Another text file user. My current system is a log.txt file that has to-do lists at the top, followed by a big list of ideas waiting to be filed, followed by datestamped entries going downwards. That way the next thing to do is right at the top, and I can just cat the date to the bottom to write an entry. I keep this in the home directory on my notebook, but regularly copy it up to my Dropbox. When it gets really long I cut the log part off and save it.
I have another set of files with story ideas, productivity notes, personal thoughts, wildlife sightings, goth sightings, etc, but they’ve kind of accreted over a long time and aren’t well organised, with duplicate files for the same thing. What I’m trying at the moment is to just enter everything in the log, and go through the log every now and again to classify and copy things out.
One problem I have is ubiquity—I love my light-weight notebook and carry it a lot of places, but not everywhere. If I could find a really good phone note-taking app from which it was really really simple to export notes, I might use that.
The other problem is diagrams and photos. I find drawing diagrams and annotating them really helps me think. I have a hardback graph-paper notebook and pencil that I use, but I’d like to have my drawings digitally too, and link images into my log. I’m thinking maybe some sort of markdown-type thing, so I can look at my log with a browser and see the pictures.
Another text file user. My current system is a log.txt file that has to-do lists at the top, followed by a big list of ideas waiting to be filed, followed by datestamped entries going downwards. That way the next thing to do is right at the top, and I can just cat the date to the bottom to write an entry. I keep this in the home directory on my notebook, but regularly copy it up to my Dropbox. When it gets really long I cut the log part off and save it.
I have another set of files with story ideas, productivity notes, personal thoughts, wildlife sightings, goth sightings, etc, but they’ve kind of accreted over a long time and aren’t well organised, with duplicate files for the same thing. What I’m trying at the moment is to just enter everything in the log, and go through the log every now and again to classify and copy things out.
One problem I have is ubiquity—I love my light-weight notebook and carry it a lot of places, but not everywhere. If I could find a really good phone note-taking app from which it was really really simple to export notes, I might use that.
The other problem is diagrams and photos. I find drawing diagrams and annotating them really helps me think. I have a hardback graph-paper notebook and pencil that I use, but I’d like to have my drawings digitally too, and link images into my log. I’m thinking maybe some sort of markdown-type thing, so I can look at my log with a browser and see the pictures.