Garden

Log captures fleeting thoughts before they escape

seedling · 2026-01-24

The log is a temporal inbox for the garden. It solves the friction problem: when an idea strikes, you need somewhere to put it now, not after deciding which note it belongs to.

The Problem

atomicity-forces-clarity is valuable but creates friction. If every note must be atomic and well-titled, capturing becomes slow. Ideas escape while you're deciding where they belong.

The Solution

Daily log files accept anything:

  • Links to read later
  • Half-formed thoughts
  • Quotes that resonated
  • Questions to explore

The log is organized by time, not topic. Organization comes later, during review.

How It Works

Each day gets a file at docs/log/YYYY-MM-DD.md. The backlink system automatically connects notes to their creation dates:

/log/2026-01-24.html  → Day view (notes created/updated)
/log/2026-w04.html    → Week view
/log/2026-01.html     → Month view
/log/2026.html        → Year view

Notes with created or updated frontmatter appear on their corresponding date pages.

Capture Methods

Editor

Navigate to /edit.html?capture=today to open today's log for editing.

Bookmarklet

Drag this to your bookmarks bar to capture the current page:

javascript:(function(){
  location.href='https://YOURSITE/edit.html?capture='+
    encodeURIComponent('- [ ] ['+document.title+']('+location.href+')');
})()

iOS Shortcut

Create a shortcut that:

  1. Accepts share sheet input
  2. Formats as markdown checkbox with link
  3. Opens the capture URL

URL with Content

Pass content directly: /edit.html?capture=Some%20text%20to%20capture

The Workflow

  1. Capture — throw it in today's log, don't think
  2. Review — periodically scan recent logs
  3. Promote — move mature ideas to proper notes
  4. Link — connect the new note back to the garden

This mirrors knowledge-work-should-accrete—nothing is lost, everything can grow.

Inspired By

This pattern comes from dotlit's Input Buffer, which itself drew from apps like mymind. The core insight: separate capture (fast, frictionless) from organization (thoughtful, later).

See also: writing-for-yourself-reduces-friction, thinking-in-public

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