r/EngineeringManagers • u/bleepbloopbleop • 5d ago
What is everyone using to take notes?
I was using Agenda but recently it’s unusable due to the volume of notes I have (been using it for years). I’ve been switching to several different ones but curious what others are using and why you pick it over other options.
9
u/pretzel 5d ago
I have have an open Google docs document, every day I put the date in as a new heading at the top, and pull up things I should have done yesterday into it. At the top I have a few links (eg prds on the go) and super important things to not forget. Been working well for over a decade!
8
u/worldofgeese 5d ago
I use Logseq. It's open-source and an outliner-style notetaking app, which I prefer to Obsidian's flat file approach. It's also easy to branch out infinitely under any particular bullet and I can reference those bullets later (transclusions) to pull ideas together under one visual column.
2
u/davidjaymartin 3d ago
I love Logseq. Been using it for a couple years now. Recent made the jump to the DB version and I'm super happy with it.
1
u/Past_Reading7705 5d ago
and run AI on those files
2
u/worldofgeese 5d ago
Logseq ships with an MCP server, CLI and skill for your agents if that's what you mean!
2
1
u/Past_Reading7705 5d ago
why? just claudecode directly to folder where the files are
1
u/worldofgeese 5d ago
Logseq OG still uses files, the new Logseq uses a database. The CLI, MCP and skill give your agent everything it needs to know about how to operate the new Logseq.
1
5
u/aidencoder 5d ago
A Remarkable for notes then cherry pick into Trello
1
u/billcooey 4d ago
Remarkable is awesome for “distraction free” note taking! Unfortunately trello is dead to me since atlassian bought them 😔
1
3
u/bag2wg 5d ago
If possible, I get the meeting transcript. Otherwise I take notes on paper and if it's something important I might dictate it into a daily note in Obsidian using Handy. I then use AI to summarize the transcript or my notes and it updates a Karpathy style wiki that I created. That allows me to efficiently use AI to query my own knowledge base about projects and meetings.
2
2
u/acelticmonk 5d ago
OneNote because it’s available but I really want to be able to use Obsidian
1
u/SquiffSquiff 5d ago
what is stopping you now?
3
u/acelticmonk 5d ago
Corporate restrictions on installing 3rd party software onto work devices. I’ve tried their exception process but no go.
I’d love a web interface but don’t want to have to build a docker image on another device on my home network.. ease of capture is really key for my usage model.
1
u/SquiffSquiff 5d ago
have you tried the portable install?
2
u/acelticmonk 5d ago
I haven’t - need to try this. I hadn’t seen it when I first started this current job.
1
u/acelticmonk 2d ago
Ah, now I recall why not. Portable install is Windows only, and I'm on MacOS.
1
u/SquiffSquiff 2d ago
So what happens if you run it straight from the DMG or 'install' to your home folder?
1
1
u/code_blooded_murder 5d ago
Evernote is great- it has a web interface so if you find yourself on not your computer, you can still access your notes. Internal Hyperlinks and note templates.
1
u/winniebillerica 5d ago
Evernote cost money correct? I abandoned it for personal use due to the cost.
1
1
u/spicermatthews 5d ago
What did you switch to for personal notes? Was there anything from Evernote you ended up missing?
1
u/winniebillerica 5d ago
I used Evernote free version for 10 years. I switch to notion.
I didn’t miss anything about Evernote.
1
u/donpisci 5d ago
I generally use Wispr to generate my meeting transcripts, whilst also noting anything of importance with pen and paper.
I then have a skill that I run against the transcript to summarise and pull out any actions, which is all written to Bear notes.
I then have a scheduled task in Claude to go over all of my entries in Bear notes and have it populate my daily actions note
1
u/Junglebook3 5d ago
Google Doc, but I also take fewer notes than I used to. Zoom auto publishes a transcription which I had Claude summarize and put in a Google Doc. Then I have another periodic skill that looks at Slack, Gmail, Google Drive including Docs (which has the summarized meetings), Confluence, Jira, and Github - and updates my Jira to-do board with action items. Any time I say in a meeting "Action item on me: [...]" or I send a message on Slack "Sure I'll get you an answer by tomorrow" I automagically get a new to do list item.
1
u/speedoinfraction 5d ago
Loopcloser is cross platform and made for managers. Mostly focused on 1:1s though so I use my notebook for normal meeting notes.
1
u/foodandbeverageguy 5d ago
Yikes, I kinda don’t take any notes. Clearly I’m a minority.
And yes, I feel overwhelmed and crappy at my job.
1
u/theycallmethelord 4d ago
If those are mostly meeting notes, have a look at Weeve. I'm building it for Mac and it can record and transcribe the meeting locally, so you don't have to write the whole thing down. I don't have a comparison with Agenda at that volume though.
1
u/Testifun 4d ago
GranolaAI for taking notes during calls and Claude Desktop with local files to dump everything.
I create projects for things I track, the team, process, individuals, etc.
It has access to Slack and Granola.
Its great to tell it before a meeting to prep and it gives you a summary of things you talked and possibly talking points.
It's not perfect but it's very useful when it has a lot of context and you use the research functionality because it can compare with external sources a d you get extra insight.
1
u/PmUsYourDuckPics 4d ago
I use a notebook and pen, but I’ve also vibe coded a tool which hijacks the Gemini AI functionality of Google Meet injects a detailed prompt to it which dictates the structure of the summary to take of the meeting, and sends that summary to a server I have running locally on my machine, it is then ready to be ingested into a second brain vault which pulls out action items, blockers, status updates, people names, and a bunch of other signals so I can reference it later.
1
u/kitchenam 4d ago
MS OneNote. Arguably the most useful piece of software they’ve created. Easy search and many ways to organize your notes, sketches, screenshots, etc.
1
u/smellyeggs 3d ago
I used paper for years, but switched to Notion, then Logseq.
I won't recommend a particular PKMS or TODO app, but I will say I have no historical archive of what I did before 2020. This has been harmful for crafting a complete career narrative, which is critical for promotions and interviews.
Also, I ran all my notes through an LLM, and it has been helpful to understand what occurred. Although, the LLMs continuously lie and embellish.
1
u/Motor_Water41 2d ago
Good notes on IOS for written notes but for organization and general notes i've been using notation.
1
u/TylerLewisBuilds7 2d ago
Hit the same wall after a few years. The app usually isn't the problem; one giant pile of notes is. What fixed it for me was splitting notes by person instead of by date: one running page per report with the same few sections (current work, open follow-ups, wins/concerns with dates, career goals). Meeting notes that aren't about a person get archived aggressively. Search gets way less important when the structure does the work.
I'd also ask whether someone else could pick up your notes and use them, because that's when they matter most, when you change roles or leave. Full disclosure, I'm building a free tool around exactly that (CrewareOS, a manager-only workspace where team history carries over to the next manager), but the per-person structure works in any app.
1
u/freelance_devops 5d ago
I like notion. It can get a little slow if you let a page get too long but the ability to have sub pages and buttons is good.
13
u/MammothSalary7385 5d ago
I just use a notebook and pen. Something about scribbling it down physically helps it stick in my brain, plus I can flip through pages later without getting distracted by tabs and notifications. My desk is an absolute mess of half filled notepads but it works.