The last post pointed out how keeping a daily log can make a huge difference. Notetaking software can make this habit a lot easier.
Joplin
For my work logs I’ve been using Joplin for these reasons:
- You’re in control of the storage. This is important when critical business information may be stored in the notes. I’m using OneDrive.
- Open-source. Since this software is open-source, you don’t have the risk of it suddenly disappearing because a company was purchased or went out of business.
- Markdown. I really like the simplicity of Markdown. Since it’s designed to be readable in plain-text form you’re not even fully dependent on using the Joplin client to read the content .
Daily Log Format
I start each note with a title which is the date like # 2021-11-24.
Then I’ll usually just have a bulleted list with various things I worked on that day. Extra details are sub-bullets. I’ll often create hyperlinks to other relevant resources such as bugs in Azure DevOps.
KISS
That’s pretty much it! I find Joplin gives me a great balance of just enough functionality without getting too complicated. As Atomic Habits by James Clear advocates with “Make it Easy”, reducing friction helps to establish and maintain habits.