Thought Management: My Journey to a New Way of Organizing My Mind

I've been fighting a losing battle with my thoughts for years. Maybe you have too?

I've tried every productivity app, note-taking system, and task manager out there. I've experimented with bullet journals, digital gardens, second brains—you name it. But I keep running into the same fundamental problem: my thoughts don't fit neatly into these systems.

The Struggle Is Real

Last month, I hit a breaking point. I was staring at my phone with a thought I needed to capture, but I froze trying to decide: Does this go in my task app? My notes app? My journal? My bookmarks?

That's when it hit me—our brains don't generate thoughts in convenient, pre-labeled categories. Neuroscience confirms this: our neural networks make connections across different domains simultaneously. Yet every tool I use forces me to fragment my thinking into separate buckets.

The cognitive friction was driving me crazy. Every time I needed to capture something, I'd waste mental energy deciding where it belongs. And often, it belonged in multiple places at once.

The YouTube Problem

Here's a simple frustration I bet you've experienced too: You come across a YouTube video with information you want to reference later. What do you do?

1. Save it in YouTube (but let's be honest—when do you ever check saved videos?)
2. Add it to your to-do list (but after you watch it, then what?)
3. Put it in yet another system for links and notes

I realized this happens because my thought ("I want to watch this video later") doesn't fit cleanly into any single system. It's simultaneously a task, a reference, and potentially a source of ideas.

My Lightbulb Moment

While meditating one morning, trying to quiet my fragmented mind, I started visualizing my thoughts as waves flowing through me. I wondered: what if instead of forcing thoughts into rigid containers, we built a system that matched how our brains actually work?

After weeks of late nights researching cognitive science, sketching ideas, and experimenting with my own thought patterns, I started seeing a framework emerge that feels genuinely different.

I believe there are 3 dimensions of thought that when properly aligned, allow us to organize our thinking in a way that mirrors our brain's natural associative patterns rather than fighting against them:

Nature: What Is This Thought?

• Tasks: Is it a task needing action?
• Idea: An idea to explore?
• Concern: A concern weighing on me?
• Insight: An insight I've realized?
• Reference: Reference material?
• Reminder: Just a reminder?

Purpose: Why Does This Thought Matter?

• Obligation: Is it an obligation?
• Connection: About connection with others?
• Exploration: Exploration of something new?
• Maintenance: Maintenance of what I have?
• Aspiration: An aspiration pulling me forward?
• Wellbeing: Related to my well-being?

Status: Where Is This Thought in Its Journey?

• Urgent: Is it urgent?
• Active: Active right now?
• Backlog: Backlogged for later?
• Recurring: Something recurring?
• Potential Just potential at this point?
• Completed: Already completed?

Imagining a Different Way

I can't stop thinking about what a system might look like if it followed these three simple phases:

1. Capture thoughts instantly without having to decide where they belong
2. Process them thoughtfully by understanding their nature, purpose, and status
3. Access them flexibly based on what I actually need in the moment

Imagine just saying:

• "Show me all tasks related to my health goals"
• "Create a journal entry from my insights about work"
• "Build an idea board from everything about creativity"

These wouldn't be just filtered views but dynamic outputs that adapt to how I'm thinking in different contexts.

Building It Feels Overwhelming

I've started sketching user flows and interfaces, but I quickly realized I'm in over my head technically. There are fascinating problems to solve:

• How do we create a frictionless capture experience across devices?
• Could natural language processing help classify thoughts?
• How would we build flexible outputs from the same underlying data?
• What would algorithms that connect related thoughts look like?
• How can interfaces adapt to individual thinking styles?

Looking for a Technical Partner

I'm not a developer—just someone who's stumbled onto a problem that feels universal and important. If you're a technical person who's also struggled with fragmented thinking and disconnected tools, I'd love to connect.

Maybe you're the right person to help build this thing? Or maybe you just want to share your own experiences with this problem? Either way, I'd love to chat.

This isn't about building the next productivity app—it's about finding a better way to work with our own minds. And that feels worth exploring.

Can you relate to this struggle? Let's talk about it.