of content on the web, I can talk to you for hours about how many times I've had great ideas flow into my head during the week, while making mental notes about how great the idea was. I would plan for a day to sit down and write and everything would seem perfect up until the point I sat into my chair, pulled up word pad, and started to write.

At this point I would come to realize I had forgotten over 75 percent of all the ideas I had throughout the week, and that number is if I'm lucky. It seems like this was a hard lesson for me to learn because I would repeat this mistake time and time again until finally realizing nothing was getting done at a work pace I could agree with.

So one day I went a bought a cheap hand size pocket notebook and pencil and carried it around with me throughout the day, focusing and telling my self I would come up with great ideas.

As the day would pass there would be hours where nothing would happen then all of a sudden my mind would go into hyper drive and I would jot out five 10 sometimes 15 great ideas all in a very short amount of time. "Think minutes not hours."

I also found if I didn't write down the idea right away when I was having it, when I would try to write it down maybe 5 minutes later I would have a hard time remembering it, and even sometimes forgetting the idea in that short amount of time!

Now if I can forget an idea in little under five minutes, I know I can forget hundreds of ideas in just a few days when I have time to write.

Unless!!! I WROTE THEM DOWN!
It may seem like a pain to write ideas down at first, but I would write maybe 4-8 words on what the idea was, and when I go back to write later I instantly remember 99.9% of all ideas I had throughout the week.

One thing I've come to realize is my mind is stubborn. If I'm sitting in my chair and having a hard time remembering what to write, chances are I will day dream more, or perhaps give up writing for the day, all in all accomplishing very little. Best case scenario I waste 30 to an hour of writing time a session just trying to remember, figurer out, then pick the best ideas to write about.

So what's the silliest thing about all of this? It can all be avoided by spending one dollar one a small note pad and pencil. I keep it on me at all times including while at work, gym, the movies, and even right next to me while I sleep. One thing I've learned is you never know when a good idea will come to you, most of the time they just surprise you out of nowhere. I've even had great ideas come to me while I sleep during dreams!

So it's best to keep the small notepad on you at all times,( Which is why a computer is a bad place to write down ideas, although a blackberry might work, but I find pencil easier.

Don't fall for the same mistake I made! it doesn't matter if you are a writer, real estate agent, or a manager of some kind. Keeping mental notes written down is a vital key to success, and will make you more proficient in the work that you do.