I owe it all to my special ed. teacher, Mrs. T. She gave me a cheap spiral notebook with the words ‘The Magic Notebook’ written on it. She told me that whenever I had a distracting moment in class, I should write whatever I noticed and any idea that I had into the notebook, close it, and put it away. Then whenever I didn’t have to pay attention to anything, I could pull out the notebook and be as ADD on it as I wanted to be. ADDers come up with the most creative and innovative ideas ever, but those ideas often get lost because they’re not written down. I cringe when I think of all of the great ideas I lost when I told myself, “This is brilliant! I won’t forget it!!” and then two minutes later, it was gone. It made me just want to ask strangers to kick me in hopes that it would jog my memory (do not try that at home, kids). Adults, you can do it, record it, and upload it to YouTube, please.
My advice: Get your own magic notebook. Instead of a cheap spiral, I recommend a middle of the range notebook. Not so cheap that it falls apart, and not so expensive that you’d never want to write in it because it’s too nice.
Conveniently, the notebook that I sell on my website works well. It’s spiral-bound and color coordinated for different topics. Plus, it lays flat so you don’t have to deal with that hump in the middle of bound notebooks. Once you get your notebook, write your ideas down when they come to you.
Some of my best comedy comes from ideas that I wrote down in the middle of church. I always have a notebook with me. You’d probably do best with two notebooks: a big one that you can use when you have a backpack or similar bag and a pocket-sized one for all other times. I’ve found that the popular and sturdy Moleskine notebooks fit well in my pockets.
Along with your notebook, it’s a good idea to keep a pen with you. Some pens are flat so that they can slip into a notebook.
You never know when an idea’s going to come. You can’t prepare for the moment. You either write it down or you’re going to miss it. And because of that, you need to keep your magic notebook with you. Magic notebooks do wonders, but they can’t do anything when you leave them at home.
I would need something with a keyboard. Handwriting is one of the most frustrating tasks for me. I have been the slowest-writing student in the class all the way from 1st elementary grade to my current university struggling. I often didn’t finish copying from the blackboard before the teacher erased it.
Of course, part of that was due to getting distracted in the middle of writing, but the writing speed definitely matters, as it caused problems when the teacher dictated too.
Now, something with a keyboard… I have an iPod touch. You have no idea how many distraction tools that thing has. Wipe all the apps it has except Notes and I’ll get distracted playing with the unlock slider -.-
Is there anything *simple*, with a keyboard, that lets me take notes only? (anyone who suggests a typewriter will get smashed in the head with one :P)
To commenter above: it’s quite comforting to find someone who struggles with writing slow like me. I constantly have ideas moving through my ADHD head but am usually too slow to write them down. I’ve always been the slowest writers in my class and remember being on the first or second sentence while most the students were asking the teacher to put the next slide on the projector. I’m also in college and though I still struggle with writing slow I no longer associate it with stupidity.
Anyways, let me know if you found/find anything!