Have you ever had the unfortunate luck of losing a great idea because you failed to write it down?

This is one of the most vexing problems we writers deal with. We have great ideas all of the time, but we neglect to write them down. Once they are out of our brains, it’s almost impossible to retrieve them.

So what’s the solution? The English author Will Self gives us a great tip: “Always carry a notebook. And I mean always. The short-term memory only retains information for three minutes; unless it is committed to paper you can lose an idea forever.”

He’s talking about a paper notebook, but a digital equivalent will do just fine. You can easily capture ideas with your phone. I do this all the time on my iPhone by asking Siri to create a note.

That being said, there is immense creative power in a paper notebook or journal. There is an intimate connection between your brain and your hand that cannot be duplicated on a phone or computer. When you write something down on paper, you will remember it better.

Whether you use paper or go digital, make a notebook your new sidekick. Take it everywhere you go. It’s the Robin to your Batman, the Abbot to your Costello, the Samwise to your Frodo. And just like a pretend sidekick, it will come to your rescue time after time and you’ll never lose a great idea again.