5 Automations to Capture & Organize Ideas (No More Lost Notes or Eyeliner Scribbles)
Stop losing ideas to sticky notes, scattered apps, and forgotten tabs. These automations send voice memos, dictation, and saved links straight to Notion—so you can actually use them later.
I had the best idea of my life three years ago.
Or at least, I think I did.
I was lying in bed, somewhere between sleep and consciousness, Ambien gently dragging me into the abyss, when BOOM—genius struck.
It was brilliant. Game-changing. The kind of insight that would make past me and future me proud.
Except there was one problem: I had nothing to write with.
So, in my half-asleep state, I grabbed the closest thing I could find—my eyeliner—and scribbled the idea onto a sticky note.
Fast forward to the next morning. I wake up, excited to revisit my stroke of brilliance, only to find…
A smudged, cryptic mess that might have said “octopus marketing funnel” or might have been instructions for summoning a demon. I will never know.
And that’s when I decided: I need a better system for capturing ideas before they disappear forever.
Because ideas don’t wait for you to be fully awake, near a notebook, or when there’s a “good time” to process them.
So this week, we’re talking how to automate capturing ideas, memos, and fleeting thoughts—so they don’t vanish into the void.
Let’s dig in. 🚀
The First Rule of Capturing Ideas: Make It Effortless
If your capture system requires effort, you won’t use it.
That’s why sticky notes, scattered apps, and eyeliner scribbles don’t work.
They feel helpful in the moment, but if you can’t instantly retrieve those ideas later, they’re basically digital clutter.
The solution? A seamless capture system that automates itself.
Here’s what I use:
✔ Voice Memos → For when I need to capture tasks or fleeting ideas hands-free.
✔ Quick Notes Inbox → A dedicated Notion “Inbox” for dumping articles, links, and random thoughts.
✔ Dictation & Task Delegation → For long-form content and assigning work to my team.
And the key? One endpoint.
No scattered notes. No multiple inboxes. Everything lands in Notion, automatically.
How I Capture & Organize Ideas Automatically
💡 Voice Memos (for hands-free capture of tasks & ideas)
I don’t waste time manually sorting notes.
Instead, I followed Thomas Frank’s method to set up voice memos on my iPhone that send directly to Notion (here’s how: Thomas Frank’s Voice Notes Setup).
📌 How this works:
✔ I record a quick task or idea in Voice Memos.
✔ It automatically syncs to Notion—categorized and ready for processing.
✔ I check my Notion “Inbox” during my daily review and process everything at once.
Why this works:
✔ I never forget random ideas.
✔ No extra steps—just record and go.
✔ It syncs instantly, so I don’t have to track down loose notes later.
💡 Quick Notes (for rapid idea capture & closing tabs)
If you have too many open tabs (guilty 🙋♀️), this will save your sanity.
I use the Notion Web Clipper to clear my browser and capture articles, inspiration, and research instantly.
📌 How this works:
✔ One click saves an article, tweet, or website straight into my Notion “Inbox.”
✔ I tag everything so I can actually find it later.
✔ Every morning, I do a quick review to decide what’s useful and what gets trashed.
Why this works:
✔ My browser doesn’t look like a chaotic mess of 47 open tabs.
✔ I actually use the information I save—because it’s easy to retrieve.
✔ I don’t waste time re-Googling things I swore I’d remember.
💡 Dictation & Task Delegation (for long-form content & workflows)
For articles, book chapters, or longer thoughts, I use Otter.ai to dictate content—then automate the cleanup and delegation process.
📌 How this works:
✔ I record my dictation in Otter.ai.
✔ Make.com watches my Dropbox folder for new audio files and:
Transcribes & cleans them up with GPT (so they actually sound like me).
Sends the cleaned transcript to Notion, attached to the right project (determined by the Dropbox folder it’s in).
✔ If I move a file to my “Editing” Dropbox folder, another automation:Drafts an email to my editor with the file name.
Creates a Notion task with a due date for follow-up, assigned to my editor.
Why this works:
✔ I don’t have to manually move files.
✔ I don’t have to tell my editor what’s ready—it’s automated.
✔ My content lives in Notion, connected to the right project—no clicking 27 times to find it.
📌 How This Ties Back to PKM (Personal Knowledge Management)
Capturing ideas isn’t enough—you need a system that stores and retrieves them when you need them.
A good PKM system ensures:
✔ Your ideas don’t disappear into a black hole.
✔ You can find old research instantly—without digging through tabs and folders.
✔ Your best insights actually get used—when they’re relevant.
Example:
I clip an article on author direct sales and tag it in Notion under “Publishing.”
Months later, when I’m planning a newsletter on selling books direct, I pull up all my research in seconds.
No re-Googling. No memory gymnastics. Just useful knowledge at my fingertips.
🚀 Your Action Step: Automate ONE Capture Method This Week
✅ If you forget ideas entirely → Set up voice memos → Notion sync (Thomas Frank’s method).
✅ If your ideas get lost in open tabs → Use the Notion Web Clipper for instant idea storage.
✅ If you dictate but hate messy transcripts → Use Otter.ai + Dropbox + AI cleanup.
✅ If you want to streamline idea processing → Set up a Notion task manager automation.
🚀 Want My Pre-Built Automations? Here’s How to Get Them
Everything I just outlined? You don’t have to build it from scratch.
🔒 Paid subscribers get access to my full automation library, including:
✅ Voice Memos → Notion Inbox (hands-free idea capture)
✅ Notion Web Clipper → Auto-Tag & Organize Notes (goodbye, 47 open tabs)
✅ Otter.ai → Dropbox → AI Cleanup → Notion (for dictation workflows)
✅ Dropbox → Editor Workflow (auto-assign tasks & email drafts)
✅ Google Drive → Editor Workflow (for Google Docs users)
📌 Ready to save hours every week?
💡 Subscribe Now & Get Instant Access
Already a paid subscriber? Download your automations here.
And as always—hit reply and tell me:
👉 What’s the weirdest or most unreadable note you’ve ever left for yourself? (Because eyeliner notes are still winning for me.)
Let’s get your ideas captured, processed, and put to work. 🚀