Ask HN: How do you organize and store your notes? - robschia
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bigzen
Org-Mode is great but not perfect. I would be willing to pay a significant
amount of money for anyone that can reproduce most of the features of org-mode
outside of emacs in a light-weight format.

It doesn't seem like it would be that difficult but it hasn't happened yet.
People seem to start replicating org-mode, realize how many complex features
there are and give fall off before completion.

[http://orgmode.org/](http://orgmode.org/)

~~~
nbaksalyar
I'm wondering if it's possible to reproduce org-mode features outside of Emacs
at all. I think it relies on the Emacs ecosystem a lot, and _that_ what makes
org-mode so great.

I mean, it's very consistent with the editor itself, it's intuitive to pick up
and to navigate notes for anyone who's used Emacs before. Would it be
comparable in other ecosystems (e.g. in a Web browser)?

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Top19
For everyone using OneNote I'd like to make the comment that there are
actually 2 versions of OneNote that Microsoft makes. There is "OneNote" and
"OneNote 2016". Windows has both versions while your phone and Mac has only
the lesser featured but more modern looking "OneNote".

Personally, I got a Parallels VM running on my Mac with Windows just so I
could use "OneNote 2016". Many more features including deeper organization and
custom tags.

In general, as long as you plan it out properly, hierarchical organization
tends to be superior to tag based organization, and "OneNote 2016" (and even
the other version) are really good at hierarchical organization compared to
say Evernote.

~~~
Bakary
Thanks for alerting us to this!

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goldrake
I use org-mode (in spacemacs), folder synchronized on some cloud, private
notes GPG encrypted. For me it's more than perfect. I always find what I am
looking for immediately, org-mode is useful in lots of other use cases, emacs
has been around for a long time and I trust will stay for the rest of my
life...

~~~
tushartyagi
I second org-mode. Previously I was using OneNote but that is limited to
Windows, and on Linux I need to be always online to use the web interface.

To add one more use case: I was thinking of creating flash cards and came
across org-dribble which provides the entire functionality of creating and
revising flash cards using Supermemo method.

When it comes to note-taking and organising, org-mode is an excellent choice.

~~~
jsilence
I think it is org-drill.

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DylanFuery
Notational Velocity on the Mac, even if it isn't updated it still quickly
stores and organizes (good for rough or final works). I'll use TextEdit or iA
Writer if I need to actually work with the note or to publish. Sadly at least
once a month I still need to use Office for Mac for something.

I don't personally have a need to save or insert data, images, or other
content. If I really need to I'll insert the online URL or the location on my
server in the note. Which makes a basic solution the best solution for me.

I also use iA Writer on my iPhone synced with iCloud for on the go access, and
writing *nothing personal/private for security, secure notes are encrypted and
accessed online or I use a physical air gap between machines I need it on.

~~~
meagher
Notational Velocity is great! I made a web app (in Vue.js) that's inspired by
NV ([https://notational.co](https://notational.co)). All the code is on GitHub
([https://github.com/tmm/notational](https://github.com/tmm/notational)).

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pfranz
I used to use Evernote, but it just go so slow, seems like a larger app than
necessary, and had a bunch of functionality I didn't use get in my way.

I tried OneNote, but it didn't stick.

I've been using Bear (Mac platforms only) and have really liked it so far.
Free to use, syncing is $1.50/mo. Evernote migration worked pretty well for
me.

[http://www.bear-writer.com/](http://www.bear-writer.com/)

[http://www.bear-
writer.com/faq/Import/Migrate%20from%20Evern...](http://www.bear-
writer.com/faq/Import/Migrate%20from%20Evernote/)

------
btgeekboy
Quiver (macOS) is my go-to. It works a lot like basic Evernote functionality
but stores everything in readable, text files in a JSON format. You can commit
them to a git repo, read them over a network, sync them with
DropBox/SyncThing/etc, and so on. It's relatively cheap too @ (iirc) $10. I
have no affiliation to them; I just like the product.

There's also an iOS client being worked on as well.

[http://happenapps.com/#quiver](http://happenapps.com/#quiver)

------
mzehrer
For me vimwiki
[[https://github.com/vimwiki/vimwiki](https://github.com/vimwiki/vimwiki)] is
good enough, here is a nice overview:
[https://www.dailydrip.com/blog/vimwiki](https://www.dailydrip.com/blog/vimwiki)

~~~
Op54256
[http://keep.google.com](http://keep.google.com)

------
EduardMe
I was using physical calendar notebooks, such as Moleskin. I also tried
productivity apps like as Wunderlist or Evernote. But nothing worked for my
workflow. So I made my own (Mac, iPhone, iPad) app called NotePlan
([http://noteplan.co](http://noteplan.co)).

I have created NotePlan out of the need for a productivity app, which is not
just pushing around todos or collecting them in buckets. But which resembles
the way many people plan in the “real world”: Using calendars, notebooks and
bullet points. If you love, Org-mode, Bullet Journal, GTD or TaskPaper, you
will love NotePlan.

Here the most important features:

* One dedicated note for every day in your calendar

* A Calendar gives you an overview of all your notes

* General notes decoupled from the calendar

* Everything saved and synced with iCloud Drive as plain text

* Markdown support with custom flavour for marking tasks

~~~
boundlessdreamz
Are you going to support dropbox syncing/android client?

~~~
EduardMe
Dropbox is in the plans, but it will remain macOS/iOS.

------
andrewgrossi
WORK: I don’t a defined organizational system since it hasn't provided value
for me, but my general guideline is to store the notes nearby the context of
the associated topic. This can be in project file folder, on a white board, or
in a collaboration tool wiki. my formats are usually txt files, email, paper
(notebook, paper), or onenote. Often times I will write a note on a scrap
piece of paper just to remember a topic better.

PERSONAL - I also always switch but Evernote has worked for the last year.
here is my sample setup (although I do not swear by it similar to my work
structure). I don’t like post-it notes near my home rig ; ). Here is a
snapshot:
[https://www.dropbox.com/s/tlnzut54agbycnh/notes_screenshot_f...](https://www.dropbox.com/s/tlnzut54agbycnh/notes_screenshot_forHN.png?dl=0)

------
sirrele
I use OneNote! It's probably the only Microsoft software that I use, but its
amazing. You are able to create Notebooks, that contain section-groups,
sections, and pages. You can draw, record, paste, etc.

[https://www.onenote.com/](https://www.onenote.com/)

------
mattbgates
I created a web app to do this for me, including the ability to save the posts
I created. I wanted something that would allow me to create even more than
notes, and allow for HTML and CSS. I created
[https://mypost.io](https://mypost.io).

Officially: MyPost is your post, your content. Create beautiful web pages in
minutes for free. Whether you know how to code or don't know how to code at
all, MyPost is for you. The combination of HTML, BBCode, and various font
icons will allow you to write professional and personal posts in no time. No
experience necessary!

I shared it with the world... and people have taken a liking to it and found
their own uses for it too. Completely free. If you decide to experiment..
hopefully you find a purpose for it.

------
rwieruch
\- Clear [https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/clear-tasks-reminders-to-
do-...](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/clear-tasks-reminders-to-do-
lists/id493136154?mt=8)

\- Sublime Editor + Markdown + (private) GitHub repository

------
Falkon1313
I use a mixture of Zim Wiki for personal stuff, Dokuwiki (the portable wiki on
a stick install) for my own work-related stuff, and Confluence wiki for work-
related stuff shared with the team.

I just find that the wiki format works really well for me.

------
cJ0th
A mixture of things. From the top of my head: Folders of plain text files,
mindmaps, paper

Having said this, the actual challenge for me lies in deciding what notes are
actually worth storing. I recently browsed through the hard drive of on old
laptop and was astonished to find out how maybe 95% of the notes were
completely pointless. I guess a good deal of notes are only important the
moment you are writing them down (to make something clear to yourself). In
other words, much could have been written directly into /dev/null.

------
mobitar
Standard Notes. Simple and encrypted. Available on every platform. Markdown
and code editors, as well as custom themes.

[https://standardnotes.org](https://standardnotes.org)

~~~
tedmiston
I was going to ask why you use this over Apple's Notes app. It looks like
you're the author, so perhaps even why you chose to build this? I like the
themes and Markdown support.

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VladimirGolovin
Personal: Evernote, as a big dump of things I may need in the future. I don't
use tags, but when adding a note I try to include meaningful keywords which I
think the future me may use to find the note.

Work / Projects: Workflowy. Each project gets a dedicated top-level folder in
my Workflowy account, and under that are the (Diary) folder for chronological
records, and various non-chronological / accumulation folders for things like
(Site), (Marketing), etc.

------
nreece
Mainly text files (using Notepad2-mod as editor) for short term or quick
takes, and Evernote for medium/long term notes.

------
tedmiston
I keep my notes from books, talks, etc as a repo of markdown files so I can
access it anywhere. I also have a second private repo for personal notes. For
meeting notes, I like Dropbox Paper.

[https://github.com/tedmiston/notes](https://github.com/tedmiston/notes)

------
kradem
Mindly software's "bubble" on smartphone and TODO, NOTE, ..., in editor if
they can't be immediately digested by Trac's ticket or wiki page.

If it's valuable it would end up as git committed record in sqlite Trac
database, and simply erased if not.

------
meitham
I write my notes in restructuredtext, and have them version controlled in.
GitRepo. Spacemacs support for restructuredtext is as good as vim's. I can
also edit my notes from the Web editor offered in GitLab, or GitHub.

------
davidchua
I'm starting to use Gitbook and Gitbook-Editor for my personal notes. Love the
Editor's UI and the fact that I can keep it in my private repository is also
pretty nifty.

I'm curious to hear what's everyone's workflow

~~~
type0
Is it open source still? I only found their legacy version of Gitbook Editor,
I would like to hack on it or at least be able to make some custom extensions.

------
iEchoic
I've been using Todoist. Now that I'm good with the keyboard shortcuts
(including the quick-add from the desktop app), I find it to be a lot more
effective than Evernote or OneNote was.

------
gonvaled
Org mode, in git repo. Can be exported as blog, but I mostly do not care,
since I am usually at my desk.

I push the repo to a server I own on the net. If it has secrets, I gitencypt
it.

------
jbpetersen
A journal made up of both digital logs and a physical notepad, a graph of
associations between things, and a wiki for deeper details on specific topics.

------
MiddleEndian
At work I log my activities and notes on an incredibly long text file.

For other notes I just email myself. I like email as a format. It's accessible
on all platforms.

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DebasishPanda
For small notes I use Apple Notes app. Intentionally I don't keep too many
notes in it.

Some larger ones graduate into a .txt file which go into a iCloud folder.

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tmaly
when I just have my phone, I use an app like Google keep for temporary notes.

However, if I have a little spiral flip pad, I much prefer that.

Anything I put into the phone, I transcribe onto a bigger sketch pad. I feel
like having them in the phone is less accessible in some sense. Thought to
paper is just easier to for me.

------
oxplot
Google Keep:

\- simple interface

\- can access it on multiple devices

\- shareable

\- can set time/location reminder

\- can pin/set color+picture for each note

\- checklist, audio note, etc.

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pcr0
Google Keep. It lacks formatting, but it's readily available on all platforms.

~~~
Op54256
Agreed.. Google notes is currently on my watch list. I am sure they would come
up with more features..

~~~
brokenmachine
Why not use Google Docs if you want Google notes with more features? I do and
it works great except for my general NSA paranoia.

It's great being able to simultaneously edit a document from the PC and on
your phone.

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chauhankiran
Dropbox's Paper

------
1S9C8G4
Pen and paper!

\- Pilot precise V5 \- Small lined soft cover moleskins.

