Ask HN: How do you take notes?
47 comments
Emacs Org-Mode (4 years & counting) for daily work-related notes, design documents, conference talk notes, TODOs -- I'm happy with the default structure it offers (and I use checkboxes and related built-in features). And a plain white notebook and pen for ad-hoc design, diagrams, and other unstructured notes. My handwriting is pretty decent, if I may say so myself, and I appreciate the rotary motion from writing with a pen. I find myself writing on the paper more and more.
I keep to notebook at my work-desk, it is to sketch out diagram, pseudo code, quick thoughts...
For digital, I use Notes.app because it has iCloud sync and it works well for me for multi device notes.
For digital, I use Notes.app because it has iCloud sync and it works well for me for multi device notes.
When it comes to notes in meetings or daily notes/to do lists, I use a notebook. The only "organization" is the date at the top. When it comes to taking notes in lectures or conference talks, I use a text editor on my laptop.
I usually write down _a lot_ of stuff when listening to conference talks in person. Then I go through the notes in detail and compile them into a blog post that hopefully makes sense, which also forces me to organize the notes and review what I'd learned. Because of the sheer volume of text and the need to keep up with the talk I use a laptop for this, typing being much faster than my writing.
For meetings or other more relaxed occasions where I have more time and less volume, I just jot stuff down on paper. Aside from marking everything by day I don't really have a system there.
I usually write down _a lot_ of stuff when listening to conference talks in person. Then I go through the notes in detail and compile them into a blog post that hopefully makes sense, which also forces me to organize the notes and review what I'd learned. Because of the sheer volume of text and the need to keep up with the talk I use a laptop for this, typing being much faster than my writing.
For meetings or other more relaxed occasions where I have more time and less volume, I just jot stuff down on paper. Aside from marking everything by day I don't really have a system there.
I write down notes in diary form through Notes on macOS.
It's light and fast, enough for casual notes taking. Too complex thing is hard to last.
It's light and fast, enough for casual notes taking. Too complex thing is hard to last.
#!/bin/bash
date="$(date +"%Y-%m-%d")"
location="/home/developer/Dropbox/Personal/journal"
filename="$date.md"
output_path="$location/$filename"
echo $date
echo $location
echo $filename
echo $output_path
# No existing file so lets create it
if [ ! -f $output_path ]; then
echo "Creating Journal Entry"
touch $output_path
echo "Journal: $date" >> $output_path
printf "==================\n\n" >> $output_path
echo "$output_path:20000"
code -n -goto :2000 "$output_path:2000"
else
echo "Opening Existing Journal Entry"
echo "$output_path:20000"
code -n -goto :2000 "$output_path:2000"
fi
All it does is create a markdown file with the name of the current date and then open that in vscode and move the cursor to the end of the file unless the file already exists in which case it skips creating it and just opens it at the end.
vscode realtime markdown preview is lovely.
I'm aware the bash is horrible, it was a 30s hack to see if it'd work (about 6mths ago...).
Went through a million of note taking apps and got back to pen and paper.
I use https://www.lifepim.com (disclaimer: I wrote it) for all my notes now.
It has a simple cut down version of markdown with headings, code blocks and linking which works very well for me.
I manage the structure through the folders feature so notes are grouping into my categories (Dev, Design, Study, Fun, Home, Work, Health, Business)
I manage the structure through the folders feature so notes are grouping into my categories (Dev, Design, Study, Fun, Home, Work, Health, Business)
simple markdown files
enhanced with search+tagging via qOwnNotes
synced with NextCloud
https://www.qownnotes.org/
https://www.qownnotes.org/
There are some discussion about note-taking in the past:
- https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6406198 (123 comments)
- https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11945882 (85 comments)
- https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15579047 (77 comments)
- https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1750534 (69 comments)
- https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6406198 (123 comments)
- https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11945882 (85 comments)
- https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15579047 (77 comments)
- https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1750534 (69 comments)
I use a graph paper notebook for planning, a blank paper notebook for design and software notes.
When I need to take longer or more important notes, I use markdown and vim. I keep them in ~/Dev/notes/
When I need to take longer or more important notes, I use markdown and vim. I keep them in ~/Dev/notes/
At the beginning of the day, I pull tasks from Notion (https://www.notion.so/). I use a dot grid notebook (this one is good and cheap http://a.co/fQUVPpF) for general notes and design. At the end of the day I review and put the important stuff back into Notion.
Blank A4 sheets from the printer folded twice and ripped apart.
Too cheap for notebooks and I'm a lefty.
Notes I want to keep/search are in keep.google.com
I use clocker to track my time so I don't worry too much about noting what I do each day because it's mostly in there.
Paper is mostly for just remembering things, todo, doodling, or drawing up system flow when I need it.
The paper is mostly ephemeral I find the things I want to look back at historically are what I did when which is in clocker, old scribbles are just that. If it's important it went in keep or email.
Edit, now that I think about it, has anyone looked at digital paper solutions? I use a mix of hand written and typed and find hand written doesnt lead to distractions like context switching on my laptop often can.
Too cheap for notebooks and I'm a lefty.
Notes I want to keep/search are in keep.google.com
I use clocker to track my time so I don't worry too much about noting what I do each day because it's mostly in there.
Paper is mostly for just remembering things, todo, doodling, or drawing up system flow when I need it.
The paper is mostly ephemeral I find the things I want to look back at historically are what I did when which is in clocker, old scribbles are just that. If it's important it went in keep or email.
Edit, now that I think about it, has anyone looked at digital paper solutions? I use a mix of hand written and typed and find hand written doesnt lead to distractions like context switching on my laptop often can.
Do you have a link for clocker? The only thing I can find is a world clock.
Whoops, clockify not clocker. http://clockify.me
It's buggy (components reloads on server response even if you're in the middle of updating something else) but it's a free toggl and works decently well.
It's buggy (components reloads on server response even if you're in the middle of updating something else) but it's a free toggl and works decently well.
I'm gonna give it a go. They have an interesting business model:
> You can use cloud version for free, or pay for a self-hosted version and host Clockify on your own servers and premises.
I've tried rocketbook with some limited success. You have to remember to snap a picture of the page to get it synced to onenote or Dropbox or other sources.
I'm thinking more like remarkable or the Sony one. Watched some vids last night they look lackluster at best pumping them full of features nobody asked for to hide the fact they don't do the one thing well.
I'd pay double what those cost for an eink note taking tablet that lets me handwrite normally (lefty), erase, save and nothing more.
As long as it's response time was near instant and the pen nibs didn't wear out or were at least commoditized enough I could use any brand.
The Sony comes close, but im allergic and besides there is no way I'm dropping $600 just so I get to carry micro USB again.
I'd pay double what those cost for an eink note taking tablet that lets me handwrite normally (lefty), erase, save and nothing more.
As long as it's response time was near instant and the pen nibs didn't wear out or were at least commoditized enough I could use any brand.
The Sony comes close, but im allergic and besides there is no way I'm dropping $600 just so I get to carry micro USB again.
I trello everything in my life.
Todos/bookmarks/everything.
Linked to IFTTT I have my completed todos in G calendar and some other integrations like that.
I use nvALT, Todoist, and a calendar to organize everything. I don't have a good system for writing the notes specifically though.
repeating a previous comment of mine:
"What works for me is taking notes via email. Backing up, organizing, searching, and distributing email is more-or-less a solved problem, and my note-taking inherits those solutions. I can read and add notes from my phone and from my computer, with the ability to choose from a plethora of applications. I have multiple backups of my email around the world via standard email syncing. My email host has been 100% reliable in not losing my emails, as well. If I want to migrate to a different email host, that is trivial."
I wouldn't say my notes have much structure, though.
"What works for me is taking notes via email. Backing up, organizing, searching, and distributing email is more-or-less a solved problem, and my note-taking inherits those solutions. I can read and add notes from my phone and from my computer, with the ability to choose from a plethora of applications. I have multiple backups of my email around the world via standard email syncing. My email host has been 100% reliable in not losing my emails, as well. If I want to migrate to a different email host, that is trivial."
I wouldn't say my notes have much structure, though.
Shameless plug: http://write.pub
We're evaluating moving entirely to the browser using webassembly. Our experiment is here: http://www.write.pub/wasm-demo/hello.html
We're evaluating moving entirely to the browser using webassembly. Our experiment is here: http://www.write.pub/wasm-demo/hello.html
Workflowy changed my life https://workflowy.com/
Pen and paper.
I used to use Evernote but now I have completed Switched to StandardNotes which has end to end encryption. Link: https://app.standardnotes.org/
If it legitimately uses end to end encryption, then them hosting a webapp which presumably allows you to view and edit your notes seems odd.
Even if it asks for your vault key each time, since they control the JavaScript delivered to the webapp, it largely negates the benefit of E2E encryption.
Even if it asks for your vault key each time, since they control the JavaScript delivered to the webapp, it largely negates the benefit of E2E encryption.
> Even if it asks for your vault key each time, since they control the JavaScript delivered to the webapp
How is that any different from a malicious app you have on your phone or desktop? Assuming that the web client is served entirely over HTTPS MITM attacks shouldn't be possible and the project maintainer is the only remaining bad actor. Which is where trust comes in.
How is that any different from a malicious app you have on your phone or desktop? Assuming that the web client is served entirely over HTTPS MITM attacks shouldn't be possible and the project maintainer is the only remaining bad actor. Which is where trust comes in.
The key could be only on the client side, derived from your password. Ok they could be evil and send it to their server in the next update, we will have to trust them not to do so.
If the argument is trust, then end to end encryption isn't much of a selling point, you could make the same argument when they have raw access to the messages themselves.
> we will have to trust them not to do so.
famous last words
famous last words
This will link directly to the web app. For more info about Standard Notes, feel free to check out https://standardnotes.org
For meeting summaries I use paper, if i need it searchable I will type it into a single google doc title meeting summaries.
For actionable notes I forward to my email (android app named Mail Mysels), and then I use Centask to manage and schedule a single outline composed of emails, todos, notes, links, and google drive files/images
I use and develop Standard Notes. It’s an open source encrypted note taking app available on all platforms:
https://github.com/standardnotes/web
https://github.com/standardnotes/web
Pen and paper - dot grid notebook with a systematic approach. Addition details in the hn thread below.
For professional life: Pen + dot grid notepad - developed independently, but similar to the bullet journal technique. Dot grid plus pens make the whole thing ultra customizable. I can sketch engineering designs, make a calendar, track action items, take detailed notes, all in the same format. The key is to be strict with page numbers, dates, and index as much as possible.
Things I occasionally miss - keyword search (I can still look things up by date or subject in the index), multimedia inserts (think dragging video/photos/sound clips into one note), never ending space (notebooks run out of pages), easy backups (thinking about digitizing with photos or scans), team collaboration (if this is necessary I use Trello).
Things I like - no OS/tech stack compatibility issues, "it just works", lighter then a laptop) tablet, don't need to charge, easy to read, can bring into a secure area (where outside electronics are not permitted), travels well, hard to damage.
http://bulletjournal.com/get-started/
For personal life: add Google keep for simple lists, and then a mix of Trello and dot grid for larger projects (less strict formatting than professional life project management).
[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17537675
For professional life: Pen + dot grid notepad - developed independently, but similar to the bullet journal technique. Dot grid plus pens make the whole thing ultra customizable. I can sketch engineering designs, make a calendar, track action items, take detailed notes, all in the same format. The key is to be strict with page numbers, dates, and index as much as possible.
Things I occasionally miss - keyword search (I can still look things up by date or subject in the index), multimedia inserts (think dragging video/photos/sound clips into one note), never ending space (notebooks run out of pages), easy backups (thinking about digitizing with photos or scans), team collaboration (if this is necessary I use Trello).
Things I like - no OS/tech stack compatibility issues, "it just works", lighter then a laptop) tablet, don't need to charge, easy to read, can bring into a secure area (where outside electronics are not permitted), travels well, hard to damage.
http://bulletjournal.com/get-started/
For personal life: add Google keep for simple lists, and then a mix of Trello and dot grid for larger projects (less strict formatting than professional life project management).
[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17537675
very interesting. i just wonder about merge, do you find yourself merging knowledge about a single item scattered along different pages and then creating a new page for the merged item? if so how much percentage of the logging does this take, if short how come? tips?
If you're oriented towards academic writing, "How to Take Smart Notes" from Sönke Ahrens describes the Zettelkasten method which is akin to the GTD method but focused towards writing. Besides, the book contains interesting insights on how we learn and get motivated to work. Recommended reading.
emacs org mode. with a heavy customization inspired by bernt hansen (http://doc.norang.ca/org-mode.html).
[deleted]
I'm trying to figure this out myself. I do some pen and paper, but for online I use OneNote, used to use Evernote. OneNote is free, and on any given day I could be on iPad, iPhone, Windows, Mac or Linux. OneNote has a web client and iOS clients so things stay synced up.
Loose A4 Paper + Pen - new note always on a new paper; bundle similar papers with a paper clip; I also add sticknotes on the first page of a bundle to uniquely identify it.
Google Keep + a small Moleskine notebook.
I use https://slite.com - it's a very nice, clean modern markdown editor with keyboard shortcuts and ability to paste images from clipboard.
You categorize notes in collections and you can search them, export them to markdown or pdf, and work as a team. It has Slack integration as well if that's your thing.
Highly recommended!
You categorize notes in collections and you can search them, export them to markdown or pdf, and work as a team. It has Slack integration as well if that's your thing.
Highly recommended!
Post-it notes for notes that have a lifetime of a few hours or less.
One of my notebooks for notes that have a longer lifetime, for math, for figuring things out, for diagrams.
Org-mode for planning, documenting research, and structured note taking.
Stylus on my phone or laptop for drawing diagrams by hand that I need to share with others. (Also this is the best way I've found to practice my penmanship without wasting paper for no reason.)
Workflowy
org-mode, with this snippet:
(defun open-new-journal ()
(interactive)
(find-file (concat "~/notes/journal/" (format-time-string "%Y-%m-%d") ".journal.org")))
(defun open-things-todo ()
(interactive)
(find-file "~/notes/dashboard.org"))
I was wondering if anyone could point me to structured note-taking systems or methods they use to bring some consistency to their note taking.