INNER VOICE | Carry A Pocket Notebook With You

Today, I will be sharing a method which I have been practicing for the past three decades. Hopefully, this may be useful to the youngsters in managing their day-to-day stress.

While I was working in the Bank, some important tasks had to be attended to as compulsory, especially on specific days. Further, superiors’ instructions, subordinates and customers’ requests, etc. were also there, which needed to be taken care of based on priorities.

In addition to the above, there were personal and family obligations, too. Non-compliance of these tasks attracts complications as usual.

Forgetting tasks naturally leads to stress and tensions.

In order to remember all the necessary tasks - to attend to them in time and to be tension-free - I adopted a method which I found in a personality development book. The method is…..

Carrying a (small) pocket notebook with me always and doing the following:

Everyday morning, before commencing my daily routine, I recollect the tasks that need to be done on that day/week and then jot them briefly in that pocket notebook. Furthermore, whenever I receive any important phone call or message about anything, I write that immediately in the notebook.

Once in an hour or two, as and when I find free time, I tick/mark the completed tasks.

This review makes me aware of the residual tasks which are yet to be given attention.

It “was” and still, even today, “is” my experience that – all the jotted tasks in the book will be completed successfully by the evening. If not, just carry it/them forward to the next day.

It is a common experience to many of us that certain new ideas of great value will flash once in a while in our minds during odd times like morning walk, travelling, reading, etc.

We would like to test-check those ideas when we are free. But, generally, we forget them due to the busy schedules in our day-to-day routines. After some time, when we see that someone else is being appreciated for the implementation of the same idea, we curse ourselves for neglecting the idea, which came in our mind also, earlier. This type of mishaps can also be avoided if we keep a pocket notebook with us and write those ideas briefly, as and when they flash.

While I was working in the Bank, mobile phones were not that popular. Now, mobile phones can also be used for this method. But, I feel that the pocket notebook is more suitable than the mobile or tablet for some reasons.

The bottom line is, by cultivating a habit to carry a pocket book with you, writing the to-do list every morning and reviewing that pocket notebook at regular intervals will help keep us tension free. By all means.