how do you measure thought?

It's not rhetorical. You personally, how do you measure how much you have thought about something?
Is it how long you thought, or how much your head hurts? Does it depend on the rate of your thoughts; the time between thoughts that you found significant in some way? Is it how unfocused you were on your surroundings while you thought, how disconnected you were from reality?

Don't read on until you have some kind of answer, even if you stole it from that joke of a list.

I measure my thought, on most occasions, by way of sticky notes. A standard 3 in. x 3 in. sticky note (regardless of it's color) will hold about one passing thought, one idea, one concept, one viewpoint. I see all of those about equal, so depending on how many sticky notes I use, that is how much thought I have made. I use them constantly, mostly for figuring out my life's issues and speculated mental problems.

On many occasions I stick them to the wall above my headboard in logical patterns or tree-like shapes to see how the thoughts branch out. Possibly how I could eliminate some worries or problems if I fix one aspect of the issue. It's much more logical than letting inner monologue run rampant. Remembering preceding thoughts, I usually have to work backwards. And thinking is very restricting, once you get off the track you were on, it's very hard to get back on, so it throws off everything.

You might think that writing everything down would restrict me, slow me down, but you're wrong. It makes me think everything through more, actually giving me more worth for whatever I think. It allows me to revisit concepts and see if I had a brief moment of insanity. If you think without keeping record, then you can easily skip vital details, and go off having an emotion that is not called for, that makes no sense. And you are left mislead.

If I only go by what I remember the general feel of the thinking session was, then I will get nothing out of it, nothing at all.

That's why I use sticky notes. And I really like them, too. The girly part of me also taps in and I love the pretty colors of the tiny sheets of paper =D

Today I used 25.

Wow I always seem to wrap things up nicely. I love that about things.

This is no doubt only loosely related, but consider this:
One's hand is nature's sticky note.