Continuing the theme from my June 22 post — watching my own process of work and creation, and trying to figure out what I’m really doing — I realize that I am in the habit of outsourcing memory.
What I mean by this is that I often make suggestions to collaborators about what I might do that would be of use to them. Having made such a suggestion, I promptly forget all about it.
Some of the time, I get back an email saying “hey, that would be really useful”. When I receive such an email, I then remember the original train of thought, and I set about making it happen.
In effect, I am outsourcing my memory to clients. If they think something I’ve told them is worth remembering, then it’s worth remembering.