An Easy Way to Become a Productive Thinker

Thinking. Most people do it from time to time, but few know how to do it efficiently. People think and then they forget what they just thought. Then they do this one more time. Then another time. And another time. And finally they jump to the conclusion that thinking sucks, so they turn on their TV and start consuming. Great!

Of course, it doesn’t need to be like this. There are other people who think about the things they perceive and don’t forget all of it after a couple of seconds. People who are able to increase knowledge and understanding by thinking. People who use the right technique, be it consciously or unconsciously.

So how can you too become a productive thinker?

First you need to know that forgetting is the major problem. Forgetting is easier than learning. Forgetting just happens. If you let it happen all the time, learning is as efficient as trying to fill a bottomless pit. A total waste of time. But why not just add a bottom to the pit? Suddendly your effort would pay off. In other words, remember your thoughts and thinking will lead to great knowledge and understanding.

Sounds easy, right? Just remember your thoughts… But how to do it? How do you think the right way? There’s one easy technique I highly recommend:

Write down your thoughts! Yeah, good solutions don’t always have to be complicated. I will make some additional explanations though.

You need three things to write down your thoughts in an efficient way:

1. Something that allows you to make quick notes wherever you are. A small notebook and a pen would do fine for example.
2. Something to file your thoughts. Such as a computer.
3. Something that creates thoughts. I strongly recommend a brain but you can use a computer as well.

What you do with these three things (or two if you’ve chosen the computer twice) is… No wait, forget about the third item, I’m tired of this stupid joke, this is a serious topic. So what you have to do is:

• Always carry the notebook and pen (or the like) with you. Write down anything that you consider to be important. Any idea, insight, piece of knowledge or theory. Instantly jot it down on your notebook. At any time. Wherever you are. Make notes while reading, learning or travelling. Even if you wake up in the middle of the night.
• Having written down some interesting thoughts, it’s time to file them. Put them into categories and update them regularly. You don’t need to create many categories in the beginning, you could start with only one file and create directories later.

Making quick notes allows you to remember almost every important thought. Filing and updating is important because it forces you to think about the stuff you’ve jotted down. This leads to new insights and new ideas, ready to be written down as well. You acquire more knowledge and a deeper understanding in addition. So finally thinking pays off. Thinking has become productive.

Of course, there are other ways to make thinking more productive. Some people found ways to think productively without the need of an external help, but even they could probably profit from the technique I just presented. I use it myself and it yields great results.

Now you can either give it a try or decide to forget about this article. It’s up to you.