Many useful thoughts arrive before they are ready to become documents. Waiting for a clean formulation often means losing them. Capture should welcome fragments and add structure later.
Lower the threshold
Use one gesture, one inbox, and any available format. A few honest words are better than a polished note that never gets created.
Add one anchor
Name the project, person, or situation if you can. This single anchor greatly improves later retrieval while preserving momentum.
Separate capture from processing
Do not stop to choose folders or build a title. Let transcription, topic suggestions, and task detection happen after the thought is safe.
- Capture now.
- Clarify uncertain references soon.
- Review only items that need action.
Return through questions
When the archive is searchable by meaning, an incomplete phrase can still reappear in the right context. Ask what you were considering, deciding, or postponing.
Optimize capture for the disappearing moment and organization for the later moment; they have different requirements.