I make copious notes and then lose them. Sigh, life is hard for right brainers. 

A captain in the navy carries a small notebook called his wheel book, named, I assume, for the wheel house, the control center of a ship. As he notices things that need to be attended to he jots them down and consequently nothing is forgotten or overlooked. Probably a very important thing on a ship. 

I think of this as the primary difference. He runs a completely self-contained crazy world by careful attention to detail. I run around crazily looking for my notes.