Different people use various methods to take notes. Some prefer Apple Notes, while others use Obsidian, Standard Notes, or simply a pen and notebook.
As a user of the Zettelkasten method, I utilize a combination of different tools.
Fleeting notes
The purpose of fleeting notes is to capture ideas or thoughts when one is occupied with other tasks. When reading a book, one can use a pen to take notes. As I use a Remarkable to read, annotating in the book and extracting the notes afterward is easy.
Later, the notes can be reviewed and included as permanent notes in one’s system. It is recommended to review any note at least once a week. If there is no value in a note, because it was not taken correctly or some information was missed, it should be erased.
Permanent notes
Permanent notes are the ones you want to keep forever. They are always written in the same way, in the same place.
They should be written in your own words and contain the necessary information to be understood a week, a month, years after they were written.
How do I write them?
While I used to use Obsidian on my mobile, I have not reinstalled the app since upgrading my phone and installing GrapheneOS.
When it comes to writing notes, the tools I use depend on whether I am at my laptop or on the go.
For longer notes, I primarily use Standard Notes.
Signal ‘Notes to self’ to write a short note with a reference.
Then, I review it and decide whether to keep it or not.
Linux
On my Debian, I use AwesomeWM, a tiling window manager.
The main reason: to avoid using the mouse!
To add a quick note, I added this to my ~/.config/rc.lua:
-- Add a quick note
awful.key({ modkey }, "e", function ()
awful.spawn("kitty --single-instance -e /home/hyde/bin/addnote",
{
floating = true,
ontop = true,
placement = awful.placement.centered
})
end,
{description = "add note", group = "hotkeys"}),
Pressing Modkey4 + e opens a new floating window which invokes the addnote script. This script adds a note to my Vimwiki diary if one is not already present for the current day.
If a note is already present, it is added to the end of the note.
The note looks like this:
# YYYY-MM-DD
# HH:MM:SS
Foo
reference:
# HH:MM:SS
Bar
reference:
OSX
My working laptop is a MacBook Pro.
I use Yabai to emulate a tiling window manager and skhd for keybindings.
While these tools are helpful, they are not as comprehensive as those available for Linux.
The configuration is use in my ~/.skhdrc is:
alt - e: open -n -a /Applications/kitty.app/Contents/MacOS/Kitty --args -e
/Users/hyde/bin/addnote; yabai -m space -toggle padding; yabai -m space
--toggle gap
Pressing <Alt-e> opens a new kitty terminal using the same addnote script.
On OSX, my spaces are organized like this:
- Space 1: Tmux / terminal
- Space 2: Librewolf
- Space 3: Slack
- Space 4: Element
- Space 5: Docker Desktop
In the same way, I always use the same window arrangement on my Linux box.
The initial tag or space will always be for Tmux or Terminal. The second tag is for the browser, and the third is for Slack for work or Signal for my personal laptop. This system allows me to locate my items quickly. I do not wish to spend time searching for the desired window.
You can use this configuration in your ~/.yabairc to organize it how you want:
yabai -m rule --add app="^kitty$" space=1
yabai -m rule --add app="^Librewolf$" space=2
yabai -m rule --add app="^Slack$" space=3
yabai -m rule --add app="^Element$" space=4
yabai -m rule --add app="^(Docker Desktop)$" space=5
Zettelkasten and Vimwiki
Notes are organized in the directory ~/projects/zettelkasten.
Fleeting notes are added to ~/projects/zettelkasten/diary with a date format of
YYYY-MM-DD.md.
In Neovim, the Vimwiki diary index can be quickly accessed using its keybinding, where all the fleeting ones can be found.
The index appears as follows:
❯ cat -np diary.md
# Diary
## 2024
### February
- [2024-02-11](2024-02-11)
- [2024-02-08](2024-02-08)
- [2024-02-05](2024-02-05)
### January
- [2024-01-29](2024-01-29)
- [2024-01-25](2024-01-25)
- [2024-01-24](2024-01-24)
- [2024-01-19](2024-01-20)
- [2024-01-19](2024-01-19)
- [2024-01-18](2024-01-18)
- [2024-01-15](2024-01-15)
- [2024-01-13](2024-01-13)
- [2024-01-09](2024-01-09)
- [2024-01-03](2024-01-03)
- [2024-01-02](2024-01-02)
NB: In Vimwiki, link extensions are hidden.
All notes are stored in the same directory. I use Neovim’s telescope to search for the notes I need.
I do not categorise them, but instead use tags to link them together.
Vimwiki is primarily used for diary notes.
Conclusion
It is important to note that this evaluation is subjective. While it works for me, it may not work for others who use their computer differently.
However, I hope that this approach will inspire individuals to try it.
Post 5/100 - Round 5 of the 100DaysToOffload challenge !
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