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How to take smart notes with Org mode

blog.jethro.dev

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Re: How to take smart notes with Org mode

#21

Post by karlicoss »

jph00 wrote: post #14
shakezula wrote: post #3

> Notes aren’t a record of my thinking process. They are my thinking process. – Richard Feynman I haven’t ever found a quote that described how i approach software as succinctly as this. I use a bullet journal religiously and it’s specifically because of this. Great article.

I can't seem to find a reliable source for this quote though. Anyone know of one?

Closest I know is this [0] interview

> Weiner:

> Well, the work was done in your head but the record of it is still here.

> Feynman:

> No, it’s not a record, not really, it’s working. You have to work on paper and this is the paper. OK?

[0] https://via.hypothes.is/https://www.aip.org/history-programs...

Re: How to take smart notes with Org mode

#22

Post by gmfawcett »

zelly wrote: post #6
joegahona wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Whenever I used org-mode I started tweaking Emacs and writing macros for hours. Does this imply that it contained too many distractions for you, which pen/paper doesn’t? Genuinely curious as I’m trying to optimize my note-taking process and have never used org mode.

Yes, by default it's unusable. You have to read the docs, check out other people's configs. It becomes a whole rabbit hole when all I wanted to do was make a list.

That's a tad unfair. Yes, you will have to read the documentation [1], at least the first few sections, before anything will make sense. But "Making a list" is literally the first topic covered after the introduction. ("Headlines", but that's the first type of list you'll ever use.)

I agree if you decide to put some big chunk of your life into Org, you'll either find yourself reading the rest of those chapters, or copying/writing your own customizations, or both. That's where the rabbit hole starts.

[1] https://orgmode.org/org.html

Re: How to take smart notes with Org mode

#24

Post by Scarbutt »

immigrantsheep wrote: post #20
rushsteve1 wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've actually been flip-flopping between Notion and Org-mode for months, and just the other day decided to finally organize myself all on Notion. I love Org-mode, and will likely continue to use it for various things, but I agree that Notion is the only thing that (to me) surpasses it.

My two biggest problem with notion are no offline storage of data and monthly payments.

Yeah, notion looks great but for this particular case, the part the about being tied to a montnly fee to be able to write my personal notes didn't felt right. Also the friction to write notes felt higher, unless you leave your browser always opened and logged in.

Re: How to take smart notes with Org mode

#25

Post by bachmeier »

immigrantsheep wrote: post #20
rushsteve1 wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've actually been flip-flopping between Notion and Org-mode for months, and just the other day decided to finally organize myself all on Notion. I love Org-mode, and will likely continue to use it for various things, but I agree that Notion is the only thing that (to me) surpasses it.

My two biggest problem with notion are no offline storage of data and monthly payments.

It's now free if you have an academic email. Obviously that doesn't apply to most people, but it was enough to get me to at least create an account.

Re: How to take smart notes with Org mode

#26

Post by hinkley »

shakezula wrote: post #3

> Notes aren’t a record of my thinking process. They are my thinking process. – Richard Feynman I haven’t ever found a quote that described how i approach software as succinctly as this. I use a bullet journal religiously and it’s specifically because of this. Great article.

For a man who placed a lot of stock in people’s ability to explain things clearly, it’s self-consistent that he would characterize writing and thinking as inseparable.

Re: How to take smart notes with Org mode

#27

Post by bcrosby95 »

MarcScott wrote: post #8
zelly wrote: post #4

I used to use Evernote then org-mode heavily but switched to pen and paper notes and haven't looked back. Whenever I used org-mode I started tweaking Emacs and writing macros for hours.

Yeah, I'm a big emacs and org mode fan, but use pen and paper now for note taking. I think this is mainly due to the fact that my note pad sits at my desk as a constant reminder of what needs to be done. Org files sit in my file system and are often forgotten.

Interesting. I always have my notes window open in one half of my monitors. I use it for everything while developing, including pseudocode, developing SQL queries, planning my changes, etc. I use it as a digital scratchpad.

Re: How to take smart notes with Org mode

#28

Post by TheGrassyKnoll »

MarcScott wrote: post #8
zelly wrote: post #4

I used to use Evernote then org-mode heavily but switched to pen and paper notes and haven't looked back. Whenever I used org-mode I started tweaking Emacs and writing macros for hours.

Yeah, I'm a big emacs and org mode fan, but use pen and paper now for note taking. I think this is mainly due to the fact that my note pad sits at my desk as a constant reminder of what needs to be done. Org files sit in my file system and are often forgotten.

I started out taking hand written notes decades ago but got annoyed when I couldn't easily search through them. Ever since, I just keep a giant text file in Emacs and heavily rely on the 'occur' command. Using these more sophisticated tools would actually require me to do some actual WORK...

Re: How to take smart notes with Org mode

#30

Post by geokon »

is asciidoc similarly powerful?

I have everything in org/githubpages but I often get a bit frustrated with Emacs and its clunkiness. My issue is that orgmode has no spec and is so tightly coupled to Emacs - so ive ended up unintentionally married to the whole ecosystem.. I've been considering migrating away from org but I don't have any great alternative in mind

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