Note to self

I've mentioned before how useful it is to take notes at the end of every shop session. I do it so that I'll be able to more clearly recapture the productive state of mind that I was in, and remember what I was working on when I come in the next day... Or after a few weeks.

It also helps me to remember exactly where to pick up what I'd left off. And, if there's anything that I need, that I don't have on hand, it gives me the chance to make a note to pick up whatever it is, before I come in the next day, so that productive time doesn't come to a screeching halt.

But lately, I've been keeping a notebook on the bench to grab thoughts as they come to me.

'Note to self, next time sand the panel before cutting to size, so you don't dub the edges and end up with a loose fitting panel.' That kind of thing. It helps me to hold on to the stray thoughts that really help me to refine my own process.

Because somehow, whenever I say to myself 'Next time, I really need to remember to...' I almost never listen.