Wow, great timing. Around a week ago I spent an hour digging through my bookmarks for something I'd found via HN, and I must not have bookmarked.
I can't recall what the original post linked to, but in the comments someone discussed their preferred method of organizing their digital notes/journal. They linked to a forum post where someone described the system.
It involved using a single folder for all notes, with different categories, that were indicated in the file name. In fact the file name contained everything important. It also discussed never altering a file, but creating an index to refer to other related entries.
I think the person who wrote the forum post was a journalist of some sort? And they might have made reference to a Japanese system that was similar, but physical, which used lines on the top of index cards to indicate categories, and keeping the number of categories low (always 4?) was important.
My late-night reading currently consists of the book "Wizard: The Life and Times of Nikola Tesla; Biography of a Genius" by Marc J. Seifer. For anyone looking to learn more about the man, this seems to be the most comprehensive biography available. While only half through it so far, it's been an enjoyable and enlightening read.
The author's occasional dry humour is also quite welcome. Here's a sample:
"Due to his meager funds and general inability to budget himself, Tesla had but one suit, which had withered from use. It was the time of a religious festival, and Szigeti inquired what Tesla would be wearing. Stuck for an answer, the youthful inventor came upon the clever idea of turning his suit inside out, planning thereby to show up with a seemingly new set of clothes. All night was spent tailoring and ironing. But when one starts with a wrong premise, no amount of patching can right the problem. The outfit looked ridiculous, and Tesla stayed home instead."
I can't recall what the original post linked to, but in the comments someone discussed their preferred method of organizing their digital notes/journal. They linked to a forum post where someone described the system.
It involved using a single folder for all notes, with different categories, that were indicated in the file name. In fact the file name contained everything important. It also discussed never altering a file, but creating an index to refer to other related entries.
I think the person who wrote the forum post was a journalist of some sort? And they might have made reference to a Japanese system that was similar, but physical, which used lines on the top of index cards to indicate categories, and keeping the number of categories low (always 4?) was important.
I'd love to find that forum post again.