The Original Developer Notebook is designed to help software engineers stay organized, reduce distractions, and quickly find important notes. This guide will help you make the most of it.

Each notebook is structured to last up to six two-week iterations—ideal for teams following Scrum or any Agile workflow.

Project Section: Setting the Foundation

At the start of the notebook, you’ll find a Project section where you can:

✅ Write the Project Name and a brief overview.

✅ Define key milestones and their due dates.

This section helps you keep track of the bigger picture while working through iterations.

Iteration Sections: Planning and Tracking Progress

The core of the notebook consists of six Iteration sections, each covering a two-week cycle. In each section, you can:

✅ Record the start and end date of the iteration.

✅ Define iteration goals to stay focused on key deliverables.

✅ Track progress using a burndown chart.

Additionally, there’s space to capture important notes and link to key iteration meetings, such as:

📌 Sprint Planning – Define the work ahead.

📌 Backlog Refinement – Adjust priorities and clarify tasks.

📌 Sprint Retrospective – Reflect and improve the process.

This structure ensures that each iteration is well-documented, making it easy to track progress, revisit past decisions, and stay aligned with your team.

A tipical day with the notebook

1. Start Each Day with a new Daily Page

✅ Write the date at the top.

✅ List your top priorities and tasks for the day.

✅ Add reminders, for the day.

✅ Use the Meetings section to link to meetings you will have during the day

💡 Tip: Use checkboxes to track completed tasks.

2. Meeting Notes

Meetings are inevitable, and can prepare yourself ahead of schedule so you don't forget important information.

In a new Meetings page:

✅ Write the meeting name and date at the top of a new page.

✅ Add key points, you find important to bring to the meeting.

✅ Link the Meeting to the Daily page.

When the meeting starts:

✅ Record the participants

✅ Jot down key discussion points, decisions, and action items.

✅ If a task comes from the meeting, link it back to a Daily Page for follow-up.

💡 Tip: Use shorthand or symbols (✔ for decisions, ⚠ for blockers, 🔄 for follow-ups).

3. Working on Tasks

When you start working on a Task, linke it to the To Do item on the Daily page.

✅ Write the Task name or the Issue Tracker Task ID and date at the top of a new page.

✅ Use the available page to track your progress and decisions.

💡 Tip: If you need more space, link the task to a page in the Free section, and continue your work.

4. Linking Pages for Quick Reference

The biggest frustration with paper notebooks is losing track of notes. Our linking system solves this.

🔗 How to Link Notes:

✅ When a note continues on another page, add: “→ [42]”

✅ When referring to a past note, write: ”← [10: Standup Meeting]”

💡 Tip: Use the index at the front of the notebook to log important topics and their page numbers.

5. Using Free-Content Pages for Overflow

Some tasks take more space than expected. Instead of squeezing notes into a full page:

✅ Flip to a free-content page in the back.

✅ Continue your notes and add a backlink in the link section (e.g., “← [75: Task-1234]”).

💡 Tip: Reserve specific free-content pages for reusable info, like frequently used commands or coding snippets.

6. Searching for Notes

Unlike digital tools, you can’t “Ctrl+F” a paper notebook. But with our system, you don’t need to flip through every page:

🔍 Ways to Find Notes Quickly:

✅ Index pages – Log key topics in the front of the notebook.

✅ Page numbers – Always refer to past or future pages when linking notes.

✅ Highlight important notes with simple marks (e.g., * for ideas, ! for critical info).

✅ Use color codes for your notes

💡 Tip: Use our provided bookmarkers for frequently accessed sections.

7. Review & Planning

At the end of each iteration:

✅ Review your Iteration Goals—what’s done, what’s pending?

✅ Move unfinished tasks to the next week’s Daily Pages.

💡 Write down your reflections on key takeaways from meetings and tasks.

Bonus: Capturing Technical Notes

Whether debugging an issue, researching a new framework, or working through a tough algorithm, keep your technical notes structured:

✅ Start with the topic/title (e.g., “Database Optimization – Postgres Indexing”).

✅ Use bullet points for key findings and troubleshooting steps.

✅ When taking notes across multiple pages, link related pages (see next section).

💡 Tip: Create a “Tech Notes” section in the back of the notebook for reusable knowledge sbout your project.

Start Using Your Developer Notebook Today!

With this system, you’ll never lose track of notes, stay focused, and build a reliable knowledge base—without the distractions of digital tools.

🚀 Ready to get started? Grab your notebook and start optimizing your workflow today!