Ask HN: How do you maintain your daily log?

88 points

4 years ago

A few years ago, I read an excellent article on HN [0], which recommended keeping a daily log in a simple text file. I've been following this advice. Recording many short entries over a day is very useful for me. I can easily find items for my performance review, leave notes for myself, etc.

Questions:

1. What is your workflow?

2. What tools do you use?

3. If you log to a text file, how do you format your entries?

My framework

Daily log vs. daily journal

For me, entries in a daily journal require deeper thought and reflection on what you have done, your goals, etc. Usually, journaling is done 1-2 times/day. Conversely, entries in a daily log concern immediate actions and are done many times a day. However, your daily log could inform entries in your daily journal.

Daily log vs. a to-do list

For me, entries in a to-do list are only the things you need to do. Also, most to-do lists I've seen don't store the timestamp of when a to-do item was created. Conversely, entries in a daily log are more diverse and are all timestamped. They may include to-do items but don't have to. My entries are updates, notes, questions, and to-dos.

My log is a markdown file, which I edit in Sublime Text. I created Espanso [1] shortcuts to add timestamped entries. E.g., "zzq" expands to "[2022-10-26 10:45:24]: Question []:" and "zzn" expands to "[2022-10-26 10:45:56]: Note:". For proper task/to-do management, I use Amazing Marvin [2], which is decent.

   [2022-10-23 09:18:44]: Update: prepared slides for meeting with @Laura   #1on1 #projectLion

   [2022-10-23 10:54:36]: Note: I created a new keystore key using these instructions https://xxx.xxx, stored in keys dir #projectGamma

   [2022-10-23 11:16:54]: TODO [x]: deploy a new build, which fixes the bug with incorrectly parsed dates (id:1332); [2022-10-24 10:12:12]: rolled out, v17 (2.0-17) #projectGamma

   [2022-10-23 12:27:56]: TODO []: ask about daily log software on HN @me

   [2022-10-23 13:38:00]: Note: password for W in stored in LP #projectGamma

   [2022-10-23 13:43:25]: Question [x]: should the style guide be in the repo or YouTrack? @Alex #weeklymeet #projectGamma; [2022-10-25 15:17:13]: @alex said in YT because we'll use it in other projects

   [2022-10-23 14:11:15]: Question []: should we use Red Frames (https://github.com/maxhumber/redframes) in addition to Pandas? Criteria for decision? @me #projectLion

What do you want to improve and why?

   - I need an easier way to find, e.g., all questions from this week for @Alex about #projectGamma. I'd like to easily filter entries by date, project (#projectGamma), person (@Alex), and type (Update, Question). 

   - Nice to have but not required:
    - sort entries by status (not done: [], done: [x])
    - auto-timestamp when a to-do item was created and completed
    - surround selected text with [], {}, "" and auto-close them like a programming text editor, e.g., ST, VSCode
    - duplicate & move entries via shortcuts

What have you looked into?

   - People enjoy Obsidian [3] and Logseq [4]. I find them alluring too, but I don't yet know how to make them support my daily log. I'd need to spend at least a full day to figure out each of them, the time I don't have at the moment. (I use Obsidian for code snippets; it is excellent.)

   - Org-mode is very popular, but emacs and vim are way too much of a time investment (I tried many times before). Do share your evil and holy workflows, though. There are org-mode extensions for other text editors and EasyOrg [5]. I still need to try them.

   - I like the todo.txt format [6] and I am considering forking pter [7], but making it fit my needs would take quite a bit of work.

Dealbreakers:

   - No Windows version

   - No desktop app

   - Subscription-based software, including charging for syncing between computers

   - No export option

Links posted in a comment.

85 comments

[2022-10-23 09:18:44]: Update: prepared slides for meeting with @Laura #1on1 #projectLion [2022-10-23 10:54:36]: Note: I created a new keystore key using these instructions https://xxx.xxx, stored in keys dir #projectGamma [2022-10-23 11:16:54]: TODO [x]: deploy a new build, which fixes the bug with incorrectly parsed dates (id:1332); [2022-10-24 10:12:12]: rolled out, v17 (2.0-17) #projectGamma [2022-10-23 12:27:56]: TODO []: ask about daily log software on HN @me [2022-10-23 13:38:00]: Note: password for W in stored in LP #projectGamma [2022-10-23 13:43:25]: Question [x]: should the style guide be in the repo or YouTrack? @Alex #weeklymeet #projectGamma; [2022-10-25 15:17:13]: @alex said in YT because we'll use it in other projects [2022-10-23 14:11:15]: Question []: should we use Red Frames (https://github.com/maxhumber/redframes) in addition to Pandas? Criteria for decision? @me #projectLion

- I need an easier way to find, e.g., all questions from this week for @Alex about #projectGamma. I'd like to easily filter entries by date, project (#projectGamma), person (@Alex), and type (Update, Question). - Nice to have but not required: - sort entries by status (not done: [], done: [x]) - auto-timestamp when a to-do item was created and completed - surround selected text with [], {}, "" and auto-close them like a programming text editor, e.g., ST, VSCode - duplicate & move entries via shortcuts

- People enjoy Obsidian [3] and Logseq [4]. I find them alluring too, but I don't yet know how to make them support my daily log. I'd need to spend at least a full day to figure out each of them, the time I don't have at the moment. (I use Obsidian for code snippets; it is excellent.) - Org-mode is very popular, but emacs and vim are way too much of a time investment (I tried many times before). Do share your evil and holy workflows, though. There are org-mode extensions for other text editors and EasyOrg [5]. I still need to try them. - I like the todo.txt format [6] and I am considering forking pter [7], but making it fit my needs would take quite a bit of work.