Working notes beat perfect notes
/ 1 min read
The best engineering notes are often written before the conclusion gets too clean.
When everything is polished, the path disappears. You keep the final architecture, but lose the dead ends that explain why the final shape matters. Working notes preserve that middle layer: what looked plausible, what broke, and what finally made the system simpler.
The rule
Write enough context that a future reader can restart your thinking without restarting your confusion.
That does not require a grand essay. A date, a constraint, a failed attempt, and the final decision can be plenty.