Subtractive Time Management

Writing things down is the best way to Forget them

I have recently been following a notion of subtractive time management.

What I have figured is, that our minds are always populated by distractions. Browsing the internet for some quirky question that comes across your mind, checking you stocks, checking the news, etc etc. I once read that the easiest way to forget something was to write it down, rather than to keep in your head.

So from now on, my time management methods will be subtractive.

If you come across anything that is distracting, then write the fucking thing down. Once written down, you can forget about it, and come back and have a look at it once you have free time.

 This way your brain would be focused and less bothered about the distractions.

On the other hand, don't write things down that you are working on, or that you will be working on. Work things should be kept in your head, because if they are written down, then they might as well be forgotten because the urgency to do those things will be gone, since you will now have the chance to come back and have a look at your "to do" list later on. And that "later on" never arrives, those things will be written there for ages, simply because there is no urgency left. You will never forget what you just wrote down.

Hence, the empirical conclusion so far, don't write important things down, keep those in your head!! And write all the diverging thoughts down so that they could be tackled later on.

Will this work? May be.

Subtractive is the way to go. I have gained some new found respect for the subtractive method. It appears that its a good way to handle issues and simplify things. Remove the clutter.