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I started a “dirt notebook”

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Re: I started a “dirt notebook”

#61

Post by iammjm »

I have finally solved this for me. My system consists of two notebooks:

1. Small A6 pocket notebook which I always have on me because it fits in any pocket. Write down anything and everything in it. Bundled with a pen, leather cover,and tiny e-ink ebook reader

2. Big A4 notebook which I usually use at my desk. I used to have an A5 but since it’s not portable anyway, I might as well go with an A4

I really like this setup. There’s also a digital side to it, which consists of Obsidian for creating notes, Quartz for converting obsidian-generated .md files into static websites, and a simple self-hosted web server which gets new files via git.

Re: I started a “dirt notebook”

#62

Post by thyristan »

femto wrote: post #26
encomiast wrote: post #3

I've been trying binders instead of notebooks (especially the mini-binders from folks like Maruman). Binders allow you to easily remove and add pages (and tabs, dividers, etc). This gives you the satisfaction of making something aesthetically pleasing, while also knowing you can move a 'messy' page somewhere else.

Conventional wisdom is to use a bound notebook, as a court will discount reliability if pages can be removed without leaving a trace.

Why would I care about a court?

There are a hundred different issues that are more important to me than the usability of my notebook in a court proceeding. And even so, that proceeding might easily be one against you, so why would you want to produce reliable evidence against yourself?

Re: I started a “dirt notebook”

#63

Post by lionkor »

iammjm wrote: post #61

I have finally solved this for me. My system consists of two notebooks: 1. Small A6 pocket notebook which I always have on me because it fits in any pocket. Write down anything and everything in it. Bundled with a pen, leather cover,and tiny e-ink ebook reader 2. Big A4 notebook which I usually use at my desk. I used to have an A5 but since it’s not portable anyway, I might as well go with an A4 I really like this se…

What kind of notes do you take? It's always been kind of difficult, as someone who takes maybe a page of notes a week, to imagine what people fill entire books of notes full, outside of university etc.?

I had a friend who would write notes on everything. Every time he learned something, he would write it down in his own words. This sounds good, but he ended up basically internalizing and studying his own misunderstandings, as he never referred back to the source material and instead studied off of his notes.

So I'm very curious how you take notes, if you're willing to share?

Re: I started a “dirt notebook”

#64

Post by thyristan »

encomiast wrote: post #3

I've been trying binders instead of notebooks (especially the mini-binders from folks like Maruman). Binders allow you to easily remove and add pages (and tabs, dividers, etc). This gives you the satisfaction of making something aesthetically pleasing, while also knowing you can move a 'messy' page somewhere else.

Great idea about ring binders. They also solve another problem that I've always had with paper notebooks: When a glue/stitch-bound paper notebook gets full, I have to start a new one. But there will always be some pages with unresolved issues, open to-dos or important knowledge that I want to carry around with me. Carrying two notebooks doesn't work, insufficient pocket space. Copying things is a chore, so I won't reliably do it. But just keeping some binder pages when refilling and putting the rest into some archive binder on a shelf sounds perfect.

Thanks!

Re: I started a “dirt notebook”

#65

Post by grantmuller »

This problem is so old and so common that people like Erasmus have commented on it. "Waste books" written by intellectuals throughout the ages still exist, one of the finest is Lichtenberg's. I keep a little notebook and even my main notebook has scattered pages labeled "fragments" that accomplish something similar.

Re: I started a “dirt notebook”

#66

Post by makerdiety »

People don't do digital notebooks and have automation archive, index, and categorize their old thoughts? And, now, with large language models, automation can even infer latent consequences from what you scribbled. Digitally, of course. Unless you plan on having optical character recognition processing in the pipeline.

Re: I started a “dirt notebook”

#68

Post by meeshmuesh »

IMO goal based note-taking & productivity systems can end up being where the attention is focused instead of the goal. The more complex the system, the more focus is put into it. The focus feels productive but the reality is that the goal has been abandoned or delayed until the excitement of the system dies down.

I've struggled a lot with this. For me I think it comes down to not being intentional enough about why I'm doing the goal in the first place so I get distracted by shiny new systems that in theory will solve all my problems. With this in mind, I try to keep things as simple as possible and strip back as many layers between the goal and the thing that helps me keep on track to complete that goal.

In relation to notes specifically ( this is for tracking life stuff - DIY/projects/day trips/thoughts etc...), I use a reminders/todo app and one A7 notebook with a mini-pen that live in my pocket. The notebook/pen is the cheapest that i can buy with a spiral.

During the week, I work through the todo list in the notebook, and write my thoughts/things to research more fully. At the end of the week, I remove the completed todos from the app, add new ones from the notebook. I tear up the pages from that week, then write up new todos to the notebook for next week.

Re: I started a “dirt notebook”

#69

Post by WCSTombs »

sublinear wrote: post #47
teo_zero wrote: post #35

But why? What's wrong with a tidy notebook?

I was going to comment similar. I already know I'm going to annoy some people by saying this, but I've gone through both messy and neat phases of life. Every messy phase was almost entirely forgettable and inexperienced noise. Eventually, I'd find stability in my life and become neat again. I'm not saying messiness is inherently shameful, but it is absolutely worth looking at the bigger picture to find answers. I pro…

I think you're completely missing the point. The "messy" notebook isn't supposed to have any aesthetic value or qualities, it's just a tool for the user to record stuff in the moment. It also has nothing to do having a messy phase in life. It literally is just there for you to write stuff down whenever you need or want to.

Re: I started a “dirt notebook”

#70

Post by JesseHowell »

Hand writing notes will always be my go-to, most 'productivity apps' assume you know what's important before you've thought it through - they ask you to organise your notes immediately as you write them. Sometimes you need the messy version first, and the structure only makes sense in hindsight.
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