I Built a System for Remembering Everything

If you know what you are capable of but feel behind on your goals because of distractions, overwhelm, and not having the right systems and accountability, join our tribe of hyperfocused entrepreneurs: nextlevelsystems.co/hyperfocus10
Use this ADHD memory system invented by a NASA engineer, to remember everything and take action on your boldest ideas. I talk about my note-taking system and how I use it to leverage all my ideas.
Disclaimer: This video is produced for the purpose of education and entertainment. The opinions of this video are my own and produced in my own free time, and in no shape or form represent NASA or NASA JPL.

[@iterateADHD]

I've ADHD myself but ten years into my diagnosis and "treatment", i was only getting worse. This changed quickly when I worked with an ADHD coach who outlines and explains things like you do, getting into the voice in your head, reframing failure, sensibly getting to execution by understanding yourself and working on dumb stories you believe about yourself. This is a phenomenal channel. The past months, I'm a productive machine, while accepting that I'm just not great at certain things and who cares, not me anymore. I've been so improved with this way of approaching it, I've left a quite successful 20 year career in tech, that despite the 'success' I reached, I was completely dysregulated and hating most of it, to train as an ADHD coach myself, aligned with the philosophy you seem to be a proponent of. Excellent stuff man, keep it up

[@alialqaraghuli]

Wow, thanks a lot for sharing! Hope this video is adding to your arsenal!

[@MarchRoth]

For all my fellow ADHDs who cant deal with a long video: 0:00 - Intro 3:41 - Start of System Explanation (CASS: Capture, Actionize, Start, Schedule) 4:04 - Capture (Document your ideas, Digitally or Physically) 6:42 - Actionize (Take your ideas, turn them into to-do actions) 9:44 - Start/Schedule (Take action ASAP, keep drilling your brain until you get it done. Only schedule it for later if you cant do it now)

[@ThatSpazamataz]

I think you have genuinely saved me. In the past year I developed chronic pain and it created a death cycle with all the parts of my ADHD I never bothered to tackle. That is I used to fight very hard with my brain to get started but once I started I could hyper focus for 10+ hours. Now I can often barely work for an hour before the pain is so extreme that I need a break. Together this means every time I work I take far longer to start than I work. Which has destroyed my productivity and endangered my safety etc as a result (since my productivity is tied to my ability to earn money). But now I am realising I need to look at it all differently and the opt-out system for why I can’t work on tasks straight away is so simple and obvious but is simultaneously so genius. If I just skip all the internal fighting and feeling like I need to be motivated to work, need the right environment/conditions/time etc and use the framework of “is there something actually stopping me, for example my pain levels” then hopefully I can get back to being high functioning. Thank you for sharing your methods and reasoning. It really helped.

[@alialqaraghuli]

Thank you for writing this, it makes me very happy!

[@geekazoid47]

This flow resonated with me immediately. My only feedback would be that when you are older you don't get to work as much as an independent agent, and it is very easy to get held up in the Clarity stage by others.

[@alialqaraghuli]

very true -- thank you for the feedback!

[@mohamedlamar0406]

Bro, I've always had a problem with this situation, Whenever I get an Idea, I forget it because I didn't jot it down. And whenever I jot down an Idea, I don't "Actionize" it that often. And when I do that, I tend to let it get swallowed by the "postpone" whirlpool. Sometimes you gotta stop and reflect for a moment... Now I know what to do. Much obliged Ali!

[@alialqaraghuli]

Absolutely, you sir are a great student, will go on to do great things if you implement this!

[@RobPearlman]

Thanks for your work. I think the "opt out" idea is a real game changer.

[@Dr.Dumpnpump]

Dude, you are a godsend for fellow ADHD’rs. Thanks for the tips, i can’t wait to absorb your content and implement. Subscribed.

[@alialqaraghuli]

Great!!!

[@rjk0128]

This video is a godsend 🙏 amazing delivery as well, exact wavelength

[@alex-ander-13]

Powerful! Thank you Ali!

[@bhaumikpatel32]

Hey Ali. Great job. Your channel is gold dust. A kind request with all respect to your personal schedule - More frequent with fixed schedule of publishing such videos will help. Keep it up. Nonetheless.

[@alialqaraghuli]

I have been very busy with my nasa mission... we are launching in december, fingers crossed. I will try my best to post more and more consistently!

[@claudettebentley]

I just recently started to watch your videos and found then very informative. On your comments on manifestation. The way I implemented it in my life was to tell the universe "Universe, I am ready for xyz" and then I wait and see all the synchronicities that happen to help me reach that goal. When I am truly serious in my request its freaky the people, information and opportunities that come my way. It also confirms my feeling that my decision was the right one if everything is aligning for me.

[@alialqaraghuli]

That's a really good approach! I wonder if I should make a video on manifestation?

[@claudettebentley]

@@alialqaraghuli I think you just manifested the answer 😉 All signs point to yes. 🙂

[@loverainthunder]

THIS IS SO SIMILIAR to my own flow chart type thing I've been working on. Ha, how validating.

[@PeterIntrovert]

Nice version of PKM. ☺️ Action oriented ideas and starting from now are reallly powerful elements. Thank you. 🙏

[@MrAusdrifter]

Watched a few of your vids now, solid advice. I will be surprised if the channel doesn't take off

[@alialqaraghuli]

Thank you! was this your favorite video?

[@MrAusdrifter]

@@alialqaraghuli I think the one that is resonating most at the moment is the night time routine. Lots of good ideas that I can implement easily

[@MrAusdrifter]

@@alialqaraghuli Maybe you can answer one question for me. Where did you get your little note pad on your desk? I really like how easy it is to stack the notes at the end of the day. At the moment I am using post-it notes, but they always end up in a big mess somewhere on my desk

[@alialqaraghuli]

@@MrAusdrifter what exactly are you referring to? which minute in the video?

[@MrAusdrifter]

@@alialqaraghuli Looks like you tidied up a few videos. It wasn't in this one, it was in the night time routine video, I can't find it now

[@MrSuntask]

Great video. I like your approach. How do you prioritize and how do you stop or pause an action if it takes too long?

[@alialqaraghuli]

I only pause if I am absolutely stuck.. usually i am in flow if I have clarity on the task and have a great music soundtrack in my ears!

[@ameyabadve]

Hey Ali! Love the content you’re putting out. I myself love working with SOPs around my life. Piggybacking this video, I had a question I wanted to ask you - most of the times when we reach “start” stage for a certain task the biggest thing holding us back is the self talk we have at that moment. And most of the self talk (specifically ones talking us out of starting the task right now) are overpowered by our habits or other recurring high dopaminergic behaviors. We’d really like to know if you have a system to break or form habits? Once again, love the long content. Would love to hear you talk more. Thank you.

[@alialqaraghuli]

Yes! Very good point -- I shall make a video about habits soon!

[@ameyabadve]

Hey, thank you so much! Will be tuned.

[@Coolistaken]

my friend's birthday is 10 days later but nothing's stopping me from celebrating it right now , iam gonna go to his house today jokes aside , very informative video i hope i can implement this in my life

[@alialqaraghuli]

haha happy birthday! what would you like to see next?

[@alialqaraghuli]

Memory has always been a huge problem for me. That's why I had to learn to write everything down. Do you use any similar methods?

[@malachigrimsley]

Commenting to remember to watch this

[@alialqaraghuli]

great :)

[@malachigrimsley]

@@alialqaraghuli thanks for liking my comment. Now I’ll watch.

[@mozaik-inc]

"Your action creates a vent in the world" -- This was so visual

[@alialqaraghuli]

I gotta give credit to Steve Jobs for that one!

[@jaydenasiri4277]

Can you make a video maybe about how to study or remember information for people who have an insanely good visual memory, I‘m so bad with remembering words but when it comes to visuals I even shock myself sometimes lol

[@alialqaraghuli]

Wow, you must like the presentation in these videos then since they are visual -- can you tell me more about your problem? What are you studying?

[@thearmanahmed_]

If you could make a video about how we can learn electrical engineering or mechatronics without going to university it would be helpful

[@alialqaraghuli]

I could, but this is the wrong channel haha

[@lililoo3431]

I'm originally French Canadian, from Québec, but US is my home now! What is your first language? -- This is a video about memory of our ideas and things to do. How about a memory video about 'memorizing?' How do we make important info stick in our mind? 😊

[@clumsyxpixels]

Hey Ali! Been binge watching your videos since I found out your channel 2-3 days ago and I can't tell you how much these are helping me haha Just one thing, I felt like I could help you with the video thumbnails so I made some for you (for free, as a thank you for these resources). Any way I can deliver them to you? I really want you to see them :D

[@alialqaraghuli]

sure, you can send them to my email it should be listed on my channel for business?

[@clumsyxpixels]

@@alialqaraghuli hmm I can't seem to find it tbh, checked both this and your other channel, wait I'll check your site and linkedin.

[@alialqaraghuli]

@@clumsyxpixels ali at nextlevelsystems dot co

[@clumsyxpixels]

@@alialqaraghuli done! Do check your inbox :D

[@alialqaraghuli]

@@clumsyxpixels Just saw them -- they're good, but I like the block diagram ones i have more. Thank you for suggesting!

[@Srindal4657]

Teach the world what you know, and you will find a life more interesting than if you were to hold onto that knowledge for yourself

[@alialqaraghuli]

yes!

[@Omaar26]

Does the format in which the idea is captured make a difference ?

[@alialqaraghuli]

nope, whatever works for you!~

[@blitzer658]

What about tasks that take longer than expected? How many times do people sit down to do their homeward and end up stuck for a couple of hours? Seems intelligence is a hard cap here

[@alialqaraghuli]

It's a feedback loop -- if you find yourself needing longer than planned, allocate more time for the next session

[@ChaoticNeutralMatt]

Awareness about your own internal state. Related but different. It's an experience game in a way. But as long as you aren't being completely mindless, well you can do a lot. There are limits if something doesn't stand out to you, but we all have blindness issues.

[@tanishkhandal4759]

thank you

[@alialqaraghuli]

You're welcome

[@sghiorrini]

Just found your channel and subscribed. I like how you think :)

[@alialqaraghuli]

Thank you! What would yoi like to see next?

[@DekuParker119]

How do I go from getting really excited about starting something and then use all of the excitement in the planning phase but then its time to get down to the more boring and not exciting steps (the work) and I end up just starting something else. How do I stop doing that lol I'd like to start and finish a project instead of just thinking and planning and then thinking and planning lol

[@alialqaraghuli]

watch my video on how to finish what you start

[@marasini]

How to do you record your video, what are the setup. Recording video setup do tell that

[@alialqaraghuli]

just a basic webcam, usb mic, and loom software

[@douglascully4848]

Hi I bought the course on June 4th I can find a link anywhere to do the course I can only see the money come out my bank

[@alialqaraghuli]

Did you not get an e-mail with the logins? Check spam/junk folder -- if not then please e-mail [e-mail]

[@AndrewSimonBregman]

Hey Ali, are you medicated for your ADHD?

[@user26344]

This is straight from GTD by David Allen. This is not original. The ideas a more clear in the book and people will take more away from it.

[@alialqaraghuli]

Hey thanks for the comment -- I can see why you'd say that. GTD is a great book, but the 5 step process described there is a bit more complicated in my opinion. This is simpler and more action-oriented. I probably was inspired by it partially when I made this. Btw, nothing is 100% original. Humans are always inspired by one another. The goal is not to be original. The goal is to help people. This video is helping someone be more productive. Appreciate your feedback nonetheless!

[@3buzzy]

This has a lot more information than GTD. An David Allen took the ideas in GTD from someone else. He talks about it in the book. “Original“ ideas are overrated and rare. Most ideas are different variations and ways of presenting ideas we pick up from others. Keep up the good work. Your way of presentation is excellent.

[@jayjaytolentino517]

I'm all about any evolution from GTD.

[@MethodOverRide]

As someone with ADHD and uses medicine to manage it, I cannot remember to remember to utilize these new systems.

[@alialqaraghuli]

The trick is environment design -- they have to be in your face so you don't have to remember using the system. An example is your browser by default opening to the system or website where you have these things

[@TwistedSoul2002]

I was with you up until you said, “sit down and imagine, then you can attract things into your life…” I thought, “haha- that sounds like praying… that’s a waste of time.. oh I wonder if this guy is muslim (given your name) and if he is, how does he reconcile his religious beliefs with his understanding of the physical world… hmm.. what does the Quran says about prayer…” Then I read about Dua whilst listening to you in the background until I heard the word, “CAS”. Then I paused you and googled what CAS could be an acronym of… and a few minutes later, I returned, unpaused you and saw it was, “CASS”. Then I wrote this. I don’t know if I have ADHD, but writing all of that makes me think… wtf. lol

[@ChaoticNeutralMatt]

Thought streams are certainly journeys.

[@adhdnt]

do you take adhd medication?

[@alialqaraghuli]

My ADHD medication is running! There's a book called spark by john ratey, check it out!

[@adhdnt]

wow what you are doing is very hard its easier just to take medication. I also exercise even while on medication my heart rate is always at 145 bpm btw your channel is very helpful thank you!@@alialqaraghuli

[@nicksmith-chandler458]

At this stage I think you are showing off. Perhaps put up print outs/downloads of these diagrams as an opt-in for your funnel

[@alialqaraghuli]

What makes you say that? How about if this is just my best medium of explaining information?

[@NacefBen]

Just use Anki

[@alialqaraghuli]

can you tell me more about it?

[@NacefBen]

It's basically a flashcard system. It uses techniques from cognitive science such as active recall testing and spaced repetition to help with memorization.

[@scscyou]

Misleading title, has nothing to do with remembering.

[@alialqaraghuli]

Thanks for the feedback -- so you believe writing things down in a digital sticky note, paper, and using other domains does not help one remember things?

[@ChaoticNeutralMatt]

There's some nuance. Notes by themselves do nothing. Especially if they are out of sight. You end up needing a note to remember your notes. That said, they can be useful external working memory structures.

[@scscyou]

The nuance here seems to be the advice to "act immediately" without procrastinating, in which case I'd argue that we have a tiny capacity of 1 actionable at a time, so at best it helps with remembering to finish one task - not with remembering in general. Though it's true that there is some value in the other advice, to "turn ideas into actionables", but it doesn't feel like that directly translates to "remembering those ideas". In the end, it's just about utilizing a To-Do app. That's the best we can do about actionables. (On a personal note, I'm usually unable to convert ideas into tasks, as they are a different category and I need to access them more passively, e.g. when brainstorming, which is where the problem with memory manifests, as I quickly forget that the idea has even existed, and whenever I start taking notes, their quantity creeps up so much that I never really get the chance to even get to the notes again. It's viable when I have just one goal in life at a time, but in long term, I have trouble organizing notes in a way that I even get back to them. To throw a random example: researching nutrition. You only create a minimum amount of tasks in the end once you're an expert in the topic.) I'd agree that the video title isn't exactly "wrong", as you address the topic in a specific scenario, but it's a very specific kind of "remembering", it's definitely not "how to remember everything" :) Yeah, languages are a very difficult tool to use unambiguously.

[@kitanaigaijin]

How ironic, you rag on people who sell courses yet you're selling one yourself lol nice try bud

[@alialqaraghuli]

I rag on people who sell notion template courses or things that do not address the real problem -- I sell a course and community that address the root cause of the problem, not some corny notion templates

[@DorkDork69]

Pretty much everyone has something to sell a course for these days. So I just get my informations from them and leave.