Oh man I think about this a lot. I have some thoughts.
- The more complicated of a system, the less likely you are to use it.
- Complicated systems are self defeating.
- A system you use is always better than a perfect system you don't.
I try to make notes about where my previous notes are when I make new ones so I don't lose them.
I try to keep one or two physical ways to jot things down. I use a boogie board and a pocket journal. I use a disposable flimsy one. The temporary look of it helps me not treat it as some perfect log book that needs a perfect system. Avoid any and all "bullet journaling" tips lol. That's a road to complexity. My system is:
- If I need to remember something, I write it down.
- If I don't need to remember it anymore, I cross it out. If a page has nothing I need to remember and no real room for new still, I rip it out.
For digital notes I use Google Keep on my phone and an Obsidian Workplace in a synced folder for Google Drive. I DO NOT stress about making perfectly organized Obsidian documents that link to each other. I just write what I need as I need it. My Obsidian stuff is a little more organized but I sort of haven't used it in a while.
All forms of this is your way of communicating with your future self and how your future self will look for messages from you. Viewing it like this helps make it clear what sort of things you need to keep track of and also sort of sounds cool so it makes it exciting.