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Ask HN: Do you also "hoard" notes/links but struggle to turn them into actions?

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Re: Ask HN: Do you also "hoard" notes/links but struggle to turn them into actions?

#201

Post by call-me-al »

item007 wrote: post #165
nicbou wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sometimes the writing itself is useful, like when I realise that I've been stressing about something minor for a few days, or when I hesitate to write down how I _really_ feel about something. In other cases it forces me to actually understand what I'm feeling in order to put it into words. In a sense those notes could be write-only and still be useful. In other cases these notes are a complement to my photos. They s…

That’s a really thoughtful distinction. I like how you separate “write-only but still valuable” (emotional clarity / self-understanding) from “collection of facts” (laying pieces on the table until a structure emerges). The “notes aren’t an obligation” line also resonates — treating them as medium-term memory rather than a forever archive removes a lot of pressure. When you finish a project and you have leftover note…

hahaha man, a disclaimer that you're using ChatGPT to write your answers would be nice ;)

Re: Ask HN: Do you also "hoard" notes/links but struggle to turn them into actions?

#202

Post by appsoftware »

item007 wrote: post #114
appsoftware wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Obsidian is similar but without the block structure you have to be very specific about linking notes rather than using parent child relationships.

Yep, that matches my experience. Logseq’s block tree gives you “structure by default” (parent/child context), so you can get away with being a bit looser with explicit linking. In Obsidian, because the unit is the note (not the block), you often have to be more intentional about creating/maintaining the links and structure. Out of curiosity: do you find Logseq’s block hierarchy alone is enough for re-entry, or do you…

Yes the block hierarchy is enough for re-entry. There is a natural 'pruning' process where I return to notes and realise I need to rework them to make surfacing the information I need easier. I often adjust titles and aliases (and often find I have two notes with similar names that need 'refactoring' to one - but Logseq makes this easy). If I don't find the note straight away I can usually remember adjacent terms to find it, and then when I do, I tag it with the first terms I searched on (as acceptance of the associations my brain had naturally made). I'll keep an eye on your project. What I do struggle with with Logseq is there isn't an easy means to just dump ideas to organise later, partly because the mobile app is so slow. It really needs two UIs that integrate with the same base format for two different modes of note collection. I disagree with others that taking or 'hoarding' notes is more work than its worth. The benefit of being able to dump info quickly and pick it up again and being able to find it easily is so valuable. Sure some notes get written and never see the light of day again, but then they never consume further time because I just don't work on them, but they are there if I need them. There's no way to know what info will definitely be useful in the future.

Re: Ask HN: Do you also "hoard" notes/links but struggle to turn them into actions?

#203

Post by usefulposter »

item007 wrote: post #165
nicbou wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sometimes the writing itself is useful, like when I realise that I've been stressing about something minor for a few days, or when I hesitate to write down how I _really_ feel about something. In other cases it forces me to actually understand what I'm feeling in order to put it into words. In a sense those notes could be write-only and still be useful. In other cases these notes are a complement to my photos. They s…

That’s a really thoughtful distinction. I like how you separate “write-only but still valuable” (emotional clarity / self-understanding) from “collection of facts” (laying pieces on the table until a structure emerges). The “notes aren’t an obligation” line also resonates — treating them as medium-term memory rather than a forever archive removes a lot of pressure. When you finish a project and you have leftover note…

Please respect the HN community and kindly disclose when you are using an LLM to respond to user feedback.

I also recommend reading this comment:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46747998

Re: Ask HN: Do you also "hoard" notes/links but struggle to turn them into actions?

#204

Post by appsoftware »

item007 wrote: post #106
appsoftware wrote: post #10

I like obsidian, but use Logseq day-to-day. I find it pretty easy to dump information without too much work due to the block / indenting structure. Retrieval isn't too bad, because you navigate to the wikilink you need, and everything is under it (I do sometimes swear I used a specific wiki link and then find I used something else, and have to dig for information). Something that did work well recently, was creating…

That’s a really solid workflow: keep capture friction low in Logseq, then do “topic export → LLM consolidation” when you actually need a brief. The wiki-link mismatch problem also sounds like a naming/alias layer issue more than retrieval itself. If you were to take this one step further, would you want the output to be: 1.a consolidated brief you can re-enter later, or 2.a small set of next-actions / open questions…

Neither really. I don't want a tool to guide me or to generate content. My notes only have meaning to me if I know I wrote them, from my brain. I'm a fan of learning by proximity to the problems I have. Maybe a LLM based tool that highlighted conceptual connections to other notes, but in my mind these associations can be quite disparate and from sometimes completely different disciplines

Re: Ask HN: Do you also "hoard" notes/links but struggle to turn them into actions?

#205

Post by richardfey »

sureglymop wrote: post #160

I'm working on a project in this realm. Basically I am building a "personal" spyware/data collection software suite. Kind of in the same realm as ms recall but more focused on security/privacy with sensible cryptographic defaults where needed. It is basically a server/data store and client agents, currently the agent is only for linux end user devices. The agent records evdev events (keystrokes/mouse movement), curre…

Please let me know what you end up doing with this, I am curious!

Re: Ask HN: Do you also "hoard" notes/links but struggle to turn them into actions?

#206

Post by MrGilbert »

item007 wrote: post #118
MrGilbert wrote: post #32

There was a post "recently" on HN, which made me re-think my habit of collecting and sorting. I now have a Kanban-Board for ToDos (which I check daily), and a Journal file where I note down stuff from the day. The file keeps filling up continuously. That’s basically it.

That sounds like a really healthy, low-maintenance setup: Kanban for what must move, journal for everything else. Out of curiosity, when you look at the journal later, what do you want it to do for you most: help you remember context, help you spot patterns, or help you extract a few actionable follow-ups back into the Kanban? Details in my HN profile/bio if you’re curious what I’m exploring around that handoff.

Basically the very first part from your list: Remembering context. Working with people means that a lot of what I'm observing or what is happening will happen at a later stage. It tremendously helps to go back a few months and dig up my notes from back than, either to connect the dots to a development or reduce the "he said, she said" - dance that happens way too often.

I also like that fact that I can just scroll down a long list of entries, when I'm not sure about the exact words I used in this situation to note something down, or when I just remember the rough timeframe something happened.

Re: Ask HN: Do you also "hoard" notes/links but struggle to turn them into actions?

#207

Post by jongjong »

item007 wrote: post #126
jongjong wrote: post #74

I do keep notes and I turn them into action though sometimes I forget to clear my notes and when I read them a few months later, I'm like "I already implemented this 3 months ago."

That’s such a real “notes debt” symptom — the system worked (you shipped), but the notes didn’t get a clean closure signal, so they time-travel back and waste your attention later. One simple fix I’ve seen work is adding an explicit “done marker” ritual: when you implement something, append a one-line outcome at the top of the note (Implemented on YYYY-MM-DD + where), or move the item into a “Done/Archive” section so…

Yes, I tend to write as free-form notes. I don't bother adding a checkbox. It's not really a major problem. Usually what happens is I notice a note which was implemented and then I may start checking other, lower-priority items; sometimes I notice others which are also done and I also clear those.

I guess, I don't really need a TODO list; what I care more about are details; I want to capture my nuanced reasoning about a problem in case I don't address it for a while; to save myself from making a bad decision in the future (when the relevant info won't be so fresh in my mind).

I like to scope out a problem and identify some possible solutions as soon as I encounter it; the optimal time. I find it helps to decouple the work of 1. Understanding the problem. 2. Coming up with possible solutions; and 3. Choosing a solution and implementing.

Re: Ask HN: Do you also "hoard" notes/links but struggle to turn them into actions?

#208

Post by koakuma-chan »

item007 wrote: post #196
koakuma-chan wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel like you could just use AI for that without managing your own library (plus it got pretty good at web searches). At the very least, I probably don't collect enough articles for that to work. Maybe if there is like a shared managed collection.

I think we might be talking past each other a bit. I’m not trying to build “a better personal library manager” or “AI search over your notes”. The core idea is goal-first: you set a small number of active targets/projects, and the system uses whatever sources you already have (even a small amount) to propose concrete options you can choose from: a plan, a checklist, tradeoffs, or a next experiment that moves that tar…

What I'm saying is that, if I need to know how to achieve X, I can go into, say, ChatGPT, and ask, "how to achieve X?"—I don't see why I would need a separate app for that. I don't see much value in an app that just inserts some notes or blog posts into the LLM's context for me.

But it could just be that I don't collect that kind of notes or something. Maybe this would work for somebody else.

Re: Ask HN: Do you also "hoard" notes/links but struggle to turn them into actions?

#209

Post by nixonaddiction »

ive been using obsidian for about 4 years. my main obsidian is my diary. recaps of everything i did that day, and working through my thoughts. sometimes i draft emails in thre. i dont reread it unless i need to know what i was doing on a specific day 3 years ago. once a daily note is finished i do not touch it again. it is mainly there for historical purposes. i have a separate obsidian for work notes. code im working on, todolists, etc. i am constantly editing these documents as needed. that obsidian functions more like a file management system. i have folders for different code projects, with markdown files explaining what i am doing and what projects relate to other projects. i mainly slip up when i write something in the wrong document. but i can just copypaste it over. the system is still evolving though, i just entered grad school and my needs changed rapidly, and i am shifting my information management system to match that.

Re: Ask HN: Do you also "hoard" notes/links but struggle to turn them into actions?

#210

Post by hahahahhaah »

item007 wrote: post #197
hahahahhaah wrote: post #158

1.Where does your “second brain” break down the most? At work my 2nd brain is confluence. Most info goes into shared spaces. Often search doesn't find what I need easily so search becomes a context switch (sub mission) Rovo can be helpful though. Where I work has good culture of documenting things which helps. 2.What best represents “active project context” for you today? Jira task status 80%; Plus Slack save for lat…

This is super helpful, thanks. The “search as a context switch” point is real, and the 80/15/5 split (Jira/Slack/Confluence) matches what I’ve seen too. On the compliance point: totally fair. To clarify, I’m not assuming a company-wide deployment — I’m primarily thinking about a personal tool/workflow where you control what it can read (and for many people that means local-only or only non-sensitive sources). Your en…

I will answer then check the bio :). Mom test and all that.

So with compliance even connecting a tool I download to an approved LLM is difficult. I need to get approval. If the tool is just a tool and doesn't use AI (and thus send out private data) it is easier. I think that is a problem they should solve i.e. give a safe LLM endpoint and let me choose my tools but alas.

I think what saves me time is difficult to say. Well organized docs OR an AI that can do that to AGI levels of intellegence. Fuzzy isn't helpful (I already have lots of fuzzy options). I need bulletproof correct info.

The pain isn't in the clicks to find info it is in understanding what I am reading and if it is relevant.

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