“I know that you believe that you understand what you think I said but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.”  - Anonymous

Often the simplest and things to do are the exact things that we don’t do. We rationalize that it must be more complicated than that. After all, why should we should we write down what we just discussed when we clearly remember what was just said.  What we often fail to realize is by the time that we take action it may be a few days, weeks, or even months later. From a project management perspective I always coach the importance of writing down things down. This includes project requirements, open issues, and key conclusions from any project discussion.  

My top motivations for writing things down:

1. “What is not on paper has not been said.” If you don’t write it down then it never happened. Try telling a customer that a decision was made or a quality assurance auditor that a meeting was held without actually being able to prove it!
   
   
2. To make sure that there is a common understanding of what has been said or agreed to. Often times there are different understandings of what has just been said. Writing things done brings clarity to understanding.
   
   
3. There is a mental connection that occurs when we write something down. The act of writing actually helps us to remember.
   
   
4. To help overcome language barriers. We live and work in a “flat” world. It is commonplace to have conversations with people to whom English is not their native language.  When was the last time you participated in a meeting that was not conducted in English?
   
   
5. So we don’t forget. We all tend to overestimate our memory capacity. Our lives are simple too chaotic to remember everything so write down the important stuff!
   
   
6. To communicate decisions made to the rest of the team. Write down what is expected and make sure that everyone on the team knows about it and has access to it.