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

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

#161
post #75

I have simply a folder that contains 10+ text files, mostly containing numbered lists: 01_calendar; 02_TODO (just a stack of things I want to do); 03_questions (e.g.: "What substances emit sound when heated?"); 04_ideas (entrepreneurship, organization -- this is helpful because for one thing you start to see the pattern in your ideas -- what you value etc.); 05_opinions&thoughts; 06_self&improvement (my habits are li…

You should consider Org Mode.

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

#162
https://ideatosafe.com/

1. mindmap that syncs all devices, type on your phone, see changes on TV immediately

2. super intuitive gamified keyboard shortcuts (no need for mouse); super intuitive mobile gestures

3. has node-level in-browser encryption via tweetnacl so if you provide a crypt key, only you can see what you typed under a crypted node - crypted data looks like gibberish in the db and there is NO way to recover it, except you provide your crypt key. If you lose your key, you have lost the data under all crypted nodes, forever

4. copy/paste nodes to/from freeplane/freemind directly onto your map

5. full disclosure - I am the developer and working on a second release, sign-ups paused for now but I can open it up for signups if there is interest in working on the beta - I use it to organize my entire life

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

#164
TLDR: I made my own in order to be as lightweight and quick to save new ideas as possible.

For years I used Evernote but as the tool got more and more bloated it didn't work for quickly saving a new idea. I tried Notes by Microsoft, Notes by Apple, SimpleNote... in my opinion they were all too bloated. I wanted something I could click into, type, walk away.

So I made my own. You create a single sheet of digital paper and it syncs across all devices. My wife and I use one for a shopping list on both of our phones, I have one for personal notes and one for work notes. If anything gets more complicated, it goes into Evernote but this is what I use 99% of the time.

http://www.nopencil.club/

(Warning I made this for myself. It currently doesn't have any offline features. Use at your own risk?)

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

#165
post #56

Mindmap works great for me especially for creative process. My personal choice is Freemind. It's easy to automate anything with freemind files because it's simple XML. I have a few scripts that allow me extract necessary information from big mindmaps: https://github.com/mrjazz/freemind-tools-python

I would also highly recommend Freemind, and in particular, learning to use keyboard shortcuts for creating new siblings, parents, navigating and deleting etc. You should not need to use your mouse for anything.

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

#166
For just jotting down ideas, a notebook, or I try to at least have a scrap piece of paper on me. I also ALWAYS have a pen on me. If I have no paper I will write on my forearm. You don't need to write the whole idea usually (unless you're half-asleep, or in the shower, voice memos are better in those cases), you can usually just jot down two words to remind you later.

I also use my phone, but typically for longer notes since it's a slow phone and takes forever to open the notes app.

When I have access to the notebook, I'll write down my ideas properly the moment I can.

If the ideas aren't important, I let the little pieces of paper accumulate until ~once a month, along with the notebook and the notes on my phone, I clean them and sort them into my computer. If you don't do this though, it becomes a pain, because it's often hard to decipher what the hell you meant by a note weeks later. Doing this also helps you form more connections/ideas from what you review usually. When I do this I also make sure to mark the idea as transferred since sometimes I might keep the papers or only transfer half (just the text when there's a drawing).

As to where I put them, I used to use Evernote to manage everything but it wasn't working for me so I switched to Scrivener. Until now it's not working for me either (too many notes), and I haven't found anything that works so now I'm working on my own solution.

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

#167
I'll put in a plug for my stack: SimpleNote (plain-text, unencrypted synced notes), with the app Notational Velocity (http://notational.net/) on my work computer (OS X), Notation (https://www.blogsdna.com/26052/notation-a-simple-and-efficie...) the Windows clone for home, and Notational Acceleration (https://apkpure.com/notationalacceleration/com.kludgenics.an...) on my phone. None of these are official or maintained, so I will probably have to give up on them at some point. SimpleNote's official client is...fine, but the instant-search-edit UX of NV is unbeatable imo.

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

#168
InkDrop https://inkdrop.app/

Google Keep

Physical Moleskin Notebook 4inc x 2 inch in back pocket

.txt file where I write quick stuff in terminal

I do not have one source but a combination of mediums to jot down my thoughts. I prefer that than having a centralized place because different thoughts and ideas are better conveyed in different ways.

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

#169
post #78

MobileOrg for capturing notes on a phone. Syncing via Dropbox with Org mode files on other devices https://orgmode.org/

I've not tried MobileOrg yet, but will give it a try. I currently use Orgzly, which is available through F-droid. It works quite well and has some intuitive swipe gestures for navigation and creating outlines, given limited keyboard functionality on mobile devices.

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

#170
I organize everything in a series of org files -- books, music, work ideas, movie list -- that live in one folder synced in Dropbox and can be accessed through multiple machines, including my phone.

If I need to jot something quickly, I use my phone's note app or regular pencil and paper.

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