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Use a work journal

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Re: Use a work journal

#231

Post by patmorgan23 »

simpaticoder wrote: post #203
dghlsakjg wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Check out obsidian. It is just folders and markdown so it is ultra portable, but the obsidian editor has tons of useful features like a graph view, autolinking, and a plugin in for anything you can think of. There are tons of YouTube videos and articles describing different organizing systems and ways to use it.

I like Obsidian, but plain text continues to reign supreme. I prefer nvAlt or my programmers editor, or if on a team, whatever the company provides (e.g. Jira). The embarrassment of options is actually a key problem in itself, since if you do not commit to one, you find your notes spread across various files, tools, and services, totally disjoint in a way that is impossible to work with and difficult to undo. The ide…

Obsidian is pretty close to that. Markdown is basically plain text.

Re: Use a work journal

#232

Post by interroboink »

cmiles74 wrote: post #173
lelanthran wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> solidify the mental model into a concrete branching of possibilities that is tightly coupled to the specific problem. Your work becomes traversal and mutation of this tree. I wrote a program (used from a CLI, but I mostly use the GUI I developed for it) to do something similar for my own use: https://github.com/lelanthran/frame/blob/master/docs/FrameIn... I use it daily.

It's low-tech, but I've been using notebooks (not too thick, stapled usually). I write a header for each day when I start and then a line or two as I work on tasks and I try to note each time I switch tasks. I keep the notebooks but rarely look at them once they are filled. Maybe once or twice as I switch to a new notebook and then once again when it comes to yearly review time. A couple of times I have rifled throug…

+1 for physical notes (:

I use a lot of diagrams / sketches / arrows between things / etc, so doing it all in text on a computer is too cumbersome.

Of course, with paper, looking up something from the past is a pain sometimes.

Re: Use a work journal

#233

Post by galaxyLogic »

simpaticoder wrote: post #203
dghlsakjg wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Check out obsidian. It is just folders and markdown so it is ultra portable, but the obsidian editor has tons of useful features like a graph view, autolinking, and a plugin in for anything you can think of. There are tons of YouTube videos and articles describing different organizing systems and ways to use it.

I like Obsidian, but plain text continues to reign supreme. I prefer nvAlt or my programmers editor, or if on a team, whatever the company provides (e.g. Jira). The embarrassment of options is actually a key problem in itself, since if you do not commit to one, you find your notes spread across various files, tools, and services, totally disjoint in a way that is impossible to work with and difficult to undo. The ide…

> you find your notes spread across various files, tools, and services

That is a problem I've experienced too. Therefore I currently write my comments in plain text in the IDE I am using (WebStorm), which saves them as text-files.

I used OneNote for some time but I realized there is a lock-in because it saves its notes in its proprietary format. And now it seems its content can only be saved online on Microsoft servers.

On the other hand if there was a clear rationale as to which type of notes belong to which tool then using multiple tools can actually help you find your note later.

For example: Use your fridge-door for post-it-notes about what food we need more of.

This may have something to do with the "Memory Palace" -techniques. You can remember things better when you can associate a path to finding them. Food? I must write a note about the food. Where should I save it? Preferably close to the fridge, because that is where most food is.

Here's a trick I am using to write my coding-notes: I actually write and save them in files with .js -extension. I can have multiple such files for different aspects of notes. I can write notes about my app specification in one file and code-notes in another file, and what was done and what remains to be done in yet another file.

That means my notes are comments in syntactically valid JavaScript files (which exists only to store such notes).

Now I can use the Expand/Collapse feature of the IDE to collapse all comments to their first line, which is the title of the note.

I can also save real JavaScript functions within the same file and have them syntax-highlighted, so I know the code-examples are valid JavaScript.

I also use a WebStorm macro to generate tags based on current time and/or date. Saving them with the note allows me to refer to that tag from other notes. A bit like hyperlinking, but for text-files.

Re: Use a work journal

#234

Post by greggsy »

gofreddygo wrote: post #206
cmiles74 wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's low-tech, but I've been using notebooks (not too thick, stapled usually). I write a header for each day when I start and then a line or two as I work on tasks and I try to note each time I switch tasks. I keep the notebooks but rarely look at them once they are filled. Maybe once or twice as I switch to a new notebook and then once again when it comes to yearly review time. A couple of times I have rifled throug…

A real notebook and pen are the perfect tools for this. Its the only one I know that works, long term. append only log works, but skimming through 2 months of logs for a specific thing is poor and slow but very useful. I don't do that often but when i do need it sometimes and especially fast, like on a call, with no lead time. Its a superpower. I now organize my notebook a with a few conventions that make it more use…

What type of notebook?

Re: Use a work journal

#235

Post by galaxyLogic »

perrygeo wrote: post #172
galaxyLogic wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I write a lot of notes in fact I write more than I read. It helps. However I have some issues: 1. How much commentary should I write? I try to write not too many notes because I write code, and some say code should be self-documenting. So it's the same old question of how many comments should there be along the code. 2. How do I retrieve a note I've written earlier? I can use tags and search for them but it is not ea…

> a balance between "Just do it" and "Write about it" This is the key point - capturing, organizing and retrieving notes has a cost. And I find myself always paying for notes out of my "just do it" budget. Especially when virtually all of the things I'm working on (notebooks, libraries, applications, planning documents) are themselves a form of writing, having yet another place to scatter my thoughts is not helpful a…

> This is the key point - capturing, organizing and retrieving notes has a cost.

Exactly my thoughts too.

There is a cost. The thing is to keep that cost down to the level where it is in fact a good investment.

I don't think there is an ideal solution. It is just hard work to create information-artifacts, just like there is no silver-bullet for writing perfect code.

Re: Use a work journal

#236

Post by greggsy »

leetrout wrote: post #145
slyfox125 wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Usually, ths simplest solution is best and your approach exemplifies it: no need for a special application, simply open the text file and then go to work.

I have found, and advise teams I lead or work with, that the tool absolutely does not matter because it is the discipline to use the tool consistently that makes a difference. Now, having said that, shoving jira down peoples throats with all kinds of rules around tagging and whatever wears people out. So, yes, a text file, a google doc, linear or a few post-its on the wall.

Obsidian in a nutshell.

Too many bells a whistles to tweak, and isn’t conducive to consistency.

Re: Use a work journal

#237

Post by veunes »

simpaticoder wrote: post #30

The benefit of journaling is not just reentry, but that you begin to solidify the mental model into a concrete branching of possibilities that is tightly coupled to the specific problem. Your work becomes traversal and mutation of this tree. Several benefits accrue: you begin to see gaps in the tree, and can fill them in. You begin to have confidence in your mental model, recovering the time you used to spend going o…

By clearly visualizing your mental model, you can more easily identify and address any gaps or missing elements, leading to a more complete understanding.

Re: Use a work journal

#238

Post by veunes »

safety1st wrote: post #130
simpaticoder wrote: post #30

The benefit of journaling is not just reentry, but that you begin to solidify the mental model into a concrete branching of possibilities that is tightly coupled to the specific problem. Your work becomes traversal and mutation of this tree. Several benefits accrue: you begin to see gaps in the tree, and can fill them in. You begin to have confidence in your mental model, recovering the time you used to spend going o…

If I'm working on something particularly complex I basically just do the journaling in a code comment adjacent to what I'm working on. So the first commit may be three lines of code and a huge long winded rambling comment of what I've already tried or thought about. By the time the task is done I've pared away the more speculative/rambling elements of what I wrote, and what's left is typically some extremely well com…

An effective strategy for managing complex tasks

Re: Use a work journal

#239

Post by veunes »

quest88 wrote: post #48
simpaticoder wrote: post #30

The benefit of journaling is not just reentry, but that you begin to solidify the mental model into a concrete branching of possibilities that is tightly coupled to the specific problem. Your work becomes traversal and mutation of this tree. Several benefits accrue: you begin to see gaps in the tree, and can fill them in. You begin to have confidence in your mental model, recovering the time you used to spend going o…

> Perhaps the greatest barrier to using it is akin to envy. We see others who apparently do this without written materials, in their head. I think we see this as evidence of intellectual superiority and harbor the doubt that using an aid like a journal means we are somehow lacking in skill or ability. To add to your "this is wrong": These others may have themselves solved the problems we are now trying to solve, like…

The notion that using a journal is a common misconception

Re: Use a work journal

#240

Post by al_borland »

Flimm wrote: post #195
al_borland wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have too many meetings to get anything done. I'll go weeks, or months, without actually doing anything of real value. Eventually it comes to a head and I need to get things done to avoid going crazy. I go on do-not-disturb in our chat app, quit Outlook completely, and turn on a focus mode on my cell phone so people can't even call me. I'll end up working for 8-15 hours straight with no real breaks. I go to the bath…

I feel for you, friend. Maybe you could share the essay "Maker's Schedule, Manager's Schedule" by Paul Graham [0]. It's been somewhat helpful when I've shared it with colleagues. [0] https://www.paulgraham.com/makersschedule.html

Thanks for sharing. I agree with everything in the essay.

When it talked about the person effectively working 2 days, once on the managers schedule, and once at night to code on the makers scheduled, I thought back and that resonated with me. I spent a decade or so doing something like that. I’d typically work 12-14 hour days. The normal work day was full of distractions and interruption, and once everyone started to leave and the meetings stopped, I started making stuff and got a lot done. At the time I thought I was just avoiding rush hour traffic, but there was a much bigger side effect in terms of productivity.

With the situation I had in 2017, this essay may have gone a long way. With my current situation I worry sharing it would have a negative impact on my job. It’s not one person I’d have to convince and coordinate with, it’s at least 4, probably more. I have 3 “stand ups” most days, which are all 30 minutes and often run long. If I were to split my day into 2 maker blocks, my mornings are shot every single day with 2-4 hours of meetings. This is usually enough to kill my whole day. 3-4 days per week usually have a meeting (or 3) in the afternoon, which kills that block as well. Some teams have office hours posted to everyone. While I rarely go, simply having them on my calendar has an impact to my ability to see that my day is clear. And of course there are all the chats I need to monitor and respond to, which never stop and might as well be meetings.

A massive culture shift is needed and I don’t feel like I’m in a position to make it. We are getting a new CIO soon, so I can hope for some positive impact there. Right now all bets are off. In the current culture, if something isn’t getting done fast enough, the go-to solution is a daily meeting to talk about it. It makes the project managers feel good and gives the appearance we’re doing all we can, but in reality it slows everything way down.

I will keep the essay in my back pocket to share if the opportunity presents itself.

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