Tips #2 - Network Journal

Having been an engineer for the last 45 years, I do keep track of what I do in my network.  This includes how I wire up things and why, what I do with equipment, things that I am thinking of doing, future projects, documenting current projects, and software changes.  I use a manually maintained engineering notebook format to do this.  In my case, I call it a Network Journal.  I use the following format (based on the principle of linked lists and indexes) when documenting stuff in the Network Journal (it just works for me):

1. I always use quad ruled composition books for my notebooks.  The quad rule gives something for the eye to use when drawing diagrams.
2. Each page in the notebook needs to have a number starting from 0.  The page numbers provide an easy reference point when indexing.
3. Page 0 is reserved for a Table of Contents.
4. The title of the notebook in our case is "Network Journal".  In general, I title each notebook with the subject that the notebook contains.  If this is the second notebook in the subject, it would be titled "Network Journal 2".  Write it in ink.
5. The notebook should be individually numbered, I like to use an abbreviation of the subject, in caps, with a dash and a number.  In this case the number of the notebook would be "NETJRN-1" with "NETJRN-2" for the second notebook in the subject.  It should be written on the front of the notebook and also written across the bottom of the notebook (there should be enough space to write this when holding the pages together.  The purpose is to be able to see the number if the notebook is laid down or is stored vertically in a page sorter used for storing multiple notebooks on different subjects.
6. The rule when referencing page numbers is that if it is in the same notebook you use the page number alone.  If it references a page in a different notebook you reference the notebook number a slash and the page number in that notebook.  If I reference page 53 in the same notebook, it is "->53".  However, if I reference page 87 in a different notebook, say "NETJRN-1" then I use "->87/NETJRN-1".  In this manner I can reference things in all of my notebooks from each other.
7. One specific rule is that I never erase a page in a notebook.  I keep it for posterity, including references.
8. When I put an index on a page, I title the index drawn on a line about 3/4 of an inch below the top.  I underline the title, and put the date that I started the index in the margin to the left.  If this index is a continuation of an index, I use the same title, but reference the page that has the previous index by a back arrow ("<-page_number") with a box around it.  If this index is a lower hierarchy from the previous index, I use an up arrow curving left ("<-|page_number") to reference the page.   Note that if I continue the index to a different page, I use an arrow pointing to the page and draw a box around it - "->page_number".
9. An item to me is an individual thing that I wish to keep track of by referencing it from an index.  This could be meeting minutes if I discuss something with someone, an idea that I want to expand upon, a specific change that I am making to cabling, a new vlan and a description of its purpose, etc.  This includes text, drawings, portions of pages that have been scanned.  Each item has a title and that title should be on the same page
10. When I add an item to an index page, I put the title that I have used on the page in the notebook, put the date in the left hand column, and on the same line I point to the page that the item occurs on "->page_number".  This way I can simply look down the page and go right to the page number of the item I am interested in reviewing.
11. Likewise when items go on a page, if this is the first thing on the page - I put the topic of the index that this page refers to at the very top of the page (if it is not there already).  Note, I limit it to one index topic per page to ensure that everything on the page is of the same index topic.  If there is already some items on the page for the same topic, I draw a line across and continue after the line on the same page.  I start with the title underlined, with the date in the left hand margin, then I put an up arrow curving left ("<-|page_number") with the page of the index that refers to this item.
12. If I need to continue the item on a different page, I just put an arrow pointing to the page I am continuing on and form a box around it ("->page_number").  Then I repeat on the new page.  Note that I don't have to use the very next page, I can even go backwards if necessary.