You know that great idea you had on a walk? The one you could’ve sworn you’d remember? By the time you get home, all that’s left is the feeling that it was great.
I just read a LinkedIn post about exactly this, and it hit close to home. The author has spent a lot of time walking with his friend Matt, talking through Mindstream, the business they’ve built together. Some of his best business ideas have happened miles away from his desk, and he’s found a way to bring the details back with him. It’s a simple routine built around Granola, the AI note taker, and I like how little effort it asks for.
Why the walk is worth protecting
If you’ve ever built something with a friend, you’ll know how fast a casual chat turns into a discussion about something you want to try. The author loves those conversations. He says getting outside, with nowhere else to look, makes it easier to think out loud.
He also spends enough time in front of screens as it is. So the walk does two jobs: it gets him away from the laptop, and it gives an idea room to grow. Think of it as a whiteboard session, minus the meeting room and the person checking Slack.
But a whiteboard leaves evidence. A walk doesn’t.
The annoying part comes later
You get home remembering the idea you were excited about, but the useful details have gone missing. The author’s list of lost details will probably feel familiar:
- Who was going to do what?
- What did you agree to change?
- What was that one point someone made halfway up the hill?
After enough of those moments, he realised he needed a better way to keep track. That’s where Granola comes in.
He already uses it on his computer pretty much every day to keep track of his meetings. When he’s out with Matt, he pulls out the phone app and lets it capture the conversation, so he can focus on what they’re actually discussing. There’s an Apple Watch app too, which would save him reaching for his phone. He’s a WHOOP guy though, so his wrist’s already spoken for.
The walking meeting, step by step
This is how this savvy professional says he’d run one. The steps are his, and I’ve added why I think each one earns its place.
- Open Granola before you start, and make sure everyone knows you’re capturing notes. Doing it first means you won’t forget once the conversation gets going. It also keeps things honest, because nobody should find out later that a private chat got captured. Recording rules vary by location too, so telling people up front is the smart default.
- Have the conversation as normal, without stopping to type each idea into your phone. This is the whole point of the walk. The moment you stop on the path to tap out a note, you’ve dragged the office outside with you.
- When you’re done, review the notes and ask Granola what you agreed to do next. I’d do this while the chat’s still fresh, ideally the same day. You’ll spot gaps while you can still remember them, and you’ll end up with next steps instead of a pile of notes.
- Check the original conversation if a decision needs more context. Summaries are handy, but they can flatten the reasoning behind a choice. If you’re about to act on a decision and something feels off, go back and see what was actually said.
The question to ask afterwards
Step 3 is where this gets fun. You can ask questions directly inside Granola, which is useful when a discussion goes in five different directions. And let’s be honest, that’s most good conversations.
For example, after talking through a new newsletter idea, the author would ask:
“Which ideas did we agree were worth testing, and who owns the next step?”
I love that prompt because it’s doing two things at once. It filters the ideas down to the ones you both agreed on, and it puts a name next to the work. That gives him something specific to work from when he’s back at his laptop.
You can use the same approach on those lost details from earlier. These are a few I’d try, adapted from his list:
- “Who agreed to do what?”
- “What did we agree to change?”
- “What points came up that we never settled?”
That last one is my favorite. Open questions tend to vanish first, since nobody walks home thinking about the thing they didn’t decide.
Where I’d use this first
The author’s example is a co-founder chat, but the same routine fits other conversations that go better away from a desk. Just make sure the other person is happy with notes being captured before you start.
- A stuck decision: take the pros and cons outside, then ask what you actually landed on.
- A new idea: throw around angles for a newsletter or a product, then ask which ones you agreed to test.
- A catch-up with a teammate: talk freely, then pull out who’s doing what before the week gets away from you.
If you want a low-stakes first try, pick one short walk and one real decision. Run the four steps, ask the prompt above, and compare the result to what you’d normally remember. That should tell you pretty quickly whether this fits how you work.
Why this stuck with me
Most productivity advice tries to squeeze more out of your time at the desk. This goes the other way. The author gets to have a proper conversation on a walk and still come back with the decisions written down, which he says is a much better way to work.
His advice is simple: the next time you’re stuck on a decision with a co-founder, try taking the conversation outside and bring Granola along for the notes.
One thing worth knowing: the post is tagged as a Granola partnership, so read it with that in mind. The habit still holds up, though. Walk first, talk freely, and ask who owns the next step when you’re done.
Check out the full LinkedIn post to see the routine in the author’s own words.