Notes System That Will Let You Thrive: Craft Your Own Path to Productivity

Hello, welcome to my presentation, Node System That Will Let You Write. My goal today is to show how to build your own system, your Node system, that will help you in your everyday life and work. And my name is Joanna Otmianowska and I work as a senior frontend engineer at family, and this is my full-time job.

But besides that, I do run one of the biggest Polish communities encouraging women to start coding. I also do have a podcast, newsletter. I read a lot. I listen to a lot of podcasts, and I have two small kids that take the majority of my previously free time. So even from this description, you can see that there is a lot going on in my life and I cannot imagine to function without a good Node system, because I don't rely on my brain and my memory and I can't just hope that I will remember something. And this is why I decided to build a good Node-taking system.

And I've been doing that, like, for years now, and I wanted to share my tips and mistakes also so you can actually learn from them and build something. And you may wonder why I want to talk about Node system on AI-centered conference, and also why you just can't use Google or ChatGPT to get what you want. And of course, like, it is possible, but I strongly believe that in, like, AI everything era, it's really nice to have something that you put together yourself and that you can use. Because, of course, you can ask 100 times the same thing, but it's, I believe, nicer to just go back to your notes and use them. And it's been actually scientifically proven that you remember things better if you write them down. So this is also a part of learning journey, just saving what you want to keep for the future.

So, as I already mentioned, I've been testing and using many systems through the years. And this is just to show you, like, how it looked like. I won't be going into much details in here. So basically, I started from pen and paper as probably everyone. But then I started learning how to code, and then I started my first job. And it wasn't enough to save everything I wanted to save. And then I started my blog and a newsletter, and I just needed more and more things to save and to use. So I went to Google Docs. It wasn't really working. I went to Evernote and Notion. But back then, when I was using it, I think it was seven years ago, it didn't really have nice search feature. Like, as an interesting fact today, at my work, at family, we actually use Notion as a main system for the whole company to, like, share documents and everything. Then I moved to Bullet Journal that I actually use still today, like, handwritten one. Then Apple Notes, because I still believe this is the best speech-to-text tool. So if I'm just walking and talking and want to save it, I usually use Apple Notes, and just then put it to a different system.

Then Obsidian, because I was really searching for something with good search feature and for something with nice folder structure. And then Logstick. And Logstick is actually my system today, and I just want to show you how it looks like and why I like it so much.

Logstick is actually bullet points-based. So every day, you get this entry with your date, and you can simply create notes. You can also create a new page like this, and you can, for example, add a tag to it. So if you add a tag, then you can just go and see how many things you have on the tag. So for example, I have, like, tech notes, and I have many of them. But what is really nice, you have these journals every day. You don't have to worry about, like, folder structure, and this was my problem in Obsidian, because I had very, very complex structure. And at some point, it actually stopped me from adding new notes, because I wasn't sure where to add them. So I just wasn't adding them. So this is why I change the system.

In Logstick, you also have, like, favorites. For example, this is, like, where I was working on this conference talk. You have flashcards, which is super nice. If you add, like, a card tag to your note, then it shows up in here. So you can basically test your knowledge, if you want. And you have this graph view, and it actually is not very useful, but it's just nice to see, like, how many notes you have. And going back to my presentation, through all these years, I've been amazed how my needs are changing. So basically, I was using something. It was working nice. But after some time, it was just changed. So I needed to adjust my system. And this is where I came to the conclusion. And I think this is very, very accurate today, because there is just no perfect system. So you cannot... I just cannot give you one perfect app that will solve all the problems, and then, like, every problem will be gone. And you will be just using it till the end of your life, like, happy. But there is a system that works for you.

And this should be your aim. So not to look for the perfect app, but just start experimenting, adjusting, and just building your own system. So I believe these are four core things that make your system work. So basically, you engage with it regularly. So you simply add notes. Then it's easy for you to search and retrieve new notes. And adding new notes feels frictionless. So basically, it's not a chore for you. It doesn't feel like you're obliged to do something. It's just a part of your work, of your, like, workflow. And a system just supports you. So you feel like you're using it, and you benefit from the system. It's not like this you feel bad about adding new notes, and you feel like it's, like, another thing you have to do.

So how to start? One tip I could give you is if you're using something right now, just keep using it. But if you feel that it doesn't work, or you just, I don't know, you're just struggling, or you don't feel it's right, just try to write down all your impressions for a week or two. So every aha moment, everything that just doesn't feel right, or the thing that actually feels very right. And after two weeks, you can just go through your observations and iterate, and then search for something. Because it's really, really easy to actually go into the loophole of endless research.

If we go to YouTube and search for the note-taking system, you'll get countless videos about how to build robust systems. And it may feel overwhelming. And it may also don't feel really right for you. Because let's say you're looking for something that will gather your ideas for the articles you want to learn. And then you end up on YouTube, it's on some video with someone showing a very complex system for, I don't know, tech notes. So this is not really something for your needs. And then you may feel that it's not maybe not right for you to use this system. So it's just better to focus on yourself and on your needs. And this is a quote I wanted to share from a really nice book, Meditations for Mortals. Because very often, when we start building a note system, we feel that now we have to write down and note everything. And this is about stockpiling knowledge. So basically, we start to stockpile our knowledge.

And we don't even feel that we can read a book without taking a note. So it takes the joy from us. And I just wanted to leave it here, like something to avoid. So right now, we have things to avoid. So basically, avoid stockpiling knowledge and avoid just researching, endless research.

But what would you get from the good note taking up? And for me, it's a peace of mind. So basically, it's this feeling that you don't have to put more power into trying to remember things and into trying to like know where you saved something. Because you have one nice system that is just working. And this is main question that you should ask. So why you want to actually build a note system? Because I want to go into details, and I won't give you the instructions, for example, on how to build folder structure or what would be the best structure of the note. Because I believe that there are so different needs, that you should start about asking yourself, why do you need a system?

Maybe you're just struggling, and you just don't want to scroll your Slack messages that you send to yourself as thing is to remember. Or you just don't feel that having like folder name miscellaneous, that just gathers everything that's for you. So basically, why you want to work or know your note system? And the second question is, what you want to put in the system? Because as I mentioned, we all have different needs. And also looking at my journey, I can see that this also was changing for me. So first, I just wanted to save something I was learning from frontend. So I was saving some code snippets or some concept, etc. But for example, later I started writing a newsletter. So I was gathering ideas for the articles. And today I use Logstick also at work for meetings notes. So if I want to remember something from the meeting, I actually added to the Logstick. And before, I don't think I actually was doing notes from the meetings. But then when I started attending more meetings, it actually turned out that I need something like that. So this should be your main two questions. So why and what? And when you have answers, then it's a time for the third question.

And the third question is, how you process and retrieve information? Because we are also very different when it comes to that. And for some people, some things feel more natural. And I want to encourage you to find out what feels the most natural for you and just follow that. And to help you in here, I prepared a few things that you can actually think about. So basically, do you prefer folder structure or search? Some people like to search through the folder tree, but some just like search features. So this is how you retrieve your notes.

Do you like online or offline? Or do you need online or offline notes? Do you like visuals? For example, like mind maps. The Logstick that I showed actually have whiteboards. So you can add something there. Backlinks. So do you need backlinks? Backlinks are if you have a note, there can be a mention of another note. So basically, you're linking one note with another and you create kind of a chain of notes. There are different systems that are built on that. For example, Zettelcasten system is based on the smallest notes that you can build. And then you just chain them together to get the bigger picture. Then long or short notes. As I mentioned, do you like to add your notes on mobile devices? This may be really tricky because many applications actually struggle with mobile versions. And I believe that Apple Notes is the best when it comes to syncing between devices and it's not so super obvious for other systems. And also cloud versus local storage. Here we have also a topic of privacy and sensitive data. So if you're using something for work that contains some sensitive data, you have to consider storing it locally or do you prefer the cloud storage to sync your notes across devices? These are all the questions you should consider because you may just choose a different app if, for example, you prefer local storage.

The main thing that should come from these three questions that I mentioned is actually that your workload matters. As I mentioned already, the notes system should feel like part of your workload. So you should be aiming for something that will be just like fitting right into your system, not just making it more complicated, but just making it easier. And while reading and researching, because you probably do that, you can read about great systems that are custom that I already mentioned. There is also the second brain idea by Tiago Forte. And if you read about this system, you may have this feeling that now you should do things the certain way. And as all the systems are great, amazing and can bring a lot of value. I just want to encourage you to try them out, of course, but just don't treat them as something that you have to do. Just take what you need and take what works for you from this system and build your own. So although this type of should that now, OK, now I should have the main folder and now I should add all the notes to this main folder and then tag them. Maybe something different just works for you. The only tip I would give you, regardless the system that you will be using, is consider using tags. Tags are super helpful when it comes to searching and they are also widely supported in different systems. So then you can search by tags, you can gather your ideas and notes by tags. And if you move between systems, usually tags are something that will be working in every system.

So this is something really permanent that you can have. For example, I rely right now mainly on tags and on backlinks, so I don't rely on folders, for example, in LOGSIC there aren't folders really. But for example, when I was moving from Obsidian to LOGSIC, I just basically copy pasted or my notes and they were working and I could search through them, which was pretty amazing. And the goal is to just start, as I mentioned before. If you have something that you use now, keep using it. Just experiment with different things. If you feel like a fresh start will be a better idea, select new app and just start. I suggest to just use it for a week or two, as I mentioned, and see if it works for you. Just avoid reading for weeks about the system before you start using it. It's better just to start and see if it's actually working for you, because the goal is to not only start but also to use the system.

And now I just want to mention a few apps, and this is my personal choice. If you're considering what would be the good app to use, I just have a few examples. Notion is amazing when it comes to collaboration if you need to share your notes. It also has really great syncing between devices. It has templates, it's highly customizable, and you can... There was also a big community building templates.

And I also personally believe that Notion is really great looking, so it's really nice to be in that system. Obsidian is markdown-based, and it's great for tech notes, for example. It's very, very simple. So the layout is really simple, and it doesn't disturb anything. And you can build really great folder structure, and you have backlinks, and you can actually create your own plugins. So if you're into these things, like customizing your own workspace, this may be a tool for you. I already showed you Logsticks, so I don't think there is more to add.

There are also Apple Notes, as I mentioned before. I think they are the best when it comes to syncing, because of the OS, between devices. And also they are really great when it comes to recording and just putting text from your speech together. And they also got backlinks recently. So if you're using Apple Notes, you also have backlinks. And Evernote, this is kind of like legacy one, but I also wanted to put more traditional note-taking up in here. Evernote is still great, it's still working. And it's, I believe, better for longer and more traditional notes, because it's more like a notebook, let's say. Evernote has that different, like other don't, it's web clipping. So you basically can save things from the web to read after, or just as your resources, which is also super useful and nice. But it's not just which app you choose, but it's more about that you actually use this app.

And if you need a hand, and if you wonder, like, where to start, and what do I need, where do I go? I put together this small quiz that will help you find out which app might be a good choice for you. And as this is AI contest, I just have to mention that this page was 100% generated with Coursera, just by providing the set of questions, and the inspirations. So like, color palette and all that stuff. And I was able to build in 10 minutes, this super quick and super easy quiz. So this was really nice. And just another thing to mention that these questions were generated by ChatGPT based on my notes, on note-taking, and also based on the transcripts of my podcast, like my podcast episodes that I recorded about notes.

So it was super nice to incorporate these tools into my workflow, and to see them working. So I just thought it's nice to share that you can just put it all together and just use it in your notes, of course.

As you probably are taking the quiz now, just a few key takeaways for the end. So there is no perfect system, and don't believe if people say that there is a perfect system. So there is only the system that works for you, and works the best for you. And before committing and doing something, just define what you need and what you will be noting. It will help you massively. And then experiment and iterate on that. And consistency actually matters more than a tool. So if you just put ideas for your articles in the Google Doc, and that works, this is fine. You don't have to use any robust system.

And find a system that actually supports you and not burdens you. Because we actually tend to abandon things that don't feel natural. So it's really good to think about what's your preference, and how to incorporate good note-taking system and note-taking app to that. And this is everything that I prepared for you today. You can contact me or you can just scan the code to get more details on the initiatives I am working on. Thank you, and I hope that you will find your not perfect, but good note-taking app for you after you do the quiz. Thank you.