I’ve looked into a log/journal date tree approach with my various activities across the day (meeting notes, independent work notes, etc) under the date. But then I prefer being able to look through headings that anchor on context first, then dates second (/eventually).

Does your daily log link to other parts of one org file, or other org files?

I’ve asked LLMs their opinions. But curious for yours!

Also thinking about trying denote. The filenames begin with dates, then use tags/keywords to keep the thread on recurring topics.

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cyrialize 18 hours ago | parent | next [-]

My daily log file basically looks like this:

* Year

* Month

** Day

For example: * 2025

* January

** Saturday 01/10/26

In each day heading I'll have either a short note (like saying what meeting happened), or a link to a separate org file.

I keep an org file for each JIRA ticket I'm working on, so I'll link it out there. The presence of a link indicates that I've worked on that ticket that day.

Then in each individual ticket file I'll just keep top level day headings with notes of what I've done on the ticket, as well as other headings.

For example, an org file for a ticket would look something like:

* PR 1

#+BEGIN_SRC markdown

I like to pre-write up my PRs in a doc block in markdown in org mode just to use my keybindings. I copy-paste when I create a PR.

#+END

* Monday 01/01/26

- Started work on this today, figuring out where in the codebase to touch

- Straightforward, got a PR out

When I need to find something, I use something like consult-org-heading or consult-outline or consult-line.

	▲	kleinishere 9 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		This makes a ton of sense - thank you for taking the time to write it out like that. Crystal clear. It’s somewhat different than what I’m solving for and that’s reassuring to see!
	▲	cyrialize 18 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		I also have a bunch of different org files for work and personal use. For example, I have a file called tracker.org that is just for recurring habits/tasks that I set up with org-schedule. I've thought about writing up a blog post about how I use org-mode, since I've been using every day for at least 8 years.

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cyrialize 18 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

I highly recommend just trying out org-mode and seeing what works best for you.

There are so many things built into org-mode and so many tools built around org-mode that you'll be able to find something that feels comfortable.

My other comment describes what I currently use, but I only really got there after trying out a bunch of different things after a while.