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Using an engineering notebook

ntietz.com

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Re: Using an engineering notebook

#41

Post by habinero »

danpalmer wrote: post #17
pjot wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For me, it helps to slow down my thoughts and aides deep work. I draw diagrams, connect blurbs with arrows, and “link” to other page numbers.

This is still missing the "what" for me. What do you write down about the work? Is it a plan for what you're about to work on? Is it a breakdown? Is it facts you learn as you work through something? Is it a minute by minute journal of what you've done? Is it just interesting details? Is it to-dos? Is it opinions you're trying to clarify? Diagrams I get, my desk is covered in scribbled diagrams to help me visualise so…

I really only find it useful when I'm investigating or troubleshooting some system I'm not familiar with.

A stupid yet accurate analogy is I turn up the log level for my brain lol

It's basically just a log file of everything I did and the result so I can pick it back up later, plus I include timestamps which helps me realize when I'm spinning my wheels for too long.

For building stuff, scribbling diagrams and flows is more useful if I need to work out something complex.

Re: Using an engineering notebook

#43

Post by hdjrudni »

voidUpdate wrote: post #42

Is an engineering notebook a specific kind of notebook? Google has a lot of results for "engineering notebook" but they seem to be all expensive fancy notebooks that have thin gridded paper

From the article,

> I'm not talking about a specific kind of paper notebook.

So no. Just a regular old paper notebook. Any kind will do.

Re: Using an engineering notebook

#45

Post by hdjrudni »

Interesting. I use a paper notebook to but it's the opposite of detailed. I use one when I have several ideas in my head and I need to get them out before I forget some, or when I need to figure something out that's a wee bit too complicated to keep all the bits and bobbles in my brain-RAM.

But I write down just enough to offload the memory to paper. They're literal notes. Just enough so that I can remember what I was on about earlier. But probably not detailed enough I could come back in a couple months and recollect the rest of the details. What's the point in that anyway? These are things I intend to act on. Once I commit them to code, then the code becomes the source of truth.

Re: Using an engineering notebook

#46

Post by rramadass »

JetSetIlly wrote: post #35

This is a timely article for me. I was consulting Joe Decuir's Engineering Notebooks just yesterday and wondered if these sorts of notebooks were a common thing or whether it was just Atari. Joe Decuir was an engineer at Atari and was involved with the development of the 2600. His notebooks can be useful references for the 2600, even to this day. https://archive.org/details/JoeDecuirEngineeringNotebook1977 https://ar…

Nice!

Thanks for posting this find.

Re: Using an engineering notebook

#47

Post by NetOpWibby »

cratermoon wrote: post #27
danpalmer wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is still missing the "what" for me. What do you write down about the work? Is it a plan for what you're about to work on? Is it a breakdown? Is it facts you learn as you work through something? Is it a minute by minute journal of what you've done? Is it just interesting details? Is it to-dos? Is it opinions you're trying to clarify? Diagrams I get, my desk is covered in scribbled diagrams to help me visualise so…

Every time you look up something on StackOverflow, refer to the API docs, or refer back to the ticket, use case, or requirements document, make a note of your question and the answer. Even when you stop typing to take a break for a moment, or after pushing code while you wait for the ci/cd pipeline, note down where you are and your last action or change. Every time you start to write a TODO comment, make a note inste…

Making note of your question AND answer sounds like an excellent way to both remember and cut down on tabs.

Re: Using an engineering notebook

#48

Post by foo42 »

farhanhubble wrote: post #11

I use Obsidian to record decisions, plan every day and take detailed notes. Very handy for recalling the nitty gritty for future reference be it performance reviews, writing blogs or updating my resume.

Same for me. I also make extensive use of adding links to anything relevant. Spent a bunch of time discussing something in a slack thread: link it. Read some documentation: link it. Had a chat with an llm in a chat window: link it. Writing notes about how a bunch of code works : link to the functions. For this last one I've registered a custom vim:// URL scheme on my system which lets me link to a symbol within a given file, and when clicked focuses the relevant tmux window and navigates the relevant vim instance (using named pipes) to the symbol, or opens a fresh one if not already open.

Re: Using an engineering notebook

#49

Post by rramadass »

Terr_ wrote: post #3
albert_e wrote: post #2

I use a physical notebook but not really an engeneering notebook as described here. I make notes while working and notes during meetings. Honestly most of it never gets read after a eay but I still do it. Very few of my colleagues carry a notebook around. Those who do are not seen taking notes too often.

Almost all my paper notes these days are write-only media. The benefit is not the artifact itself, but the immediate act of formalizing the idea, emphasizing its importance, and being mindful/attentive to what's going on.

Right. I am not sure why people have a hard time understanding this.

You almost always remember more of what you have consciously written down by hand than by typing. You can write as little or as much as you see fit; the point is that the conscious involvement of "whole body and mind" in the act of writing enforces mental discipline, helps find inter-disciplinary patterns and in general, is an aid to thinking.

Here is an article on the brain areas involved in writing; Psychologically speaking: your Brain on Writing - https://uwaterloo.ca/writing-and-communication-centre/blog/p...

Finally, if you look at any of the great Scientists, almost all of them wrote prodigiously viz. Letters/Papers/Books/etc. I am quite convinced that this was one important factor in the development of their greatness.

My personal role model for writing is of course Edsger Dijkstra :-)

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