A better way to remember what you read

I recently came across a wonderfully simple idea, and I plan to start using it more often, both personally and professionally. It's called an Idea Index.

I first heard about it through Tim Ferriss, in an interview he did with writer Maria Popova. Popova described a habit she'd built around reading: instead of just highlighting passages and hoping to remember them later, she builds her own index of the ideas that matter to her, in her own words, on her own terms.

That idea stuck with me.

Most books already have an index, but it's built by the publisher, organized around names and subjects someone else chose. An Idea Index is different. You build it yourself, based on what actually matters to you.

How It Works

Say you're reading a book on American history. As you go, a few subjects start catching your attention:

- Presidential Leadership — pages 24, 67, 142

- Life During the Depression — pages 38, 91, 176

- World War II — pages 54, 112, 201

- Interesting Quotes — pages 31, 84, 155

You jot those subjects and page numbers on one of the blank pages at the front or back of the book. That's it.

Now something has changed. You haven't just read the book — you've built yourself a roadmap back into it. Six months from now, if you want to revisit something about World War II, you're not flipping through 300 pages hunting for a yellow highlight. Your Idea Index tells you exactly where to go.

Why This Matters So Much in Retirement

One of the best things about retirement is finally having the freedom to explore subjects purely because they interest you — history, travel, gardening, cooking, genealogy, faith, biography, investing, art, local history, photography, or just figuring out a new phone or tablet.

There's no test at the end of the chapter anymore. No Monday morning meeting where you have to report what you learned.

You're learning for yourself now, and the Idea Index gives that learning a bit of structure without turning it into homework. You don't have to remember every detail — that's not the point. The point is leaving yourself a trail, so that when you want an idea again, you know exactly where to find it. Think of it as a note to your future self.

It Doesn't Have to Stop at Books

This is where the idea gets even more useful. Picture keeping a notebook for your own Idea Index of things you run into throughout life.

Planning a trip to Italy, maybe it looks like:

- Restaurants — page 4

- Places We Want to Visit — page 7

- Hotel Ideas — page 12

- Things Friends Recommended — page 15

Or researching family history:

- Burnett Family — pages 3, 17, 24

- Georgia Records — pages 8, 29

- Photographs to Identify — page 31

- Questions for Relatives — page 36

The same approach works for recipes, gardening, home projects, Bible study, medical questions to bring up with your doctor, computer notes, or nearly anything you're trying to learn. And it doesn't have to be on paper — Apple Notes, Word, Google Docs, whatever you're comfortable using works just as well. The technology isn't really the point. The organization is.

I'm Going to Start Using It Too

I read a lot about customer service, hospitality, technology, leadership and business, and like most people, I've highlighted plenty of passages over the years. The trouble with highlighting is that months later, you may remember reading something important without remembering where you read it. An Idea Index gives those ideas a home.

There's a bigger lesson in here too. We tend to assume technology has to solve every information problem we have. But one of the best organizational tricks I've come across lately needs nothing more than a pencil and the blank page inside the back cover of a book. Technology can absolutely help us stay organized — but sometimes, simple just works.

The next time you're reading something you want to hold onto, try building an Idea Index of your own. Don't worry about doing it perfectly — start with three or four ideas that catch your eye and jot down the pages where you find them. By the time you finish the book, you'll have something better than a stack of highlights: your own map of the ideas worth returning to.

Deryck Burnett is the founder of Megabite, a technology, creative and multimedia company on Amelia Island. Reach the team at 904-430-0350 or Megabite.