There’s a technique so powerful it feels like cheating. It requires no apps, no subscriptions, no complex systems. It’s been available since humans invented writing, and yet we constantly forget to use it.

Write things down.

That’s it. That’s the whole technique.

Why Your Brain is a Terrible Storage Device

Your working memory can hold roughly 7±2 items. That’s it. Seven things, give or take. Meanwhile, you’re trying to:

  • Remember that bug you need to fix
  • Keep track of your meeting at 3 PM
  • Hold onto that brilliant idea you had in the shower
  • Recall what you were supposed to buy at the grocery store
  • Not forget your partner’s birthday (it’s this week, isn’t it?)

Your brain is not a hard drive. It’s more like RAM that’s constantly being garbage collected by an overeager process that seems to prefer deleting important things.

The Extended Mind Thesis

Philosopher Andy Clark argues in The Extended Mind that our cognition doesn’t stop at the skull. Our notebooks, phones, and tools are literally extensions of our thinking.

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Internal Mind + External Tools = Extended Cognition

When you write something down, you’re not just storing information — you’re offloading cognitive load. You’re freeing up mental bandwidth for actual thinking instead of remembering.

The David Allen Revelation

David Allen, author of Getting Things Done, puts it this way:

“Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them.”

There’s something almost magical that happens when you externalize a thought:

  1. It becomes concrete. Vague anxiety transforms into a specific list.
  2. It stops nagging you. Your brain trusts that it’s captured.
  3. It becomes actionable. You can see what you’re actually dealing with.

But What About Digital Notes?

Look, I love Obsidian. I have a whole system. But there’s research suggesting that handwriting is cognitively different from typing. The motor activity of writing engages your brain differently.

That said, the best note-taking system is the one you’ll actually use. A crumpled napkin with a to-do list beats a pristine Notion setup you never open.

The Meta-Lesson

The reason we don’t write things down isn’t that we don’t know it works. We do. The reason is that writing feels too simple to be effective. We’re looking for the complex hack, the secret technique, the hidden system.

But the truth is embarrassingly basic:

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def handle_thought(thought):
    if thought.is_important:
        write_it_down()
    # That's it. That's the function.

Try This

For the next week, carry something to write on. Physical or digital, doesn’t matter. Every time a thought demands your attention — a task, an idea, a worry — write it down.

Then notice what happens to your mental state.

I’ll bet it feels like your brain suddenly has more room to breathe.

Related: Analysis Paralysis: The Burden of Overthinking — why we overthink and how to break free