How I Take (and Organise) My Notes As a Software Engineer

The Importance of Analog Notes00:00:00

The speaker emphasizes that physical notebooks and pens reduce friction for quick note-taking, diagrams, and daily to-do lists, often preferring squared paper for organization.

Digital Tools: Notion vs. Obsidian00:01:30

Notion is used for transactional project management and collaboration due to its versatility. Obsidian is preferred for long-term personal knowledge management because it stores data as local, portable markdown files.

Structuring a Second Brain00:04:00

The note-taking system follows a structure inspired by the PARA method (Projects, Areas, Resources, Archive), augmented by Zettelkasten concepts, using seven specific folders: Inbox, Projects, Knowledge, References, Archive, Extras, and Later.

Automating Note Integration00:06:35

The workflow uses Manta to curate articles and tweets, and Readwise to capture highlights from physical and Kindle books. Both tools automatically sync highlights into Obsidian for future processing.