You think you’ll remember everything. Deadlines, brilliant shower thoughts, grocery lists, world domination plans — all safely stored in your head… until three hours later, when you’re staring blankly at your screen wondering why you even opened that document.
That’s why the “Document Everything” principle saves your productivity, sanity, and what’s left of your memory. Taking notes is like an external hard drive for your brain. Don’t overload your mental RAM — offload it into text.
🧠 Want more ruthless hacks for gentle productivity? Follow me on Telegram: https://t.me/mr_productivity
Where did this idea even come from?
The concept was born in IT and management: document everything so it can be handed off, repeated, and not lost. It became essential in startup chaos, where three people and one Google Doc keep the world spinning.
Then productivity geeks like Tiago Forte (author of Building a Second Brain) came in and said: “What if we documented our personal lives too?” And just like that — the method became a lifestyle.
Why normal people should care
📌 No more forgetting meetings, ideas, tasks, or genius midnight thoughts
📌 You get clarity instead of mental spaghetti
📌 You stop revisiting the same thought 10 times
📌 You can hand off tasks to others without drama
How to implement the “Document Everything” principle (without losing your mind)
1. Write down EVERYTHING that seems important
Heard a cool phrase? Remembered you need garlic and to sign a contract? Don’t trust your brain. Write it down. Not in 5 minutes. Not “I won’t forget this.” Right now.
2. Use ONE storage system
📱 Notion, Evernote, Google Keep, a paper notebook, voice memos — it doesn’t matter what. It matters that it’s ONE place. Don’t scatter your brain across 8 apps.
3. Create categories
– Ideas
– Work notes
– Life notes
– Quotes, lists, tiny tasks
– Weird stuff that sounds dumb but could make a million
4. Actually revisit your notes
Writing is half the battle. The other half? Rereading them. Set a “review day” once a week and extract gold from the madness.
5. Keep it simple
Your notes aren’t novels. They just need to make sense to you. Even if they’re half gibberish.
Real-life examples
– Had a video idea in the shower → wrote it down → filmed it → millions of views
– Someone mentioned a book → noted it → read it → totally changed your workflow
– Saved an email template → saved 10 hours of writing that month
Note-taking pro tips
📌 Use a ⚡️ tag for high-priority stuff
📌 Voice memos while walking = gold
📌 Photos with context = valid documentation
📌 Make your note titles CTRL+F friendly
📌 Add dates — otherwise, you’ll wonder if you wrote it in 2021 or in a moment of despair
How to know it’s working
✔️ You stop forgetting everything
✔️ You’ve got a digital or paper brain that runs 24/7
✔️ You worry less because you know it’s all under control
✔️ Colleagues go, “How do you keep all this in your head?” — and you say: “I don’t.” 😏
Bottom line: forget memory — trust documentation
The “Document Everything” principle isn’t nerdy. It’s a weapon of mass productivity. Start small — capture your ideas, meetings, and tasks. Very soon, you’ll forget the last time you forgot something important.
🧠 For more hardcore productivity tips — join my Telegram: https://t.me/mr_productivity 🚀
admin