Ask HN: How do you take idea notes / voice memos / reminders to yourself?

Do you use just paper, Email drafts or any special apps? And how do you remember where you have noted down some specific thought or idea?

I've tried several apps like Evernote, Trello, Asana or voice Memo apps ... Also I am maintaining like 2-3 ToDo lists on paper troughout my home. But in the end I often loose tasks, or interesting ideas come up again like 2 months later and I cant remember where I already wrote about it.

What Tools do you use?

I keep all notes and to-do lists in a single system of record. These days it's Asana, but in the past I've used pen and paper, Apple Notes, and other tools.

I use GTD to keep on top of stuff. Once a day I go through everything that's been added to the system but not yet categorized. I move it to the appropriate to-do list or reference document where I'll know to find it later.

I have lists for things like "gift ideas for family", "potential software experiments", "active work projects", "books to read", or "to consider next year". I also have a primary list for things that actively need doing.

Remember, it's not the tool that matters. It's the process and the system.

I usually brainstorm / take notes with OneNote, which lets me type, record voice notes, attach files, and draw when I need to draw (even on my laptop thanks to touchscreens). Once finished I'll go through those notes and turn them into categorized to-dos in the Microsoft To-Do app, adding due dates, reminders and little notes where necessary.

Evernote. But don't get obsessed by technical details of what tool is best: Evernote, Onenote, Tiddlywiki, etc... Just make sure you have all work/private/short term/long term notes in one place. Preferably accessible via multiple devices so that you can always access them.

And depending on the note type go through them every day/week/month to see if they are still relevant. Some people like to go the whole GTD way but I like to pick just the parts that work for me.

I use a Bullet Journal for all my stuff. Its style of organizing allows to collect all sorts of things.

I tried a lot of TODO and note taking apps and none of it worked for me. Once written down, I remember most of it without looking at my journal.