6,000 Thoughts a Day: Why A Capture Habit is Crucial for Content Creators

Capturing ideas is the single most important thing I do as a creator everyday.

It's a cornerstone habit that cascades into every part of my content creation. When I sit down to 'do content' I don't have to spend any time brainstorming ideas. I have more than enough ideas to work with because I've captured them beforehand.

By cultivating a Capture Habit everything else down the line feels easy.

So why do so many creators struggle to build a capture habit? It comes down to four mistakes (that can actually be easily fixed)

Saying I'll Write It Down Later. I've been known to stop in some weird places to capture ideas (think voice memos in the middle of the ocean into my Apple Watch). Stop saying I'll write that down later. You won't.

Judging Your Ideas Before You Capture Them. Too many of us judge our own ideas before they even have a chance to breath. Don't do that. Make your capture habit a judgement free zone. Then spend time later processing & judging.

Having Too Many Ways To Capture Things. Stop stashing things everywhere and have one clear way to get all your ideas to the same place. Then practice over and over again using that one way capture system.

No System For Review Your Captures. Capturing is a good first step. But if you don't have a repeatable and reliable way to review those ideas you'll still be coming up short every writing session. So, make a weekly appointment with yourself to explore your ideas inbox and then move ideas into different piles - things to tweet, things to write, things to think about.

Practice Makes Permanent. Don't let these four mistakes hold you back from building a successful capture habit.

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