Ask HN: How do you take notes throughout your work day?

About four years. I'm averaging around 10k lines per year in the journal, but I tend to separate large logs out into a separate file in the logs directory and then link to it from the main file.

I use a 5 subject notebook and write notes down in that throughout the day, during meetings etc. From that I will usually, once or twice a week, take the things that are important and put them into my Apple Notes (used to use OneNote).

I do this for a few reasons.

1. Taking notes on a computer during meetings is disrespectful IMO. Every time I see people do it, 80% of the time they are checking email, checking a site, looking up stuff instead of paying attention to the speaker or meeting. I get pissed when people spend the meeting looking up alternatives just to challenge the person speaking. It isn't that challenging an idea is bad (it is critical in fact), it is you need to listen to comprehend and not listen to respond.

2. The vast majority of notes are worthless after a few days. They were relevant to complete a task but not noteworthy for my career or to learn something I need to keep forever as a reference.

3. Writing something makes me personally more likely to remember it.

In the 5 subject notebook, I keep the sections as "Meeting Notes", "Active project(s)", "Design", "Personal notes" and the last one is usually open for just misc crap that I don't need to categorize right now. The design part I almost always take pictures of and put in my notes app, but I only take the pic of the final design and the notes on why. Design here is typically software architecture type design, product design, UX etc. It is faster for me to sketch it then to try and put it in an app.

I've done this for my entire career, 20+ years now and just refined over time. I also am a huge fan of note cards during the week while I am working. For example, I'll write my plan down for the day/week/month on a note card and then work through it. The time period is chosen based on what I am working on at the time, and sometimes I have one for a day, one for the week, one for a month etc. Just helps me keep myself organized, and again, writing it forces me to remember better, personally.

As for using it, I have gone back and used stuff in the past year that I wrote down 15 years ago. Typically this is more design concepts or how to solve an interesting problem, or what were issues I ran into using XYZ design or module etc.

vim ~/diary/2021-09 next month : vim ~/diary/2021-10 dunno why its in months. years ago I noticed a colleague doing this, thought it was a good idea and pretty much copied him. (he used emacs though ;) )

I have an org-mode file open in Emacs pretty much all the time that I can write stuff down in. Emacs used to have a reputation for being bloated and resource intensive but it's one of the lightest tools that I use these days and I just have it sat there in the background.

Pen and paper.

At the end of the week I review the notes and if it's important enough I rewrite the notes on a personal wiki.

For notes I have a(n) (paper) agenda with on the left the week overview and on the right notes. Best agenda ever. https://www.bol.com/nl/nl/p/castelli-agenda-h83-2020-2021-18.... All remaining notes I write on empty A4 paper.