A couple months I made one last attempt to enjoy taking notes digitally. I used a combination of Github, Microsoft VS Code and VIM to make my notes shareable and archivable across multiple platforms. As I expected, it failed miserably. It isn’t to say that Github doesn’t do a good job of note taking, just the workflow is wonky because that is what technologists do, make things harder for them because they can.
The thing is though, I find myself taking less notes now than before, because of the workflow. Just because I can do something doesn’t mean I should. Moving back to analog is usually a good choice, how often do I need to search my notes? Rarely, I mostly look at the dates and then go from there.
My workflow has now standardized to using the Studio Neat Totebook which I enjoy because it is thin, has the dot grid that gives note taking flexibility and has archival stickers so I can put them on the shelf like my old Field Notes. Why did I not go back to them? I find their size for normal note taking too constrictive, but that’s just me. The size of the Totebook is just right, small enough to not be to big, but big enough to not be too small.
I still use the same pens I’ve been using for years, I feel like they don’t smear and don’t cost a bundle if you lose them and have a bit of friction on the writing that makes it much easier to control. Pens are more a personal preference, it’s hard to move between them as easily as paper. Find a pen you like and stick with it.
I’m just done with Evernote, Bear, OneNote and all the rest of platforms I’ve spent years trying to adapt to.