Habit 1: Collect

'''Too often ideas pop into our heads, mail comes into our homes, paperwork comes onto our desks, phone numbers and appointments are given to us while we’re on the go ... and they disappear or are forgotten or are relegated to a dusty drawer, never to be seen again.'''

The problem is that we have no system for collecting all of the information and papers and emails coming into our lives, and keeping them organized in a systematic way.

To address that problem, we’re going to try to have a place for everything coming into our lives, and get into the habit of writing things down immediately, instead of relying on our brains to keep track of it all. If we rely on our brains, it’s overwhelming, and our brains have a habit of forgetting what we need when we need it.

The collection habit is simple: have a very few amount of plac- es to collect information and papers, and stick to that system.

So, for papers coming to your desk, you should have one place to collect them: an inbox. Don’t ever stuff a piece of paper in a drawer, put a Post-it somewhere on your desk, or stack some incoming mail anywhere but your inbox. That’s your one place to collect things, and you need to stick with it.

You should also have an inbox for your home, to collect all incoming mail, papers from work or school, phone messages, stuff you bring in from your errands, receipts -- everything, actually. Now things will never get lost again.

For emails, try to only have one account (it prevents multiple inboxes and confusion). You might have a bunch of other inboxes you check every day, somewhere online, although you might not think of them as inboxes -- MySpace or Facebook accounts, forums, other places where you get messages. These are all inboxes, and you should keep track of them and handle them in the same way. The fewer you have, the better.

We’ll get to how to process all these inboxes to empty in the next chapter, in the habit called "process". For now, just be conscious of your inboxes, and trying to keep all incoming pa- pers in the physical inboxes on your desk and at home.

Your notebook

But we also need to look at a special kind of inbox -- your collection tool for your ideas, notes, information given to you on while you’re on the road, tasks you remember you need to do, action items that come out of meetings. In short, everything that comes into your life that’s not in a written or recorded form.

Up until now, you might have been relying on your mind to remember those things, and maybe you added them to a to-do list when you got back to your desk. Unfortunately, your mind is a faulty tool. It forgets things when we need them, and then thinks about them when we don’t need them.

So instead, we’re going to make it a habit to get things out of your mind, and into written form. Carry a small notebook (or whatever capture tool works for you) and write down any tasks, ideas, projects, or other information that pop into your head. Get it out of your head and onto paper, so you don’t forget it.

When you’re in a meeting and an action item comes up that you need to do later, write it down. When your boss calls you to ask you to work on a project, write it down. When someone gives you a phone number or email address at a social gather- ing, write it down. You get the idea.

ZTD asks you to pick a very simple, portable, easy-to-use tool for capture - a small notebook or small stack of index cards are preferred (but not mandated), simply because they are much easier to use and carry around than a PDA or notebook computer. When you get back to your home or office, empty your notes into your to-do list (a simple to-do list will work for now - context lists can come in a later habit).

A popular choice, but not necessary: the Moleskine. It’s my collection tool of choice, simply because it’s portable, durable, and aesthetically pleasing. I love writing in it. However, any small notebook will do, really. You might also try the Hipster PDA.

I recommend analogue (paper) over digital for this habit, but if your PDA or smartphone works for you, go for it. The reason I think analogue works better is that it’s much faster - for digital, you not only have to pull it out, but you have to turn it on, go to the right program, click on an entry, and then enter through your entry system. With analogue, you just pull out the notebook and pen and write. Either way works, but I think that the simpler and easier the tools, the more likely you are to use them. Do what works for you, though.

The key with this capture habit is to write things down right away, before you forget, and to empty out your notebook as soon as you get home or to work. Don’t procrastinate with these two steps, or they will pile up and you will be less likely to do them. Stay on top of it!

Also, carry it around, everywhere. No matter what system you use, it should be very easy to carry around, and easy to jot down ideas quickly. You need to carry it wherever you go, including to bed, in stores, if you’re hospitalized, wherever.

This simple habit of collecting all the information that comes into your life into a tiny notebook (and in a few other inboxes) will greatly improve your organization and eventually your productivity. You will stop forgetting things, stop losing informa- tion, and always know where things are, all the time.