Is there a handwritten (stylus) notes software which can be used for this type of linking? I'm not talking about OCR, but handwritten/drawn as default format.
Stop Taking Regular Notes; Use a Zettelkasten Instead
211–220 of 309 posts
Re: Stop Taking Regular Notes; Use a Zettelkasten Instead
#212This seems to be a new trend now. I'm skeptical. Many of the most successful people I know don't have complicated systems like this - instead of spending time on optimizing note taking, they actually get stuff done. In fact, many don't have systems at all. On the other side, most people raving about the systems are "productivity gurus" writing articles and books, not people who actually get stuff done or would be con…
I think your skepticism and concern is well placed -- the output is what matters. But I'm a little confused about one aspect: what is it that you perceive as "complicated" and "complex" in this? Genuinely curious and not meant to be snarky.
By using tools for this you will inevitably spend additional time organizing, tagging, and summarizing notes, most of which is probably a waste of time. The article has a pretty good example of this
> I find watching how this knowledge graph grows satisfying
Yep, it's satisfying. Because it's procrastination and gives you the illusion of "being in control" - just like engaging in social media is satisfying. Or cleaning your room while you should be doing homework. I don't think it's useful.
Taking notes is great. Research has shown that active note taking, e.g. while watching a lecture, is a crucial part of learning. Organizing them into some (in case of roam, PAID!) system that you will probably not even come back to? Procrastination.
Re: Stop Taking Regular Notes; Use a Zettelkasten Instead
#213Earlier quoted context omitted.
That is certainly a thing. But on HN, we really do have topical trends. When an article gets popular, and piques our interest, people keep researching it. And finding related topics and articles, and those also get posted. We also see it impact the "Show HN" posts - before coronacrisis, we were seeing so many curated job postings sites that it got to be a bit of a joke. Just in the last couple week, we've see an upti…
They sure do. Is there a "HN trends" tool you're aware of?
Not that I recall... but with all the people who participate here, I wouldn't be surprised if someone has a project along those lines in some stage of development. If not, it could be a fun project to try.
Re: Stop Taking Regular Notes; Use a Zettelkasten Instead
#214This seems to be a new trend now. I'm skeptical. Many of the most successful people I know don't have complicated systems like this - instead of spending time on optimizing note taking, they actually get stuff done. In fact, many don't have systems at all. On the other side, most people raving about the systems are "productivity gurus" writing articles and books, not people who actually get stuff done or would be con…
> Many of the most successful people I know don't have complicated systems like this
How do you know? Maybe their set of habits are a complicated system which they are just not aware of being a system, thus not they are not talking about as they consider it as natural or just obvious.
It seems to be some kind of effect of the internet that people talking about everything leads also to people making big science and systems out of every little detail and habit, seeking some big secret and stuff. While on the other side you have people making up cheap solutions on the spot and throw them away when they don't need them anymore, not calling it sytem or such.
> I see a similar trend with org-mode users. It's great and all on a technical level (I've used it myself in the past) but it's easy to fall into the elisp and customization rabbit hole. Over time, the few hours spent here and there to optimize the system add up to thousands of hours that could've been used to get stuff done.
Yes, customization is a curse. Given enough power, people ultimatly end in corruption until they learn to wield it wisely. But wisdom does not comes easily or fast.
> Just get stuff done.
There are always a multitude of ways to getting stuff done, but some are faster than others, or less exhausting. Thus people aim to be smart and find the best way, which can end in wasting more time on finding the best ways, but also can end in saving time on the grand scale. You need enough experience to smell which road is better and when you should leave it.
Re: Stop Taking Regular Notes; Use a Zettelkasten Instead
#215This seems to be a new trend now. I'm skeptical. Many of the most successful people I know don't have complicated systems like this - instead of spending time on optimizing note taking, they actually get stuff done. In fact, many don't have systems at all. On the other side, most people raving about the systems are "productivity gurus" writing articles and books, not people who actually get stuff done or would be con…
> Many of the most successful people I know don't have complicated systems like this How do you know? Maybe their set of habits are a complicated system which they are just not aware of being a system, thus not they are not talking about as they consider it as natural or just obvious. It seems to be some kind of effect of the internet that people talking about everything leads also to people making big science and sy…
> How do you know? Maybe their set of habits are a complicated system which they are just not aware of being a system, thus not they are not talking about as they consider it as natural or just obvious.
You're absolutely right. But with that you are also just arguing about the definition of "system" - everything is a system in one way or another depending on where you draw the line. If I scribble stuff into my notebook and throw it away once it's full, you can call that a system.
By system here I meant a system or product that has a well-known name they can point to, like Zettelkasten or GTD or BASB, etc.
Re: Stop Taking Regular Notes; Use a Zettelkasten Instead
#216Maybe a description of my notetaking practice will be useful to others. I don't know if this is strictly a "Zettelkasten" or not. My note box for the last little while is Dercuano: http://canonical.org/~kragen/dercuano . The notes are longer than a single index card (there are 882 notes averaging about 1300 words each), and they are hierarchically organized into sections and subsections. They often include links to o…
Very interesting. I suppose when you use this every day, you actually won't get "lost" within it. Also, this kind of links to the One Big Text File idea (discussed here and there quite often in around 2005-2006, see e.g. http://www.matthewcornell.org/blog/2005/8/21/my-big-arse-tex...).
Re: Stop Taking Regular Notes; Use a Zettelkasten Instead
#217I searched for hours for a viable Zettelkasten method: org-mode, vim-org, TiddlyWiki, Roam, Notion, Joplin, Notable, Obsidian, Zettlr. All of them were too complex, and not lightweight, cross-compatible, private/secure, or futureproof enough. I decided to settle on the default MacOS editor using a mix of .txt/.rtf files, with extensive folder organization and the built-in tagging system. I plan on consolidating journ…
> I searched for hours for a viable Zettelkasten method: org-mode, vim-org, TiddlyWiki, Roam, Notion, Joplin, Notable, Obsidian, Zettlr.
Org mode works well, but honestly what works the absolute best in my experience are actual slips of paper in a slipcase — or 'index cards,' to use the colloquial term. I find that physically writing words with a pen aids memory, and the little notebooks that I form over time (I punch a hole in each slip, and bind them together with a metal ring, and split bundles by topic when they get too unwieldy) seem to help too.
Maybe it's a variant on the method of loci?
Re: Stop Taking Regular Notes; Use a Zettelkasten Instead
#218I've found that as a software engineer, the best note-taking medium for me is just one massive GitHub repo. It takes a bit of extra planning and oftentimes a bit of reorganizing to keep things in the right place, but I feel like as a software engineer it's the one place I can truly keep all my relevant notes in one place. I can keep code snippets along with markdown notes files along with little hello world apps I build out.
notes - OS -- mutexes -- concurrency - architecture -- microservices --- serverless --- MOMs
etc etc... I think it's very useful to me to keep high-level notes next to actual executable code. But perhaps most importantly is the ease with which I can replicate and reference other notes. While I'm writing out notes on concurrency with Go, I can easily reference or fully copy over my high-level concurrency notes.
It's a little bulky, and requires a bit more overhead, but I think for a software engineer it's one of the best ways to keep all your thinking in one place.
Re: Stop Taking Regular Notes; Use a Zettelkasten Instead
#219This seems to be a new trend now. I'm skeptical. Many of the most successful people I know don't have complicated systems like this - instead of spending time on optimizing note taking, they actually get stuff done. In fact, many don't have systems at all. On the other side, most people raving about the systems are "productivity gurus" writing articles and books, not people who actually get stuff done or would be con…
I’ve worked with a few very successful business people. What was common among them was they wrote things down (frequently, but a little, not a lot) and had excellent recall. They wrote on anything handy, and discarded when done. Their systems were mostly disposable. They didn’t create libraries of notes.
I’m technical, self-employed, with an academic background. I’m very tempted by systems (I often think of the book “Lila” and his 12K index cards... it’s like thought/note porn). But my need to “ship” keeps my tendencies lightweight. My partner has crates of notes, spends time culling lists and to-dos and plans project work times on her calendar. She struggles to ship and is often frustrated by her own sense of progress.
It’s just a couple of anecdotal data points. I do like to deep dive into research jags and makes lists and record notes, but those usually happen at the beginning of projects or brainstorming sessions... I find old (digital) notes and have a very ephemeral relationship to them.
I care more about digressive and convergent mental habits. When I govern those effectively, I feel creative and productive. My systems tend to stay light.
Re: Stop Taking Regular Notes; Use a Zettelkasten Instead
#220I've come to realize that:
1. 80% note-taking value is in writing the info down in *any* form.
2. 19% is in re-reading your notes.
Note-taking changed my life. I urge people to stop chasing perfection and just get started.