Keeping a plaintext “did” file

I'm perpetually saddened because I work in aerospace where the IT policies are quite restrictive due to security clearances and whatnot, so I'm stuck on windows and can't install emacs :(

Every few months I toy with the idea of implementing a poor man's org-mode in VBA.

In case it's useful to anyone (or they want to pick at my code), here's a quick and dirty python thing I use to automate timestamps on journal entries. It just accepts strings of text and saves them in a file named with today's date and a time above each entry.

  import time

  user_input = ""
  date_string = '-'.join([str(n).zfill(2) for n in time.localtime(time.time())[0:3]])
  while user_input != "q":
   user_input = raw_input("Log entry (q to quit): ")
   with open("time_log_"+date_string+".txt","a") as timelog:
    #timelog.write(time.asctime(time.localtime(time.time()))+'\n')
    timelog.write(
    '-'.join([str(n).zfill(2) for n in time.localtime(time.time())[0:3]])
    + ' '
    + ':'.join([str(n).zfill(2) for n in time.localtime(time.time())[3:5]])
    + ' | '
    + user_input
    + '\n')

In my .zshrc I have

  todo() {vi '+$' ~/todo/$(date +Y/%m)}
  +() {echo + $* >> ~/todo/$(date +Y/%m)}
  -() {echo - - $* >> ~/todo/$(date +Y/%m)}

Each month's entries are in a separate ~/todo/YYYY/MM file. The + command is to record something done. The - command is to enter a new task. The todo command is for editing this month's file -- add month-days, update entries, cleanup etc.

Separately I have current and last 2 month files open in the leftmost column of acme (about half as wide as other columns). This is for moving entries between months etc. I have to remember to do a Get before editing and Put when done editing to sync with any updates done from command line.

In the same column I have a per year "projects" file (multiple indented lines per project) and a per year "future" file (things I may want to do someday).

This is far from perfect but has endured. A simple grep can tell me what was done or what needs to be done in a given month or year.

For taking notes in a meeting I have now switched over to using an ipad + apple pencil as I can scribble notes, draw pictures, doodle etc. without having a laptop screen between me and others or clicking keys annoying people.

I'm much like you. I used text files and utilities, developing some of my own, but in the end I've fallen back to a simple pen & paper technique.

1) I find it easier to browse written pages. It also seems to tweak some sort of memorization when I need to recall things from long long ago. I doodle a lot, especially during meetings so I can recall when I needed to remember a note that it was written somewhere around the page with a dinosaur wearing a baseball cap in the margin

2) Taking my eyes away from the screen to jot my tasks, is almost like a mental reset. It causes me to slow down and think more about what I've done or will be doing tomorrow

3) It almost becomes an "additional monitor" to have up. No tabbing to a file, no spacing things on desktops to keep the work list above other forms; its just there, off to my left to view.

4) (EDIT) Can't believe I almost forgot what I consider the strongest point... is connecting thoughts. Trying to draw a line between comments I made earlier and something I've done just now is nearly impossible to do cleanly in text IMO. Notes like "See July 4th, 10:35PM" is worthless and requires a new level of focus that a squiggly arrow just accomplishes so much easier. Colouring in a black box above an important note I want to immediately catch my attention when i'm flipping backwards is so much more important to me than any text file organization.

Keeping a "did" file is also immensely valuable to demonstrating your performance and achievements to your employer. Think about all the positive things you've done for work over the past year. It's hard to account for them all mentally, and even harder for your boss to remember.