Ask HN: What's your note-taking methodology?

What kind of notes are you focused on?

Personal projects and ideas?

School notes?

Recording what goes on at a work meeting?

Not an answer but could you share some past threads you mentioned, discussing tools people use? I'd love to compare notes, so to speak.

As for me I've got a note for random thoughts, acts as a dumping ground, and other notes titled by categories for organising into later.

The thing with note taking is it's so reflective of how people think, so it's not always easy to adapt exactly to what others suggest. But still worth looking at and getting ideas.

Did everything, single note.txt, everNote, one-Note, etc. Came back and dropped to Apple Notes for Bookmarks, notes, lists, the full yard.

It just works, everywhere in Apple Ecosystem.

IDK if it's what you're looking for but I'll share some of my stuff.

The specifics depend on what I'm doing, but still I find that I return to the same structural patterns a lot, I developed what I call a "Unified Experiencing Template":

https://pastebin.com/hvRutW9u

I use this for notetaking, organizing new learning projects, hobbies, and other contexts.

The Current Position section generally encourages me to move items from the log up into a more structured position of understanding or momentum. This also helps to work around the trap--subjective taxonomy or journal format? You can end up with both and in a lot of cases that's really what I'm looking for.

I have a script that parses files for +crp to help me keep up with whatever I'm working on / thinking about.

I also take notes in the to-do list zone using my Task BATL format (profile) using elements like time estimation, so this format shows up in my notes really often:

    - FF xsc (5m)
        - F-x xsc Hydrate (1m)
        - F-x xsc Eat a pop-tart (1m)
        - F-x xsc Go for a hike (3m, get camera ready)
    - VV xsc (15m)
        - V-/_ xsc Watch some more of the film you checked out on Hoopla (15m) 
    - TT _sc (?)
        - T-/_ _sc Email to schedule the call for Monday
        - T-/_ _sc Plan next 2-3 steps for backup changes 

The first items, FF, are comfort- or body-support items. VV would be items related to ongoing development of personal interests and values. TT would be work or more normal / boring checklist items.

The xsc / _sc indicates whether I've got the next step's time estimated and/or schedule blocked out for the item.

Other note-taking stuff...if I'm taking notes, the format, amount, and organization method also depends on the output-format's (speaker's, presenter's, book's, etc.) psychology and how it relates to my intake-psychology, but that's getting into weird stuff.

If I'm in a hurry I take notes on paper in shorthand or on a digital device in shorthand. l cg f cr would be "oil change for car" etc. My handwriting for this is kind of a mix of Teeline, Gregg, Ford, Japanese, and some of my own stuff.

I also found that sometimes what's needed is just the "expression of information" similar to the expression of feelings. Saving the notes is not so important. What's important is getting it out. So at these times I'll journal by writing shorthand on my lap while sitting, chest while hiking (holding my shoulder bag strap) etc. Similar to Ted Nelson's anywhere-keyboard but without the keyboard. And the notetaking product of this is more like an idea, resolution, or summed-up organization of things.

Paper notebook(s). It's always open on my desk, next to my mousepad. I only have to move my hand a few inches from my mouse to pick up the pen and start writing.

Everything goes in there, in chronological order. In the morning I write the date at the top of a page, check my calendar, email, and Slack, and jot down some to-dos for the day.

After that anything goes - meeting notes, brainstorming, quick research, etc. It's not terribly organized or fancy - it doesn't need to be. I just write things down in the order they come up during the day.

Anything that needs to be shared or collaborated with others goes into a Google Doc or some digital form, I take a bit of time to convert my quick notes to something meaningful that will make sense to someone else.

I very rarely need to reference notes older than a couple of weeks. If I do, it usually doesn't take that long to find based on rough date - I have a stack with my old notebooks in a drawer.

I also use BBEdit with a million unsaved documents (well, 175 right now). I use it more as a scratch pad than actual note taking - drafting a longer message or email, manipulating some text I'm moving around, and so on. Nothing that needs to be persisted for long.