Ask HN: How do you keep track of your creative thoughts? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: How do you keep track of your creative thoughts?

#21

Post by c3534l » Sun, Jan 06, 2019, 10:19 AM UTC

I make lists and jot notes in Zim. Additionally, if I need to actually organize my thoughts I use a freemium mind-mapping software on my phone called Simple Mind.

When I went to school for art (until I switched), I learnd that artists and writers have long used physical notebooks, but that you can't just use them as a convenience: you have to actually put effort into ensuring you put something in it each day whether you're feeling creative or not. And you have to go back and read it to critically evaluate what you're doing. It has to be a process, not just a reminder.

Re: Ask HN: How do you keep track of your creative thoughts?

#22

Post by rolandas » Sun, Jan 06, 2019, 10:22 AM UTC

For me, the combination of iA writer and iCloud works really well. Desktop or mobile—both syncs without problems. If idea is compelling enough, I might later write it down as a blog post and remove original writing from my computer.

I also keep a notebook next to my bed, because for me sometimes good ideas emerge when everything quiets down. I transfer any writings to a digital format while I'm drinking coffee in the morning.

Re: Ask HN: How do you keep track of your creative thoughts?

#23

Post by ayoisaiah » Sun, Jan 06, 2019, 10:22 AM UTC

alexcnwy wrote: post #3

Dynalist

It's fine but too expensive. I moved over to Notion.so recently

Re: Ask HN: How do you keep track of your creative thoughts?

#24

Post by vincvinc » Sun, Jan 06, 2019, 10:23 AM UTC

hoodwink wrote: post #4

Constantly experimenting with different systems, both analog and digital, but never found one that clicked. Evernote was good, but I felt like my notes went in and died. A graveyard of creative thoughts. Lately, I’ve been spending more time trying to figure out how to revisit and make use of my creative thoughts captured in note form.

> I felt like my notes went in and died. A graveyard of creative thoughts.

I use trello for that reason, with different boards for different categories of ideas (fiction, startup/project ideas, gaming, etc)

Trello’s UI always feels very inviting to look back and restructure, reconsider etc.

Instead of feeling like you are just amassing a pile of trash, it feels like slowly building up and structuring my own personal encyclopedia of ideas and thoughts. A bit closer to the analog feeling of a scrap book.

Re: Ask HN: How do you keep track of your creative thoughts?

#25

Post by Benjamin_Dobell » Sun, Jan 06, 2019, 10:24 AM UTC

My Google Keep is filled with all sorts of unusual ramblings.

Nothing particularly special about Keep itself, but I find having a mobile app handy as I get to sleep easier if I simply grab my phone off the beside table and jot down notes. Otherwise I lay awake worrying I'll forget in the morning.

Re: Ask HN: How do you keep track of your creative thoughts?

#26

Post by rl3 » Sun, Jan 06, 2019, 10:24 AM UTC

A file called ideas.txt.

In retrospect I should have put it under version control; nearly a decade's worth of ideas and no clue when most were thought up.

Ideas for my active project/startup are organized in a relatively more disciplined fashion and consist of multiple text files under version control.

Re: Ask HN: How do you keep track of your creative thoughts?

#27

Post by nathan_f77 » Sun, Jan 06, 2019, 10:25 AM UTC

Evernote has been working ok for me. I organize things under lots of different notebooks and tags, and the search feature makes it easy to find things. Sometimes I will write something in a Google Doc.

Re: Ask HN: How do you keep track of your creative thoughts?

#28

Post by BilalBudhani » Sun, Jan 06, 2019, 10:25 AM UTC

zwischenzug wrote: post #7

I have a git repo. I wrote about this and other related time management things here: https://zwischenzugs.com/2017/12/03/how-i-manage-my-time/

> I was disorganised until my 30s.

I'm in my late 20s and I face a constant struggle in organising myself. Your blog post seems to be a nice window in how I should approach this issue. Thanks!

Re: Ask HN: How do you keep track of your creative thoughts?

#29

Post by spraak » Sun, Jan 06, 2019, 10:26 AM UTC

ayoisaiah wrote: post #23

alexcnwy wrote: post #3

Dynalist

It's fine but too expensive. I moved over to Notion.so recently

It's free - only a few features you need to pay for. I get along fine without them

Re: Ask HN: How do you keep track of your creative thoughts?

#30

Post by tonygrue » Sun, Jan 06, 2019, 10:26 AM UTC

Wunderlist is where I landed 5 years ago after many failed alternatives. I like that it’s primary interface is a simple entry box with an add button. I can review my ideas periodically and add more detail. It’s very cross platform and very simple; and in the years I’ve used it the app hasn’t experienced the typical feature bloat.