Jan 2, 2013 / Beginner

Quick Tip: Keep a Notebook By the Bed

Okay, you are perhaps thinking to yourself, “This is the sage advice The Daily Post is giving me? Keep a notebook by the bed?” Yes, we are, and for two reasons:

  1. Partly, it’s January 2 and we’re a little worse for the wear today. Cut us some slack.
  2. Mainly, because we know that only a tiny fraction of you actually do this, which means most of you are missing out on capturing some prime ideas.

Those moments just before you fall asleep (or just before you wake up) are rife with ideas — your brain is all loosey-goosey, and you make connections you’d never make during the bustle of the day. How many times has this happened to you?

  • You get into bed.
  • You have a Great Idea for a post that will go viral, transform the national discourse, get you a book deal, and possibly also solve the hunger crisis.
  • You think, “I could get up and jot this down. But I’m tired, and surely an idea this momentous will not disintegrate into the ether of sleep.”
  • You sleep. The idea disintegrates.
  • You wake up, think “Dang,” and write a post about why the Homeland finale was so awesome.
  • The national discourse remains unchanged.

Now, I’m not saying that the world doesn’t want to know your opinons on Homeland. Maybe your Great Idea is Homeland-related. But if you’d had that notebook by the bed, you could be planning your book tour right now; at the very least, we could all be having a good chuckle.

What are you waiting for? You don’t even need a fancy little notebook — any scrap of paper will do. Don’t let the next Great Idea float away in the sea of dreams!

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  2. This is a great reminder. I keep a little Rhodia notepad by my bed (really nice paper), but usually I just put notes into the Evernote app on my cellphone. I almost always have my cellphone with me, and Evernote will sync the notes to all my devices. It’s also good for when I’m at work and I have a great blog-related idea. I can drop it into Evernote, and then get back to work, and copy my notes into WordPress later. I definitely get my best ideas at the oddest moments (and not when I’m trying to write).

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  3. I buy hard bound journals at the dollar store. In fact, I am addicted tot hem and keep them everywhere. The living room, the kitchen, the bathroom (better than a joke book), in my car, at my desk, and yes there is also one by my bed. You NEVER know when a great idea or phrase will come to mind. I often suddenly think of titles or phrases and even though I may not write from them instantly, I do write about them eventually. Good advice DP 🙂

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  4. My iPhone serves that purpose. I keep it at my bedside and many bedtimes have been postponed while I stayed up tapping away. I plug it in to the charger at night so by morning my phone is charged up.

    Have to remember to disconnect the cord in the morning when I want to jot down those first few thoughts of the day. I’ve had a few episodes where I’ve tried to grab my phone off the night stand in the morning, while trying to maximize the amount of my body that remains warm under covers – and had the charger cable suddenly yanked off the phone. That can’t be too good for the charger.

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  6. I agree, I’ve lost many great ideas for all sorts of things in the middle of the night. I have plenty of scrap paper, just need to get a mini torch so I don’t loose the ideas while my eyes adjust from the blinding over head light 🙂

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  7. good idea, Have started doing this, who knows what ideas and connections you can make while in bed. If only I had a water proof book for in the shower now 🙂

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  8. I had this very conversation with my daughter the other day. I told her I get all my best ideas when I’m almost asleep. She told me to ge ta notebook by the bed. Deja vu!

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  10. This is certainly a sage idea, but I most likely would not be able to keep a pen or pencil handy. I have so many ideas that it would require a forest on my hip to capture them all. By letting them bounce around between my ears i am able to filter out some of the dead-end ones.

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  12. Yes, I should go do this right now. I have known I should for a long time…but then put it off, and ideas really do right when you get in bed and are too lazy to get up again. Okay…gotta go get that notebook now.

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  13. something i do nightly-and when I get ready to write down my ideas and thoughts, I always end up needing both sides of the paper. And i’ve checked myself when I wake up to see if I remember what I had written-and I never do. I’m always reading what I had written and saying to myself-oh, that’s excellent-yes, I will add that-or,as the case may be-yes, i’d better edit that out. my book would read better(my scifi):)

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  15. Haha. This has happened to me so many times… “I’ll remember it in the morning…” and usually forget. Sometimes I DO remember but it doesn’t seem as good of an idea as when I was half asleep. 😀

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  16. Yep, that’s happened to me sooo many times. I get an idea for a post and then it evaporates by the time I wake up! I am definitely going to dig out a blank notebook from my desk; it will help me write more. Thanks for the reminder.

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  20. Doing this one for years now, and it really works!! Glad you made a post about it, more ppl should think about that little & simple but oh so useful trick 😀

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  22. Great! Thanks for the reminder! I’ve been meaning to do that! 🙂

    Just finished Season Two in the UK. I’m guessing that you’ve watched it? 🙂

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  23. So that’s a notebook, two pencils, a torch, spare batteries …
    No, seriously good idea. In fact I tend to take my notebook everywhere, even when I forget the house keys I have the notebook!

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  25. Great tip, I take my little notebook everywhere! I get so many post ideas at the weirdest times that my notebook works perfectly to keep track of them.

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  26. Oh man, I did this once. It was, actually, a terrible idea.

    One, I get ideas all the time, most of them not worth following up on. If it’s a good idea, I’ll remember it tomorrow.
    Two, getting the sudden urge to write the whole thing out is terrible for insomnia.

    More power to anyone who can make this happen, but I do think you need to make sure you’re not ruining your sleep over it or spending all your time coming up with ideas instead of acting on any of them. All things in moderation, yeah?

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  27. I keep these nifty notes called Aqua Notes. They stick on the wall of your shower and there is a pencil that goes with it. It’s pretty neat to jot notes down on so I keep one of my mirror, too. Waterproof and all. 🙂

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  28. Take a note book everywhere & also use the notes feature on my iPhone a lot. And often email those so I can import them straight into word or scrivener. But there is something special about a little notebook. I’ve still got a treasured sketchbook from art school too. They are like spell books really. Essential for any craftsman or woman.

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  29. I recently read about stream of conscious writing. A few days ago I started writing the first thing that popped into my head after waking. A slightly different idea, but one that is fascinating and crazy fun.
    Now that my notebook is bedside, I will capture all those loosey goosey ideas that would otherwise float away.
    Great idea!
    Happy New Year!

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  30. Digital recorder is actually better. Way easier. You just press the button and lie there talking into it instead of having to sit up, turn on a light, reach for a pen, start writing … Record it. Fast, easy, efficient. Just play it back the next morning and laugh at how ridiculous you sounded the night before after having one too many! LOL.

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