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Show HN: I built a system for active note-taking in regular meetings like 1-1s

https://withdocket.com
62•davnicwil•9h ago
Hey HN! Like most here regular meetings have always been a big part of my work.

Over the years I've learned the value of active note taking in these meetings. Meaning: not minutes, not transcriptions or AI summaries, but me using my brain to actively pull out the key points in short form bullet-like notes, as the meeting is going on, as I'm talking and listening (and probably typing with one hand). This could be agenda points to cover, any interesting sidebars raised, insights gotten to in a discussion, actions agreed to (and a way to track whether they got done next time!).

It's both useful just to track what's going on in all these different meetings week to week (at one point I was doing about a dozen 1-1s per week, and it just becomes impossible to hold it in RAM) but also really valuable over time when you can look back and see the full history of a particular meeting, what was discussed when, how themes and structure are changing, is the meetings effective, etc.

Anyway, I've tried a bunch of different tools for taking these notes over the years. All the obvious ones you've probably used too. And I've always just been not quite satisfied with the experience. They work, obviously (it's just text based notes at the end of the day) but nothing is first-class for this usecase.

So, I decided to build the tool I've always felt I want to use, specifically for regular 1-1s and other types of regular meetings. I've been using it myself and with friends for a while already now, and I think it's got to that point where I actually prefer to reach for it over other general purpose note taking tools now, and I want to share it more widely.

There's a free tier so you can use it right away, in fact without even signing up.

If you've also been wanting a better system to manage your notes for regular meetings, give it a go and let me know what you think!

Comments

jherbkersman•2h ago
Love it, great idea. My humble advice: you’re on the top of HN right now—make it completely free. Overnight you could get some serious adoption (strike while the iron is hot!) Then build a few more features that people won’t be able to live without and THAT can be your paid tier.
davnicwil•1h ago
Good shout.

I'm going to give everyone who signs up today full access to everything and access to those features will be grandfathered in to any future plans.

The plans as you see them now are just rough shape anyway just to launch something!

--

UPDATE

alright that should be implemented now, and all existing signups ported (if I got everyone :-)

Everyone is now on the 'Business' plan (full access to everything) on signup

thesamurai97•2h ago
Already exists better to free and see the other one https://www.notetimeapp.com/diaries
hberg•1h ago
Thanks for sharing your work. I'm not sure I have a particular use for it at the moment, but it's well executed.

One point of (hopefully) constructive feedback is that it wasn't obvious from my first interaction with the temporary doc that I was able to create checklists and bullet points. Once I saw that those are possible, I quickly guessed the keystrokes, but it might be helpful to add some graphical guidance.

davnicwil•1h ago
thanks! It's something I've batted around with a few friends who've tried it. I agree it's not totally clear.

On desktop, you get a little popover menu with all available formatting when you highlight some text. On mobile, it's always there when you select.

I was thinking along the lines of something like a little help icon (?) that might toggle it on desktop, some sort of overlay that only appears on first use, or just a real simple tutorial video or something. I'll think on it. Thanks for the feedback!

throwaway81523•1h ago
I've been using a Mead pen-based tablet with paper-like display for that. It has some disadvantages but it's been rock solid, no firmware patches or security exploits so far, and maintains state ridiculously long without needing battery recharges.
janijarvinen•1h ago
Thanks for sharing! I like the clean interface. Does Docket have a feature to export all your notes into some file with one go? Assuming I would use the system for a couple of years, I'd prefer to have a (local) backup of all the notes I've written.
davnicwil•1h ago
Thanks for taking a look!

Absolutely, yes, full export of notes (in variety of formats) is coming soon :-)

brutal_chaos_•1h ago
Why does it need to be on the web? Maybe I've missed something, can I run this locally?
davnicwil•1h ago
It's a web app for now, just to start somewhere. If there's demand in future, I'll make native apps too :-)
Kmaschta•1h ago
It's looking nice! Is it open-source?
davnicwil•1h ago
Thank you! No, not open source, at least as of now.
epec254•1h ago
I LOVE this, exactly what I’ve been looking for.

Here’s the issue - all my meetings have confidential, sensitive info. I can’t use a version you host (or well, I could, but you won’t be willing to do the 6 month security review I need).

Can you give me a version I can host (or run locally) and I give you some $ one time or per year?

davnicwil•1h ago
yes, absolutely. I've been thinking about this too, I did plan to offer self hosted if there's demand and have built it with that in mind.

My email is davnicwil at gmail, please email me and let's talk about it!

7777777phil•45m ago
Same issue. Sent you an email just now. Awesome product!
davnicwil•14m ago
thank you very much, replied :-)
xiconfjs•22m ago
Same here: no self-host, no way. Best would be a one-time payment option.
davnicwil•14m ago
thank you. I will definitely offer this. Please email me (davnicwil at gmail) just to connect and I'll update you when self host is available.
gppmad•1h ago
Thanks for sharing it! What are the advantages of using the tool instead opening a simple google docs?
davnicwil•23m ago
I've put this in more words on the about page [0] but in my mind it all about the structure being first class for the regular meeting note use case, rather than a general document.

That means

- meetings notes are structured as entries, new entry in 1 click, with a template, with responsive structure

- easy to see who wrote what, everyone gets their own section

- first class action tracking and management of actions in one place

- distraction-free editor optimised for one-hand typing with only minimal formatting necessary to make notes tidy

- easier to search and navigate through history of notes

I think this applies for google docs but also other 'general' note taking tools and editors.

edmundsauto•5m ago
This reads a lot like a feature list to me. I don't understand the benefit from entries versus just an h1 tag. You can even collapse those down, and then docs will write you an index. Might be helpful to focus on the value prop more. It looks cool, but as a recovering GTD junkie, it looks more like a distraction than a core part of my everyday work.
vasco•34m ago
The best thing for this is pen and paper. Sophisticated mechanical hand movements associated with writing help memorize things much easier than pressing fingers on a keyboard.
potluri•17m ago
While I end up taking paper notes for your exact reason, I have trouble porting such notes regularly into productivity software because of the level of effort required to retranscribe my notes. As a result, paper notes suffice for short term details but once the pile of notes on my desk builds up the information is effectively lost. Something like OP's app would be perfect if handwritten notes could be used as input. Input methods via tablets/wacoms are personally cumbersome for me, so I don't know how else to rapidly preserve paper artifacts.
pillefitz•22m ago
Wait, do I overlook something or is it just a shareable text file?
davnicwil•7m ago
essentially, yes! It's deliberately very focused and simple, but you also have

- actions (checkboxes) with mentions that you can track in one place

- images

- templates and one-click new entry

On the shared thing, it's opinionated in that it's not a shared single document like a google doc, rather everyone you share with gets their own section, so you can very easily see who wrote what.

voxelv•21m ago
The very first sentence in the "about" page has a typo (extra "and": ... meetings, and you <and> want to...):

You're in a ton of regular meetings, and you and want to take notes and actions to keep track of what's going on in them week to week.

davnicwil•10m ago
oh man, I thought I'd caught all these. Thank you! Fixed!
dwedge•8m ago
There's another : That was me, in meetings for years. So I decided to build Docket to be my tool. It could yours too.

Missing "be". Plus here is another vote for self hosted

davnicwil•4m ago
cheers, also fixed!

Writer's blindness is real!

asura5•18m ago
This is really great, I love it already. I'm a convert from Google Note, which feels far inferior. Good luck with the project mate!
davnicwil•7m ago
Thank you so much :-)
dotancohen•13m ago
This looks great.

Almost as good as Emacs Org mode. I use Org mode with Evil, to get VIM keybindings. This way I can quickly navigate and edit the document, not just append to the end of it. And of course, Emacs is completely local.

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