My new capture notebook. Capture is an essential part of your Getting Things Done practice, and the tool that you use for capture is very important – it needs to fit your personal style and workflow processes.

This is a 4″ x 6″ Notebook that I picked up at Pottery Barn in Portland, ME. I bought 3 because they were on sale for 50% off, not knowing exactly what I would use them for. After my little spiral notebook that I was using for capture ran out of pages (and got a little worse for wear) I decided to use one of these notebooks. The verdict: it worked great!

However, with a little tweaking it can work even better. The first lesson from the 2008 notebook: You need sections for Reference, Capture, Contacts, and other information. I found that there were some things that I captured in the notebook that I referred to again and again. In the new notebook I made room for this reference material and copied it into the new book.
You can see here that the Table of Contents contains this reference information. For my own use I am starting out with Dan Pink’s Visual Thinking reference guide (an invaluable resource for communication), some successful branding tips from my friend Phil Gerbyshak, and notes on Social Media ROI.

The Visual Thinking guide is something that I apply all the time when talking to people and need to give them an example of what I am talking about, it make communication much much easier, as I am very visual. (click on the thumbnail to see the full-sized image)

The rest of the notebook is divided up into sections for:

1. Reference
2. Capture
3. Contacts
4. Reading Candidates
5. Back pocket for 3×5 cards

I use the last section for the titles and authors of books that I discover or that people tell me about. Since they are not always as useful or valuable as they might seem in a review, I always like to take a look at them myself when Iam at the bookstore or library.

I glued in a pocket on the inside of the back cover ( a trick picked up from the Moleskine) to hold a handful of 3×5 note cards. These notecards come in very handy if you want to give some notes to someone else, and not have to tear a sheet out of your notebook, like a sketch or some directions.

This same methodology can be used if you use a digital device for capture, such as a Palm Pilot or iPhone. You may still need to carry some 3×5 cards though, unless your device allows sketching and e-mailing of those sketches…

What kind of notebook or device do you use for capture? And what personal tips or tricks can you share? Please discuss your capture methods in the forum.