
Ask HN: What Do You Note? - Otek
There is clearly some bandwagon on taking notes with huge market of note taking apps (like Notion or OneNote) and more sophisticated approach with things like org-mode, Vimwiki or customized solutions.<p>It&#x27;s not clear to me what you&#x27;re recording in all these systems. What kind of knowledge you keep there.<p>Of course, taking notes while learning is obvious, but I am interested in how you approach this in your everyday life. What is worth noting down in your work? What in your private life? It seems to me that I have a bad idea of what can be written down in everyday life, which is why I am trying to build a very toxic and time-consuming workflow and for over a year I have been unable to solve this puzzle. Only recently I realized that the problem is not in the application, but in my approach and my idea of what I want to write down.
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pamoroso
I have basic notetaking needs and I use Google Keep. Here are the major things
I note down:

\- blog post ideas

\- book ideas

\- drafts or text fragments of blog posts or other writings I'm working on

\- people or company names, phone numbers, or addresses

\- to do items

\- things to remember from phone calls

\- grocery lists

\- links to interesting articles or online resources (I use Google Keep also
as a read later or web clipper tool)

To me the key benefit of a notetaking app or process is permanently storing
ideas or other information I'd otherwise forget if not recorded immediately.

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biophysboy
I’m an org mode guy. For a long time, I didn’t understand the point of notes.
How am I supposed to remember where the note is? And if I do know, doesn’t
that defeat the purpose of the note (bc I already have some recall in my
head)? And like you said, what do I write?

I like org mode bc it fits on one screen. It’s just a collapsible tree outline
with no excessive UI. So I write whatever I want now. And, since memory works
through spaced repetition, and since I see my main headings every day, I
remember where my notes are. Everything from saved recipes to books read to
Japanese grammar tips.

Basically, it functions as a notebook, a journal, and a planner/agenda,
without being impossible to navigate, and without imposing any note taking
philosophy on you (looking at you, phone apps!)

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pamoroso
For me what's important to remember is not so much what a note says, but that
I took it. Then I can look it up and see what it's about.

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stevekemp
I use org-mode to record a "work diary". Every day I have a new block I
insert:

    
    
         * DD/MM/YYYY
         ** Administrivia
         None.
         ** Desktop Setup
         None.
         ** Meetings
         None.
         ** Tickets / Stories / Projects
         None.
         ** Problems
         None.
    

That gives a decent overview, but when it comes to stories/work-items I'll
often include commands I've executed, links to internal resources and free-
form notes.

Meeting-summaries are very useful, though sometimes I don't record very much
details beyond "title" and "attendees".

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tugberkk
I have written an AHK script which brings a textbox on a shortcut; and I write
some tasks I did which I may have to remember date/time of. Like sending money
to somewhere (by this i can easily learn when i did it, and i store the text
in a dropbox folder so that I can read it on mobile too)

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sieste
Whatever and however much I feel like on any given day. Letting go of trying
to take notes _consistently_ (in style, topics, format, amount ...) was
extremely liberating.

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searchableguy
I ended up using a physical notebook for notes. I think it's the best option.
I write down my thoughts, ideas and beliefs in it. I also write advice for my
future self.

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Otek
It’s not too hard for you to find stuff in your notebook? Or you just never
going back to your notes?

~~~
searchableguy
It's not. It's almost opposite. I find myself valuing these notes more. I have
few pages at the start for special indexes. :)

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gt2
Anything and everything. My notes folder has become my second brain.

~~~
Otek
That’s not an answer at all. You just making notes 24/7?

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ilonacodes
I am using Notes as a daily ToDo list.

I need it because without a deadline I am never going to accomplish any task.

If the task looks big and I am afraid of the complexity, break it into small
tasks and do it one by one.

So when I finish/tick off the task and review completed tasks in my ToDo list,
I will gain confidence, empowerment, happiness, and, most important, I will
increase my productivity level too.

I will be in momentum to proceed further.

~~~
Otek
What with access to your tasks on your phone? What with reminders about
specific tasks? Do you find managing not too time consuming?

