[ThePhantom]

When I think of productivity in this context, I am referring to the rate at which one can generate value.

Software itself has value (eg, a client-facing web service). Therefore an IDE, which may require an investment to get past the learning curve, can have a productivity benefit as it can make generating software (and thus value) more efficient.

Do notes themselves have value? I would argue not really. For the most part things like "life planners" / "task managers" I've noticed are highly intricate but require considerable upkeep to maintain. Time that can be used to actually generate value.

[timrichard]

Incredibly valuable for me. When exploring something new, I journal as I go. If a side task has to be parked, I can pick up again months later because I use it as a knowledgebase. Also, a quick scan for #gotcha in my notes reminds me of subtle bugs and workarounds in tools and processes that are easily forgotten. I also create quick reference charts for tools I want to become familiar. I hashtag every new note as if I'm making a Twitter post, so things are linked in a useful way. I usually have Obsidian open near the IDE.

[beaker52]

Does the software itself have value? Isn’t it what people do with the software that really has value? The software sat on a floppy disk has pretty low value.

I’d then argue that software has as much value as notes do. It’s about what you do with it/them, what it/they enable - that counts.

But both software and notes are therefore extremely valuable to the activity of doing.

My notes are my software, heck I even call my note system “LifeOS”, which makes that even more apparent.