I had a dream.

I woke from the dream and in a state of bleary-eyed clarity, I had a thought.

"I need to remember this thought", I said to myself.

Abruptly, I fell back asleep and today, I don't know the contents of that moment. Was it a story idea? The seeds of a new business? A cure for cancer? Or randomly generated thought from my slumbering sub-conscious.

Whatever that thought was, I wish I'd written it down.

In fact, there are many thoughts and ideas I wish I'd written down.

Capture

Idea capture is the foundation for creative productivity because here's an important fact:

The human brain can hold approximately 7-9 pieces of information in short-term memory at any given moment. Those 7-9 bits of knowledge, wisdom, and insight have a lifespan of about 20 seconds before they either transfer to long-term memory or are lost forever.

Not every one of those 7-9 bits is probably worth capturing. (I just heard that Cap't Crunch's full name is "Horatio Magellan Crunch". That may, or may not, be important.) But some of that information could be critical. Life-changing. Take action.

Capture is critical.

Here are my tools:

1. A notebook - for analog: I love me a good Moleskine. Also have been using the "Full-Focus Planner," a product by Michael Hyatt. I keep it with me at all times and am starting to leave it on the nightstand. You never know what you'll dream.
2. Drafts - for digital: I like Drafts. Take that back. I love Drafts. It's on my phone. It's fast. It's super versatile. I think of something. Open drafts and write it down. Then I can send it to any app I want. Messages. Email. Evernote. Whatever. I can't recommend Drafts enough (Sorry, I think it's iOS only).

Capture your ideas. Or they will leave you forever. You know never know what may prove to be important.

Maybe the full name of Cap't Crunch.

Maybe something from the next time you dream.