Since 2008, I have been keeping a daily diary. It has all the boring inane stuff like what I watched on TV, what computer game I played, and what the weather was like. I think it's fun to see what I was doing a few years ago and how things have changed or stayed the same.
When I started the diary, I got the idea from someone who arranged their diary by day, rather than by year. This makes it easy to see what I was doing a few years ago on this day. But, it is difficult to get a sense of what I did this year as I sometimes want to see.
Also, I write this information in a nice Moleskine notebook, but there weren't enough pages for one day per page. This means that after 3 years, I'm starting to run out of space on some of my wordier days.
Since I am almost always near a computer these days, the natural solution to my space problem is to write this information down on the computer. But, there are a few drawbacks to this: missing the tactile feel of my nice fountain pen and my inner-control freak's search for the perfect organization system for these notes is consternating.
I could use something like Evernote, which tags things nicely, is searchable, and accessible from everywhere. But, there is no easy way to separate the daily notes from everything else I store there, and it's difficult to view the same day on previous years (possible, but not automatic).
I could use a file folder full of plain text files. I could use a relational database, or XML files, or start another blog just for daily entries. I could buy a bigger notebook and stick with pen and paper.
Or, I could use this as an excuse to learn PHP or Ruby to write my own web application.
For now, I'm still considering my options. I have several more months before I run out of space in my diary. If anyone has any brilliant insights or recommendations, let me know.