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diff --git a/content/blog/2022-03-02-note-taking.md b/content/blog/2022-03-02-note-taking.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..88fd704 --- /dev/null +++ b/content/blog/2022-03-02-note-taking.md @@ -0,0 +1,137 @@ ++++ +date = 2022-03-02 +title = "Easy, Reliable Note-Taking" +description = "My personal preferences to ensure notes are clear, portable, and long-lasting." ++++ + +## Choosing Durable File Formats + +> TL;DR: Write in a format that can be easily rendered and read in +> plain-text mode (e.g., `.txt`, `.md`, etc.). + +As I've written more and more over the years, I've found that my love +of note-taking is always growing. Everything I learn or need to remember +can be written down in a note and saved digitally, with no cost to +myself. Unlike paper copies that need physical storage space, digital +files simply need space on your local disk or cloud storage, which is +fairly abundant these days. + +However, I had a historical struggle with migration of notes between +different apps that require different formats and applied proprietary +styling. This meant that I had to go through each note during migration +and edit the file to look presentable again. + +For the last year or two, I have written everything exclusively in +[Markdown](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markdown) format. Small notes, +long-form writings, and even these blog posts are all written in +Markdown. + +Why Markdown? While I do appreciate the simplicity of plain-text files +without any formatting, I often need visual cues such as heading and +code blocks to keep my thoughts straight. Markdown provides a minimal +set of styling indicators for me to style my notes without adding any +proprietary, embedded data into the files. If I want a top-level +heading, I simply add a hash (`#`) before the line. An added +bonus is that even if a system doesn't understand Markdown, it will +render it as plain-text and I can read it just as easily. + +For example, here's how TextEdit on macOS will open and display a +Markdown file in plain-text, since it does contain any features to +preview Markdown as HTML: + + + +## Saving & Syncing Files + +In order to read and edit my notes across platforms, I use my personal +cloud storage through Tresorit due to its native integration with macOS +and iOS file managers. In addition, Tresorit works well on Debian-based +Linux distros, which I used before macOS (and will likely switch back to +in a few years). + +You can use whatever sync software you want - syncing plain-text or +markdown files is incredibly easy and fast, since the files are +generally tiny. + +Since the cloud storage syncs files automatically, there is no need for +me to sync anything manually or kick-off a sync job to update my files. +This means that I can edit on mobile, and it takes about 5-10 seconds to +see the changes on desktop. + +### Version Control with Git + +A different approach I've contemplated is storing my notes and +attachments is using a hosted Git repository to track changes to the +files. However, I don't want to rely on an external service that could +potentially see into my data, even if the repository is private. + +I might just do `git init` locally and then commit my changes +each time I write or update a note, but that seems to be a lot of work +just for tracking changes - which I don't necessarily care to know. + +### Backups! + +One small addition to the storage/sync conversation is the idea of +backups. Personally, I manually create periodic backups of my entire +cloud storage, compress it into an archive, and store it on my home +server. + +To improve my workflow, I am going to be exploring options to +automatically compress the mounted cloud directory and send it over to +my server on a set schedule. + +## Writing on Desktop + +> **Update (06.14.22)**: Since writing this post, I have reverted to +> simply keeping my `notes` folder open and opening notes +> individually in TextEdit for a more minimal and relaxing writing +> experience on the desktop. + +The bulk of my writing occurs in a desktop environment, with a full +keyboard layout and wide screen. I don't illustrate with a smart pen, I +rarely use embedded images, and I love being able to see all of my +notes/directories in a sidebar. + +With this simple set of requirements, I chose +[Obsidian](https://obsidian.md) as my desktop text editor. Obsidian has +some in-depth tools like a graph view, command palette, mentions, etc., +but I've found that using it as a simple Markdown editor is incredibly +easy and straightforward. + +Here's an example of how my Markdown notes look when opened in +plain-text mode: + + + +Here's the "live preview" version, where the Markdown is rendered +into its HTML format: + + + +### Programming on Desktop + +While I was writing this, I realized I should specify that I don't use +the same editor for writing notes and for writing code. For programming +purposes, I use [VSCodium](https://vscodium.com) as my development IDE. + +## Writing on Mobile + +Personally, I write very little on mobile, except when needing to take +important notes on-the-go. Any long-form writing, journals, etc. are +done at home, where I always have my laptop available. + +I wanted a simple and foolproof editor for iOS, preferably open-source. +After a long journey of testing the few (& terrible) open-source iOS +note-taking apps, I finally found a phenomenal one: +[Runestone](https://github.com/simonbs/runestone). This app is fantastic +for note-taking, has plenty of optional features, and integrates +natively with the iOS file manager. + +This app opens the iOS file manager and allows you to click any file you +want, opens it up in an editor, and lets me save and close out of that +note. + +Quite simple but effective. |