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How I use Heptabase's Journal to assist in writing

Published: at 06:46Suggest Changes

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Reading Notes

While reading, actively search for and record inspirations, including content of interest, points that catch my attention, or parts that need further exploration.

I usually add content I need to read to Readwise Reader. This makes it easy for me to annotate directly during reading, and then they quickly sync to Heptabase’s Highlight.

Some of these reading notes may be factual, discussing what I’ve read and how I feel about it. Others might be more exploratory. Regardless of the type of note, recording is key.

Treat the Journal as a Draft Book

Inspiration doesn’t come out of thin air; it requires accumulation. Treat the Journal as draft paper; it’s a springboard, a prompt to start thinking and writing.

In the Journal, besides reading notes, I also record brief daily observations, facts, or thoughts. Daily reflections and records can give birth to many unique viewpoints and ideas.

In Heptabase, it’s easy to select some content and turn it into a card. So, some records in the Journal might be rearranged and combined to form a new card, some might be updated to existing cards, and others might remain in place.

However, the content that remains in the Journal is differentiated. Apart from not being deleted, they are also given more forms. For instance:

Writing Assistance

Before starting the formal writing process, I create a new whiteboard and drag all the necessary cards into it.

Since the cards are primarily created through the Journal, I can see in the Info which day’s Journal they originate from. I also drag these Journals into the whiteboard, as there might be some scattered content I’ll need. This is why I always say not to easily delete content from the Journal, even if it seemed useless at the time.


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