The "Lab Notebook" was once an important legal document: it showed the date of invention for US Patents. Several years ago, the United States moved to "First t

The "Lab Notebook" was once an important legal document: it showed the date of invention for US Patents. Several years ago, the United States moved to "First to File" in determining the date of invention, and so much of the legal need for notebooks vanished. That said, there are specific notebook tricks every developer should know: 1. Write the date and subject neatly in the upper corner. For some reason, this makes your writing on the rest of the page significantly cleaner. 2. Use your notebook instead of scratch paper whenever possible. I often find myself looking for a scribbled package name or search term that I remember when I had the problem without remembering the incantation. 3. Use detailed bug logs occasionally. That is, keep a list all programming errors with tally marks or a list of minutes spent. Usually, your repeated, trivial errors will disappear over a few sessions. Notebooks can be of real value to you. Pulling out electronics in a meeting disrupts exactly like paper does not; you appear more organized because you are; and it can be habit that builds in fits and starts and lost notebooks. The real downside is that a notebook increases your workload as follow-ups and investigations are remembered.