What kind of process do folks use for organizing and documenting projects? Do you keep a handwritten notebook, throw it in Google Docs, or use some software? I use a lab notebook, but not having it on hand when I figure something out is starting to be a problem for me.
Yeah, I do the handwritten notebook, then transfer it to a project thread or my website. In particular is part numbers I use to build cars. When said part breaks in 5-10 years knowing what I ordered is invaluable.
I throw most electronic documentation into a Google Drive folder, with the folder naming being a three digit sequential number followed by a descriptive name.
It automatically syncs from the desktop where I do most of my work to the laptop that I take out into the shop to build stuff, the sequential numbering helps me find things by remembering about where on the timeline I did xyz, and the descriptive name provides searchable results if needed.
I also try to keep as much stuff as possible stored in open, common formats like PDF or .csv so I’m not tied to any particular software. Also a text file of anything I’d change in the future if I had it to do over again - having a full set of ‘rev notes’ is great if you get to do a v2 or v3.
I use a mixture of OneNote for sketches and stuff, and recently I’ve been using Markdown for proper documentation. I settled on Obsidian because I can sync it to OneDrive and a git repo to share with my team and the bonus of it being future-proof. Never could get used to hand-written notes where I’d actually use them, but I think Markdown was the right choice for myself.