Using an engineering notebook | nicole@web

Most engineers solve problems by typing code until something works. But there's a different approach: write the solution by hand first, before you touch your editor. The practice of keeping an engineering notebook means recording your work in real-time, with enough detail that someone else could replicate your steps. You document your hypothesis, your goal, what you tried, and why. The key insight isn't about record-keeping. It's about forcing yourself to think through the problem before you start coding. When you have to write out your planned code changes by hand, you can't skip the hard thinking. You have to work through the logic, identify the gaps in your understanding, and clarify your approach. This is the same reason whiteboards are effective for problem-solving, but applied to your daily work.

The memory benefits are real but secondary. Yes, you can look back to see what you worked on yesterday for standup. Yes, physically writing helps commit things to memory better than typing. But the real value is in the thinking that happens while writing. The author rarely reads old notes beyond checking recent entries. The notebooks aren't for creating a permanent record to reference later. The writing is the work itself, because the writing is the thinking.

The practice has specific characteristics that make it effective: dated entries, append-only records, real-time documentation, and detail sufficient for replication. Future you is someone else who won't remember the context, so you write for that stranger. This isn't about creating documentation for others to read. It's a tool for thought that happens to create a byproduct of notes. The physical act of writing, combined with the forced slowdown before implementation, changes how you approach problems.