I had one of those conversations you’d rather not have with someone at work. They asked, “What did we decide about…?” and my honest response was, “I don’t know. I can’t even remember the conversation”. Neither of us could recall with any accuracy what was discussed. That’s a waste of their time and mine.
That weekend I bought [Pulse SmartPen](http://http://www.livescribe.com/ smartpen/index.html) from Livescribe. This is a wonderful piece of technology. Here are some of the features:
- As you write the pen records what you write. Special paper with microdot technology and an infra-red pen combine to record handwriting. This saves scanning notes into a computer.
- As you are present in the room the pen records what you hear. This would have solved the memory lapse described earlier.
- Tap on what you wrote earlier in the meeting and the pen plays back the audio from that point. “What did we decide about…” is met with “Hang on, here’s what you said”. This link is retained once you’ve downloaded to the computer as well.
I’ve had to learn to take notes or table of contents markers during a meeting as placemarks for the recording. It’s a different way of working. So far I’ve rarely had to check a recording. It’s there if I need it. Just like the backup of my computer. I don’t expect to use it often but when I do I want to have already been prepared.