If you are like me, most of your best thinking is done in the shower. I'm not sure why - maybe because I'm relaxed and my mind can wander. Hopefully, I will retain the thought long enough to jot it down or share it with someone else. Much like book ideas that come to me in dreams, they are gone in a flash.
Helen and I seem to do much of our decision making for Fragile Earth Stuffed Animals in the car commuting to work or the beach. Being in one spot with little else to distract you (except that car in front of you - for god's sakes, slow down!) and not having the option of leaving if the discussion doesn't go your way (although there's always my "out" of falling asleep) creates the perfect environment to get stuff done. A place to record the decisions you make is imperative because, once you exit your "think tank", the rest of your life takes over and ideas are lost.
We have THE LIST, a mythical document, to which we refer whenever we have an idea or a task that needs to be completed. "Put it on the list" is a common phrase in our lives. Unfortunately, there are many versions of said list. There is the original paper copy on the kitchen counter underneath a pile of mail, leashes, cats, etc. Then there is the version in the notes section of my phone. I believe Helen also has one going in the notes section on her phone. We started recording our ideas at one point in the microphone app on one of the phones - at this point, I'm not sure which one. And of course, there are the running chronicles kept in our heads that we forget on a regular basis.
What we need is one set in stone, never to be changed spot for all our ideas. With the gadgets and the mental acuity we possess, you might think this would be easy. Alas, no. Like everything else about our company, this is a work in progress.
Posted by Mary Beth
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