微软公司创始人比尔•盖茨、维珍集团创始人理查德•布兰森以及Facebook首席运营官雪莉•桑德伯格都带着记事本。

正因为随手就能找到纸笔，盖茨和布兰森经常记下所思所想，方便留存记录也能更快忆起某一时刻迸发的灵感。

布兰森在一篇博客文章里写道：“一想到什么点子，我就记下来。如果没有这个习惯，不知我会多惨。”

《财富》杂志曾报道，桑德伯格把笔记本当作规划日常生活的工具。她在笔记本上列出每天要做的事项清单，只要做完就把该页撕掉。这是一种很好的激励方式，能保持工作状态处于正轨。划掉清单事项的感觉别提多爽了。

笔记本的具体使用方法因人而异，不过商界领袖们都很下功夫。

TED演讲者达蒙•布朗在商业杂志Inc.上撰文称，手写记录可以理清个人想法，回忆创意和观点，清晰表达抽象的事物。

《福布斯》的撰稿人德鲁•汉森说，关键在于培养立刻记下想法的习惯：“你觉得以后会记得，实际上一定会忘。如果抓不住闪现的灵感，此后源源不绝的思潮也就无从谈起。”

靠烂笔头可能很老土，但管用。 （财富中文网）

译者:Pessy

审稿:夏林

Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Virgin founder Richard Branson, and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg all carry around notebooks.

Gates and Branson use their notebooks to record ideas. By keeping a pen and paper handy, these two moguls are able to keep track of and remember all the inklings that come to them throughout the day.

"I can't tell you where I'd be if I hadn't had a pen on hand to write down my ideas as soon as they came to me," Branson wrote in a blog post.

Sandberg uses her notebook as a sort of daily planner, according to Fortune. She scribbles down to-do lists and then rips out pages once she's hit all the items on her list. It's a great motivator for staying on track — there's nothing more satisfying than crossing off everything on your to-do list.

Regardless of how exactly they use their notebooks, these business leaders are all onto something.

TED speaker Damon Brown wrote in Inc. that writing things down helps us filter our thoughts, remember ideas and insights, and articulate the abstract.

Forbes contributor Drew Hansen says that the key is to always jot down your thoughts straight away: "You think you'll remember, but you won't, and you'll forfeit all the thoughts that flood you after you've freed your mind from remembering the initial spark."

It might be old-school, but it works.