Each year I attend at least one conference and a seminar or two. Like everyone else, I attend for the learning and the networking. It’s also time away from the office or whatever project on which I’m working. This allows my mind to roam and often leads to inspiration or reminders of things I need to do.

In years past, I would jot the idea or reminder down in the midst of my notes – whether I was handwriting them or typing them on my laptop or tablet. The problem with this is that I would return to reality and rarely returned to my notes unless I was specifically looking for something in them.

At a conference I just attended, we were provided an app to download from Guidebooks, which also included a To Do list. What a great idea! Every time I had an idea, wanted to remember to reach out to a fellow attendee, or had a specific task I wanted to do upon my return to the office, I added it to the list.

I confess that my list was a bit long by the end of the two full days, but I also already had checked off three items. Some of the items on the list involved seeking out specific people at the conference to whom I wanted to introduce myself. One involved following up with a speaker, and I was able to do that in a hallway conversation.

The rest of the items now are on one handy list for my return to the office. If I do just one item a day, I’ll knock out all of them in short order.

Why I never thought to make one list of action items instead of jotting the items down in the middle of my notes is beyond me. I’m just glad I had this app to inspire me.