In praise of index cards

You might remember index cards from your school days borrowing books in the library. You’ll also find them strewn all over my desk at work. After a number of colleagues have teased me about my insistence on using these cards over more traditional note-taking methods, I thought it was time to sing the praises of this lowly but versatile tool.

I use index cards to write to-do lists, to capture actions and ideas in meetings, to scribble wireframes and draw mini mindmaps. They’re small enough to fit in your pocket, but bigger than a post-it note to capture a fully-fledged idea. They can be slipped into the bezel of a computer display, handed to a colleague for sharing and most importantly, easily thrown away.

Unlike opening a notebook, or even worse a note-taking or task app on a digital device, there’s very little cognitive load required to scribble on an index card. You simple start scribbling and you’re done.

Do you ever wonder why in some meetings someone has a good idea or an action that needs doing, and you or someone else might say “yeah I’ll do that” but never write anything down? These ideas or to-do’s float away in the lost and forgotten backwaters of one’s mind and never get done. The reason why they often aren’t written down is because, as silly as it sounds, it requires a momentary decision to open a book or necessary app on your phone or computer and it’s often subconsciously decided that it’s not worth the effort.

This decision-making process is what we call ‘cognitive load’, and we make so many of these types of micro-decisions every day. From what to wear, to what to eat for breakfast, to which email to read first, to what TV show to watch. We make so many minor decisions every day, that any way we can to alleviate our minds of the burden of more decisions means we can be more effective when it’s actually important for us to make conscious decisions.

Back to the index cards. Carrying a single index card and a pen to a meeting is more powerful than taking a laptop. It’s so fast and effortless to capture everything that’s important, that you don’t even need to think about it. Take a few cards into the meeting, and if you’ve captured something that someone else needs to do, you can just give them the card.

Capturing information on cards is ephemeral. You know the card will likely be thrown away, so you’re less inclined to make sure you have neat handwriting or well-written grammar. Unlike a book, where there may be multiple micro-decisiosns being made in your mind about whether to open and write in a pristine, leather bound notebook from a fancy design shop. You’re deciding — is the idea worth it? I’ll just remember this and write it down when I get to my desk. It never gets written down.

You could use a post-it note, which definitely pass the ‘throw-it-away’ test. But post-it notes are too small, they don’t have lines so it doesn’t encourage any well-formed thoughts. And it looks a bit unprofessional carrying around a pack of post-its as a note-taking tool. Some may say index cards do as well, but personally I think they are very minimalist and because they easily slip into a pocket to be used only when needed they can be hidden away. You’ll appear a productivity guru next time you have to jot down any actions!

Capturing content ephemerally is why social networks like Snapchat are exploding. Unlike with Facebook or even Instagram, where you have to decide “is this picture worth it?” On Snapchat, you just take the photo, It will be gone in 24 hours and not live on your profile page forever and ever. The cognitive load has been removed, and content production has increased exponentially.

Index cards also encourage focus. Instead of keeping a long to-do list, the smaller size of an index card as opposed to a book or an app makes you summarise your key tasks for the day, so you focus on the big important rocks rather than all the lesser important smaller rocks that clog up our day.

Below is my pitch to incorporate index cards into your thought capturing and productivity workflow — maybe you’ll too decide to leave your notebook or laptop at your desk for your next meeting.

1. Capture any idea and action effortlessly
Index cards easily slip into your pocket and are perfect for jotting down that quick thought or action. Like a cowboy drawing his gun, you can easily whip out your index card and scribble down just what you need to remember. No unlocking your phone or unravelling your leather-bound notebook required.

2. Share ideas and actions with colleagues
Having an impromptu meeting with a colleague? Use index cards to brainstorm ideas, draw some wireframes and write some todos. Then simply hand your colleague the card and off they go. No waiting around to send meeting notes, or summarising actions by following up on them via email. It’s all there on the card, instantly shareable and a lot more fun too.

3. Reduce your daily micro-decisions
Forget the bloated task management and note-taking apps on your phone or computer. They have a place in your productivity arsenal, but they’re not ideal for easing your cognitive load. They’re good for planning but not capturing. Instead take an index card with you wherever you go, and as soon as a thought strikes simply write it down on the card. You can deal with it later, but index cards make it super easy to not have to think about these micro-decisions that add up in your day.