Twice recently, I’ve made small errors because I didn’t follow my own notes.

“Cut stretcher and glue here.” (I didn’t cut. I didn’t glue.)

“Shopping list item: sixteen #12 x 1/2" sheet metal screws.” (I returned home without the screws.)

These were minor flubs with minimal cost, but it made me think: how many times do we err simply because we don’t follow our own notes?

How often do we have the answers in-hand, but fail to reach for them at the right time?

Even worse: how many of our mistakes are from us not sticking to our own principles?

Taking notes is an important practice, but the bigger part is knowing when to revisit them.