Write It Down

I mentioned in my last post about constantly having ideas, which if I'm not careful quickly dissapear without trace into the void that is my brain.

For that very reason, I usually carry some kind of notebook and a pen around with me. The size of which depends on what I'm doing and where I'm going.
Of course, these days a mobile phone can be very useful for the same purpose. So I also find myself jotting down 'notes', or recording voice memo's into the phone. The wonders of modern technology eh?

I've been doing this for a few years now and it's amazing how much 'stuff' you can commit to paper, or phone, over time. I am currently well into my second bigger notebook, as well as still using my smaller version too.

After all, you never know when inspiration may strike and, as often happens, it can hit at the most unlikely and inappropriate moments. So having a means of making a note about that great world changing idea, or thought, is very useful

I sometimes find that, when making those notes, they can almost turn into a kind of blog post as the idea grows and expands before your eyes and your pen is frantically trying to keep up with your thought process. In fact I've been known to fill up a whole sheet of A4 paper with scribbling, before transferring the salient points to the 'proper' notebook.

(I've just noticed that I actually have another four notebooks, with loads of video ideas in them, sitting just to the side of me on my computer desk. I'd forgotten all about them, as they are several years old now and are a bit of a leftover from the days when I used to make several YouTube videos a week. I know what I'm going to be doing after finishing writing this post....)

Looking back through those books can make very interesting reading (see above).
I have notes about ideas for long abandoned schemes, websites, and apps, quotes I've heard, or read, titles of books to be read, or music to be listened to and much more.
The original ideas for both the Pierless Music website/service and The Stinger magazine can be found within those pages for example.

Keeping those old notebooks for future reference can be very rewarding too, as you never know when one of those abandoned ideas may be resurrected. Sometimes ideas are written down that you know you don't have the time for, or can commit the effort to, at that moment. So the books become a kind of storage area, ready to be accessed when the time is right.

In fact, that exact thing happened to me yesterday.
I had a meeting with somebody and during the course of the discussion I mentioned an idea I'd had a year or so ago. The idea was favourably received and the upshot of this is that I'm now going to look again into the possibilities of getting that idea off the ground, literally.
When I originally jotted that idea down, I didn't really think it was viable, rather more of a pie in the sky scheme. I did some intial research and then turned the page and went onto something else.

I was reminded of another, partly forgotten, scheme recently as well. It's one of those that I don't have the time to take any further right now, but at least all the notes and original thoughts are still there, waiting to be acted upon at some time, maybe.

So you never know. And if there's a lesson to be learned here it's that jotting those ideas, schemes and thoughts down may seem like a waste of time, and a bit of hassle, but you just never know when they may come in handy. And if you don't write them down, you can be sure that you'd never remember them again.

I know I'm very pleased that I've taken the time and made the effort to do just that over the years.

How about you?

Running Before We Can Walk?

I'm back online once again.
It turns out there was a fault with the phone line, apart from the major local fault we also had.

Breach Of Trust?

AudioBoo - The Phone Interview.

Being interviewed by BBC Radio Sussex & other thoughts.

AudioBoo - Living In A Personal Bubble.

Are you aware of your surroundings?

Easy Money.

Today i made one of those phone calls that you don't get to make very often. A phone call that makes you a lot of money.
Okay, so the money was originally mine to start with. I just didn't realise that i was owed it.
Maybe i should just get on & tell the story?....

In the mail today, i received my latest electricity & gas bills. I get both utilities from the same company. I just happen to find it easier that way.

I have changed my provider on a number of occasions, as we can do in the UK & actually went over to this provider, a while ago, because a lot of their power comes from renewable sources.
Anyway, whilst studying the individual bills i noticed that the company actually owed me money, on both bills. Obviously i had overpaid them. Mainly due to the fact that i pay by direct debit. Once again, i just find it easier that way & you do generally get a small discount for paying that way.

On the electricity bill i was over £500 in credit & on the gas bill i was over £360 in credit! Yes, that amounts to over £850 that i had paid to this energy company, that i didn't need to.
I must admit that i had noticed on previous bills that i was in credit. But, i didn't realise it was by that much. Either that, or i just hadn't got around to ringing up the company & sorting out the over payment.

Well, this time i was straight on the phone to sort it all out. First off i checked that i had the correct meter readings, just in case of any error.
As it happens, the lady on the other end of the phone could not have been nicer & more accomodating. Well, i guess she should have been as it was my money i was asking for.
After checking that all the figures were correct & adjusting for the slight difference in the meter readings, i was still well in the black.

To cut a long story short(ish) I ended up getting the energy company to pay £700 (approx $1,000) back into my bank account. Money that i had overpaid & was therefore owed. I also got them to reduce my direct debit payments by over £60 per month.
I may still be overpaying slightly. But, i decided to keep it that way. For the moment at least. I can always adjust it again in the future & maybe get another bank payment as well.

As i mentioned in an earlier blog post. I have recently booked a return flight to the USA & this money will go a long way to ensuring that i have a really good time, whilst i'm there.

And all because i bothered to make a simple phone call.

I suppose the moral of this story is. Check those bills that come through the door, a little more closely in future.
Who knows. You may be owed some money as well.
If so, maybe i'll see you at Heathrow in April?