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Notes Framework

I’ve always kept my note-taking pretty simple; just jot things down as they come, using basic tools without much structure. No folders, no tags, no complex systems. I do organize things by date, though.

Lately, I’ve been trying out a more efficient way to take notes at work, and along the way, I ended up developing a bit of a framework that actually works well for me. It’s nothing fancy, and it might not be for everyone, but I figured I’d write it down in case it’s helpful to someone else too.

Again, I use simple tools. You can use anything, from Vi on the terminal, to Apple Notes, to Obsidian. The idea is to just keep this simple, otherwise you will not continue doing it; and plain text, since it'll allow you to open the notes anywhere, using anything.

Each day, I create a single note to capture everything that happens. I start with the date, something like "2025-10-15", which also becomes the filename (in this case 2025-10-15.md). Throughout the day, I jot down ideas, meeting notes, or random thoughts as they come, without stressing about organizing them. The only structure I follow is starting each entry with the time and a brief context, like "09:30 / meeting with CTO."

I organically started using specific symbols for certain types of notes to make it easier to spot things at a glance:

But you don't have to do this. It does help me at the end of the day to organize my thoughts.

At the end of the day, I review the note quickly and summarize the most important things at the bottom: what was decided, what needd to be done next, and what I've learned.

Again, there’s no need to create folders or categories. You just create one new note each day. That's all.

Here's an example from the note I wrote yesterday:

2025-10-16

Focus: Black Arrows assessment supporting backend code

09:30 / meeting with founder
* Discussed security intake automation
* Discussed security new format for web-based intake
-> Draft outline for CISO workflow
! Realized we can merge audit + intake logic into one simple process
? Need to confirm legal review process

10:45 / quick thought
* Brutalist principle: "Security should expose fragility, not hide it"
! Worth developing into next blog post

14:30 / ops check-in
* Assessment review backlog growing
-> Ask the guys for a visibility dashboard with alerting

----

Actions Summary
->[ ] Draft security intake outline
->[ ] Follow up with engineering on visibility dashboard
->[ ] Book time for blog post draft

Highlights
! We can merge audit + intake logic into one simple process
! Theme emerging: simplify → automate → unify

Each morning, I try to review any unfinished action items (marked with a ->) from yesterday’s note. Each week, I scan through the last few daily notes and pull out a handful of important items into that I want to keep as reminders, things that I've learned or discovered that at important. I keep those in a seaprate note that I call "North Star".

That's all.

Here's Auer Notes with the note I'm using today. I can filter by "Daily Notes" and get only these types of notes. I have a lot of notes that are not following this format, things that are not work related.

Notes

I wonder if I should maybe, at the end of the year, archive all the daily notes somewhere, and just leave the North Star note for each year...

This approach works best when you keep things simple, no complex tags, folders, or fancy tools needed. Plain text files are more than enough. The key is to capture quickly, summarize briefly, and review regularly. That rhythm, daily notes plus a clear "North Star" note, helps your information flow naturally without getting bogged down or messy.

By the way, as I was trying to figure out whether there is anyone else out there using a similar approach, I found Notetime. It's a neat tool.