: How do you track random thoughts and ideas? If you're like me, you get story ideas anywhere and everywhere. If I'm at a computer, I'll write down the idea in onenote or outlook or scrivener

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Some people need a water proof notepad for recording ideas in the shower. I needed something for recording ideas in the car.

A digital audio recorder is something I carry around now because I get a lot of ideas in the car while commuting or running errands. The phone had too many buttons to push before being able to record, a dedicated recorder is simpler and is much safer. and I can transfer to the computer via USB.

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Since I'm a digital person, I tend to use Evernote. It can capture audio, pictures, video, or text. I can enter something on my phone or iPad, have it sync with the service and it's available on my laptop or desktop almost immediately. Since I use multiple devices this is nice.

Pen/paper is nice, and if you use that, I'd recommend that after you take some notes, you take a picture of the page with your phone as a backup.

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It sounds as if you're well prepared to take a note at any time. For that, I use the same tools you do: Scrivener, Moleskine, and digital recorder.

So our tools are the same, but I add two bits of process: First, I always transcribe notes from the Moleskine and recorder into my idea file in Scrivener. All of my notes quickly end up in one place.

I've been experimenting with iPhone/iPad apps instead of my Moleskine notebook. Yesterday I was on an airplane and had an idea. I fired up PlainText (which synchronizes across devices and computers via Dropbox). But because I was not connected to a network, PlainText spit up some kind of warning or error, which I dismissed. I was able to create a document to take my note, but by that time I'd forgotten the idea.

So for now I'm likely to forego newer technology in favor of paper.

A second bit of process: In Scrivener, I often tag my ideas. For non-fiction, I tag them with topics. For fiction, I tag them using the CLOSAT scheme (Character, Location, Object, Situation, Action, Theme). Over time, this scheme alerts me to some interesting patterns, e.g. that most of my ideas about about situations, some are about themes, and very few are about characters.

By always transcribing notes to one place, and by tagging my ideas (when the tags are obvious), I give myself the best chance of finding ideas when I need them.

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I use OneNote and I think it's the best computer program ever happened. You can track your ideas and thoughts in the most easier way I've seen. As much as I love paper, I should really own oneself with the paper beaten over the person with this beautiful little soft gem.

As a mathematician I organized my notebooks strongly, and I will to publish it, if I suddenly will become a celebrity. But, to tell the truth, this program just forces you to organize, and does this by imperceptible way. Chaos in my head is productive at last.

There are also other electronic notebooks presented, and most imminent for ON is Evernote

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When I was in college/grad school I kept a bunch of index cards to write poems or ideas on. I had the problem of having scribbled ideas in the middle of my school notes. Keeping them all in one place worked (and grabbing an index card in the middle of a lecture looks like I'm paying attention).

They have little index cards kept on a ring that could easily fit in a pocket.

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I use a Mac/iPhone app called TaskPaper to track most of my ideas. It can sync between the phone and multiple Macs, which I find useful when moving between home and work.

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I'm not a fan of carrying a notebook, because when I really need it, I have forgotten to take it with me anyway. Therefore I solve the issue the other way round. I keep a pencil and small pieces of paper on my desk (home and office), in my bedside table, the kitchen, the bathroom and my car.

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I really like the idea of a small notebook, and I'd recommend that. However, this one might be more convenient, and it's what I do. If you have a phone that you're comfortable with typing on, send yourself a text, email, make a reminder for when you get home, whatever works best for you. In that message, type up whatever details you need to remember. Again: it's not the best option, but it's very convenient if you have a phone (which, as a generalization, you probably do).

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I keep a good old fashion Moleskin notebook with me, one that is hard back so it can survive in my pocket (as well as a pen). It's useful not only for writes notes but for everything else I need to jot down while away from the computer. It also comes with a band to hold it closed, which is useful so I can keep cards in it and the like.

There's also something satisfying about being about to pull the notebook out and open/close it with the snap of the elastic.

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I always have a notebook with me. When the notebook is full, I go through it page by page, digitizing the ideas that are "keepers" (and transferring those I want to mull some more into my new notebook). Of course, if I happen to be at the computer, I will often just throw things right into my notes file -- I have a branch set aside just for "unsorted" notes which I clean out on occasion the same way I do my notebook.

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I simply have a google doc, and I can almost always access it since it's stored a server.

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