Three Words: Digital Voice Recorder
If you’re anything like me, you probably have a gazillion ideas flowing through your head on a daily basis. It’s easy to jot down new concepts on paper and set it off to the side for another time. If you’re working on a project you hopefully have a swipe file and various “idea lists” to keep track of possible opportunities. But what happens when you sparks of ingenuity arrive while you’re driving?
You don’t blow them off — I bet you try to “remember” your million dollar concepts. That is, until you’re cut off at an intersection. One idea may not make a world of difference - you never know - but imagine the collective wisdom and innovation that is literally gone forever if you don’t capture those moments behind the steering wheel.
I decided to not let this happen to me any longer. I got tired of scrawling quick notes on receipts and scraps from the glovebox while patiently waiting for traffic to move…and especially tired of making such attempts while in the slow lane(!). Today I picked up an RCA digital voice recorder (model RP5030) and am excited that I get to talk to myself while on the road. It records in mp3 format, has a USB cable and acts like an external drive where I can drag-and-drop files to and from the flash memory. It records 18 hours of audio and has many other neat features. The only downside I’ve found so far is that it’s not backlit so viewing the screen in dim lighting situations won’t be easy.
I didn’t want this to be a product review, but mostly a reminder that ideas are what make the world interesting — and actions (based on ideas) are what make people wealthy. Concepts are important, so don’t hesitate to manifest them on paper, audio, video, whatever — just get them out of your head so you can potentially act on them. Check out John Reese’s latest blog post on Rebooting Your Brain. In this hour long “tutorial”, John describes a process of clearing your memory and getting ideas into a form that you can manage. I haven’t gone through the process yet — I listened to the presentation and took notes so that I can do it when the moment presents itself — but I have done similar exercises that have proven helpful in getting my mind back on track.
Record your ideas — especially the million dollar ones — and reboot your brain asap.
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I just purchased an Olympus DS-30 for the same reasons, especialy the part about creative brain-storming while driving. The sound quality is very good so I want to use it to collect sounds and in the production of family videos, etc. Have fun…
Rob