

Ask HN: Keeping a research/work log - SandB0x

I see a lot of discussion about to-do lists, but less about keeping a record of your work.<p>Sometimes at the end of the day I will sit and write up a few short paragraphs summarising what I've done and what I've learned. -  technical notes and general thoughts about my work and study. I want to start doing this more frequently, but I want a nice searchable format rather than scattered text files. I already carry around a small notepad to scribble down thoughts and work through problems on paper.<p>What methods do you use? My current best idea is to keep this all on a local installation of Wordpress.
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blahblahblah
What is the intent of your research/work log? Do you just want to capture your
ideas so you are able to review important TODO items, insights, and the
rationale for decisions you've made later, if needed? Or is the purpose to
document your work so that if you develop an important, patentable invention
you have adequate documentation for a legally defensible patent? If legal
defense of a patent is the intent, then consulting with an attorney about your
documentation methods long before you've invented anything is the wise thing
to do. My guess is that old-fashioned signed, dated, & witnessed dead-tree
paper records are probably still preferred.

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aeontech
Check out TiddlyWiki [<http://www.tiddlywiki.com/>] or some other wiki
software?

There was a pretty good discussion about this kind of think on StackOverflow a
while back: [http://stackoverflow.com/questions/78756/what-do-you-use-
to-...](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/78756/what-do-you-use-to-keep-
notes-as-a-developer/78762)

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pinchyfingers
I use org-mode to keep notes while I'm working. It's really helpful to be able
to create todo lists very easily and then clock in to specific tasks. If I get
stuck on something, I start a heading to write about what I know/don't know
and what I need to do next.

For me, org-mode is the way to go - plain text, integrated into my editor,
easy outlining, time tracking, and to do lists. Check it out.

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fuzzythinker
I use google sheets and doc. Doc for more detailed notes about a topic, tools,
etc. Sheets for 1-liner per day journal -- 3 columns: 1 for summary of main
work/proj , 1 for eurekas (this column is 80%+ empty, by design so they stand
out) 1 for non-work, more of a diary.

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mr_b
I just use a notebook to keep track of stuff. Evernote is one of the options
you can check out.

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joshkaufman
Backpack + Journal app for Mac: <http://transmissionapps.com/>

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nolite
I'm using just a google doc.. toying with the idea of throwing a small app
online for this

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xtrycatchx
i blogged especially those that deals with programming stuffs.. i just want to
keep stuffs online at the same time share it to the community.. two birds in
one stone..

