

Ask HN: How do you manage ideas, tasks, notes and other stuff? - Zakuzaa

I have tried almost all the tools but nothing scales well. What do you use and how?
======
euid
Org-mode for in-class notes, since I'm a student.

Gitit personal wiki for technical information (my blog post:
<[http://nathantypanski.com/blog/2014-07-09-personal-
wiki.html...](http://nathantypanski.com/blog/2014-07-09-personal-wiki.html>)).

Google Calendar has my schedule, including where I am at any time during the
day. It syncs with my phone, laptop, and tablet. While I would prefer
something plaintext (like Org-Mode offers) the Android compatibility is not as
good.

Google Tasks (integrated with calendar) and Google Keep for on-the-go notes
and tasks.

Paper notes in two-column Cornell style in bound notebooks
<[http://www.reddit.com/r/GradSchool/comments/27l7tx/whats_you...](http://www.reddit.com/r/GradSchool/comments/27l7tx/whats_your_goto_note_taking_method/ci2axla>).

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lfam
I use a set of plain text files in a directory that is synced between all of
my machines. This is flexible and basic enough that it can be adapted to any
use case or productivity system as necessary. When I need a more specific
workflow, I can develop something on top of it. Staying with plain text and
having reliable file sync is just a foundation.

I access the files with a fluid interactive interface and full text search
provided by Notational Velocity / nvALT
([http://brettterpstra.com/projects/nvalt/](http://brettterpstra.com/projects/nvalt/)),
for when I'm in a graphical environment, or my own NV-inspired shell
script([https://github.com/lfam/n](https://github.com/lfam/n)) for when I'm in
a console. My primitive script has Bash and Zsh completion and gets out of my
way pretty well... could be improved a lot, though.

I use Syncthing ([http://syncthing.net/](http://syncthing.net/)) to sync this
directory between my devices. Syncthing is a FOSS decentralized file sync
program that works on Linux, OS X, Windows, FreeBSD, and Solaris. Plus there
is a work in progress Android app. I recommend it highly if you are looking
for a FOSS alternative to Dropbox or BitTorrent Sync. _It works right now_
which is saying a lot compared to its competitors, and it is truly
decentralized (no server / client architecture like Seafile).

If anyone here is an Android developer, they could use your help, especially
with the filesystem.

I've been meaning to explore org-mode. Maybe next time I take a long plane
ride.

------
Gustomaximus
Ideas/Notes: Google Keep & OneNote Tasks: Outlook Tasks

I can not recommend Outlook Tasks enough. I'd used Outlook for years never
giving this more than a cursory glance. A few months back our entire office
was placed on an outlook training course. I went in thinking this would be a
waste of a day, yes a whole day on Outlook! It was worth it and I came out a
convert for some functionality i'd not explored properly, tasks being one. You
have to spend the time to restructure the layouts (best thing is open task
view next to the calendar and default to this view not email) and build
categories. Then have the discipline to put things in tasks (Ctrl-shift-k). If
in a team you can allocate them task too. The latter is great for me as I tend
to pass on jobs, assume they will be done and then forget about them til I
need it. This helps track these smaller easily forgotten tasks well. I'd
really recommend giving it a go.

With OneNote, this is quite powerful but you have to take the time to
structure & set it up. But once done it is super efficient to store loads of
notes.

I realised I sound like a bit of a MS fan-boy, but I have tried loads of the
usual suggestions and found these 2 products work really well together. But
like most MS products it take a little learning/effort to get the benefit.

------
ByronT
I use TiddlyWiki ([http://tiddlywiki.com/](http://tiddlywiki.com/)) for
research notes and daily work logs. At home, I track productive time (e.g.,
studying, reading books) using a timer, listing the amount of time devoted to
each subject/book (per day) in a tab-separated file. I have not needed any
sort of organizer for scheduling or for remembering good ideas.

~~~
orky56
Your workflow sounds eerily similar to how mine used to be. I'm working on
Catalist ([http://www.catalist.me](http://www.catalist.me)) and would love to
connect. I've built in a timer (via a Play button) to easily time your tasks
so might be worth exploring.

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sauere
For many years, i have tried many things:

\- Apps such as Wonderlist, Clear...

\- Entries in my GMail Calender

\- Notes App on my Phone

\- Post-it notes

\- Writing reminder emails to myself

At the end of the day, nothing really worked for me. What DID work for me: a
Whiteboard on my front door.

I have all my project ideas, to-do lists and appointments on there.

------
aaron987
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Evernote. Unless I am misunderstanding your
question.

I just save things in Evernote. Physical documents get scanned and uploaded. I
also use BitTorrent Sync for things like music and videos. Extremely sensitive
stuff like banking documents are encrypted and synced as well. I don't upload
that stuff.

------
fidz
So, i bring three things wherever i go:

\- Sticky notes: Yes, a small sticky notes is enough. I write down all my to-
do list _at that day_ in that small sticky notes. If my todos do not fit on
single sticky note paper, i must write it on another paper (for another day).

\- A small book: B5/A5 size is good. It is very effective when i am unable to
pick up my phone (e.g.: in commuter). I write most of my ideas there.

\- Google Keep (within my Phone): Seriously, i have tried Evernote, Springpad,
etc, and nothing suits my usecase. I don't need categories, tags, etc. What i
need is stream, because i don't care my old notes. I don't care about reminder
a month ago to buy a juice for my mom. I only care about newer notes.

------
orky56
I noticed OP has asked similar questions in the past and it just shows how the
problem hasn't really been addressed properly.

I've been working on Catalist to solve this exact issue and that too, for
teams. The premise is that by having your checklists, pipelines, and notes all
in one place you can actually have full context of what you need to do. It
also makes it easy to take a shot at visualizing productivity through
additional signals like time tracking, general activity, and more.

Sign up for a free trial ([http://www.catalist.me](http://www.catalist.me))

------
dirtyaura
I use Evernote for capturing and Asana for task management (both personal and
work projects). I have used a lot of tools in the past (Omnifocus, Simplenote,
text files, Emacs org-mode, Trello, Google tasks..., Clear) but I'm quite
happy with my current setup. Now that Asana has a native app, both work well-
enough in desktop, mobile and tablet.

Some people try to use one tool (for example Evernote) for everything, but in
my opinion there are benefits to separate ideas, writings, sketches from tasks
that need to be done.

------
thearn4
I've played with a few different things, but right now I just have a plain
text file at the top-level of my dropbox directory, as a rough short-term
notes and to-do list. Then I turn these into work task as all-day events in my
google calendar. I shuffle them around the calendar to plan out my week. When
completed, I delete each of them. For each month, I keep a simple plaintext
record of each item finished this way. Makes it pretty easy to put together
quarterly or annual performance reports.

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dangrossman
A post-it note on my desk if I need a reminder for something today/tomorrow.
Notepad.exe for copying/pasting code, URLs, numbers while working. Trello for
everything else.

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ejstronge
I'm a huge fan of Vimwiki
([https://github.com/vimwiki/vimwiki](https://github.com/vimwiki/vimwiki)).

I've got multiple wikis for different projects I work on. I keep the wikis in
a Dropbox folder to sync them across devices.

Since I use markdown for my Vimwiki files, I can edit them fairly easily - I
use Editorial on iOS when I'm away from a computer.

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cheese1756
I use Trello, and then I have it sync with Google Calendar. That way, I can
handle individual tasks with the flexibility that Trello allows, but use
Google Calendar when I need a broad picture of due dates.

For me, to-do lists are far too limiting. Trello strikes the right balance,
however, when it comes to customizability.

~~~
ASquare
+1 for Trello I link to Google Docs for anything I can't fit into it.

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sperant
Notational Velocity (and nvAlt) synced with SimpleNote through Dropbox, so I
can access it anywhere. Works like a charm, simple enough so that the setup
does not get in the way of anything and I need not have to think about it when
note-taking, but robust enough to be everywhere whenever I want it.

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gregcohn
Asana for projects and structured/hierarchical lists, ideation, etc. Evernote
for more detailed note-taking. Use asana to point to google docs, dropbox
files, etc.

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kayman
Org-mode, gcal, notebook/pen/paper.

Keep it all in text, avoid vendor lock in. My workflow is timeless and needs
to outlast the latest trend.

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walterbell
Recent thread:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8270759](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8270759)

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BorisMelnik
a big fan of keep.google.com

I just throw everything in there and color code it. been using it for a year
or so

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taphangum
hackpad

