A parking lot for stray thoughts
Stray thoughts arrive in the middle of work. Writing them down in one place lets you leave them there until later, without losing them.
Halfway through a piece of work, you remember an email you meant to send. Then an idea for the weekend. Then something you need to buy. Each one tugs at your attention.
What the parking lot is
The parking lot is a box on the focus screen where you write these thoughts down. Writing one takes a few seconds. Then it is held somewhere, and you can go back to the task.
At the end of a session you can save the parking lot to your journal or download it as a small text file. It stays in your browser unless you download it.
How to use it
Keep entries short, a few words each. Do not act on them during the round. If a thought really is urgent, decide to stop the round, and stop it on purpose rather than drifting away.
After the session
Read the list once. Some items will need doing, some can wait, and some will no longer matter. Move the ones that matter to wherever you keep tasks.
Noticing the pattern
Over a few sessions, notice what kinds of thoughts arrive. Plans, worries, and ideas each tug in a different way. Naming them is part of noticing where attention goes.