Re: Adding Quick Notes in Org-mode Agenda View Inserts then In Drawer in Reverse Order

[Tim Cross <theophilusx@gmail.com>]

The challenge with org-mode is that there are an almost unlimited way to
solve every requirement. My approach to what you are doing is likely
very different, but I'll outline it so that the recording of notes has
context. 

Notes are added as sub-headings under the task. All my tasks are at
level 2, so my notes are level 3 or more (notes with sub-notes). I only
use the draw for recroding planning metadata and perhaps some properties
for some special cases.

 I use two methods for adding notes -

1. Just hit enter on the task in the agenda to open its org file and
position the cursor at the task. I then just move down and enter the
note. This is the method I tend to use when actually working on the task
as opposed to just having a thought/idea/info to log about the task.

2. I have a 'note' capture template. Initially, this adds the note to a
refile.org file, but it could be configured to add it where you want.
For me, the aim is to just log the 'thought' as quickly as possible. I
don't worry about where to file it initially. At least once a day, I go
through my refile.org file and refile all the entries in that file.
Using org-refile, it is pretty easy to find the location to refile the
note. Using a capture template, I can ensure additional metadata
associated with the note are included automatically (like the date,
maybe the buffer, web page (I also use org-protocol, so I can record the
notes from web pages in chrome, including anything 'selected'. etc).

Many people would likely find the additional step of having to refile
notes from the refile.org file a hassle or time sink. However, I find it
really useful. The refile task is usually the main component of my
planning for the days activities. I also often find it useful as other
points or info will occur while processing the entries, which I can add
before refiling. Most days, the whole process takes only a couple of
minutes and is usually finished before I've finished my morning coffee!

I also tend to keep my agenda quite small. I treat the refile.org file
as a backlog of 'things'. Items in that file are not included in my
agenda. They only become included in my agenda once they have been
refiled into the appropriate main org file(s). This has two benefits for
me -

1. I don't get 'overloaded' with tasks. If you have too many tasks, I
find it can be overwhelming at times and becomes difficult to focus on
getting progress. All the tasks actually in my agenda are tasks I have
actually committed to completing. More importantly, they are tasks I'm
committed to completing in the 'near future'.

2. All possible tasks, ideas etc are recorded and kept in the refile.org
file. This is my backlog. There are numerous tasks in there which will
likely end up being cancelled without any action (either because
requirements have changed, opportunity has been missed, no longer
relevant etc). Often, they are just ideas which never mature enough to
be worth progressing. As tasks in my agenda are completed, I will go
through the backlog and select new tasks to add.  

Any tasks in my agenda which don't get any action after 2 weeks are
re-evaluated. Either they are not high enough priority to remain in the
agenda, are no longer required/relevant or need to be acted on.

My general philosophy is log everyhting as quickly and easily as
possible, but have a small focused list of 'active' tasks to work on. I
also tend to classify tasks as urgent and important. Urgent tasks are
tings which need to be done ASAP, important are tasks which need to be
done to 'improve' or move things forward. I find this an important
distinction as it is too easy to get caught up in urgent tasks and
forsake those important ones which could actually move things forward so
that there are less urgent tasks. I try to make sure that while I resond
to urgent tasks, I also allocate time to focus on important tasks so
taht I don't end up being only reactive and failing to be proactive.

Tim

Husain Alshehhi <husain@alshehhi.io> writes:

> Hello.
>
> I use org-agenda frequently for getting an overview of my work. I
> clock-in when I start working on something. I often find myself needing
> to add a note to the task I am working on. To do that from the Agenda
> view, I run org-agenda-add-note. I add typical notes like what my
> findings are, anything I did related to the task, but it is nothing
> related to notes about why the task changed status (at least not always).
>
> However, I do have in my config
>
>   (setq org-log-into-drawer t)
>
> which should add clocking into my LOGBOOK drawer by default. I
> discovered however that org-mode adds my notes in the LOGBOOK drawer. I
> am not sure why, but it appears that these notes are considered "status
> notes" (?) and thus by org-log-into-drawer documentation are logged into
> the drawer. I am not certain if this is correct.
>
> This setup, works fine except for two cases:
>
> a. When I want to export my notes to HTML, exporters will ignore the
>    LOGBOOK, and I would like to export my notes.
> b. Notes are ordered in reverse: newer notes are put first.
>
> Because of this behavior, I suspect that I am hijacking the notion of
> "status change notes" and using them as notes.
>
> My questions are:
>
> 1. Am I using the notes correctly in org?
> 2. If not, what is equivalence of adding quick notes into a task
>    (ideally, with time stamp of sort)?
> 3. If yes, then how can I work around the limitations (a) and (b)?


-- 
Tim Cross