Disclaimer
This is just my opinion as a newbie frontend engineer who was exhausted from googling the same thing every time I need it. But I hope this article can be a reference for you.
Introduction
The story began when I decided to switch from Angular to React as my favorite and go-to framework in June 2021. Previously, everything is fine. I googled normally when I have to do some troubleshooting or just want to search for information related to my project using React. Everything changed when I started to feel tired of googling the same thing each time I need that information or code snippet.
A college friend suggested I make my docs site. Then, he also showed me his own docs site at base.sznm.dev. Like before, I asked him, "Why did you make this? It's just like you put your notes here.". Then he answered, "I just feel tired of googling the same thing every day. So that's why I made these docs site to put my most used tools, library, or even snippet."
Hmm.... nice idea. Now I realized that maybe I need it too. After I made my own personal docs site like him, here are the benefits of making it based on my experience.
It's Like Building Your Library Room
This is the first impression when I put my notes and most used tools on my site. It feels like I made my library. I put and sorted the information based on its categories like putting the books according to their genre.
As a programmer, maybe I don't have a big physical bookshelf like at the library. But at least, now I can have my digital library and can be accessed freely from any device.
It Can Be Your "Second Brain"
Too much information out there and it makes the newbies like me confused to select which information I need. The current problem is not lack of information, but how to filter the information you need.
By making my own personal docs site, I can decide which tool I often use and keep it there. When I need it, I just open my own site and use it in my project. It reduces the "information obesity" risk in my mind and increases my focus.
It Boost Productivity and Save Your Time
Imagine when I need information about the tools or snippet that I usually used, but I forget about it and have to google it again and again very often. That's very ineffective and wasting time.
For example, I usually use the same ESLint config snippet every time I initiated a new project using React. Before I finished my own docs site, I have to open several browser tabs and googled them. I spend to finish my ESLint config about almost 30 minutes just for it.
But when I put the ESLint config snippet in my personal docs site, I just accessed it and copy & paste it to my project, and install the required dependencies. Such a time saver.
You Can Put Everything Here, Not Only About Programming Things
Yes, I can put some of my most used code snippets or config in my personal docs site. But not only that. I can put my favorite tools outside programming like video editor tools or productivity tools.
I even can keep my favorite anime list here if I want, LOL. It's like you put your notes on a website, so just use it freely.
Closing
If you started to feel tired of googling the same thing every time, or if you repeatedly use some tools or snippet or config, you may need a personal docs platform or site to keep that information.
You can access and take a look at my personal docs site at docs.yehezgun.com. You also can make your own using Nextra like mine.
Thanks for reading. I hope my amateur article can give you some new insights. Have a nice day.
References:
- base.sznm.dev and docs.thcl.dev as my main example.
- Nextra as the base template
Top comments (10)
Awesome i love documenting my own stuff great to see someone doing the same.
btw you can try using obsidian too it's an offline way to write and connect your notes.
I use obisidian + git repo initialised so that everything is saved.
By hooking it up with
nextrait can be very coolObsidian looks interesting. I tend to use Zotero for books and papers and such, as it syncs admirably via a self hosted NextCloud instance and provides great plugins MS Office and Libre Office for bibliography and citation management.
Hooo nice idea, I will discover it soon. But the problem is
Nextrais not on production yet. So maybe I'll consider to connect it with other tools after it is stable yet.You can play around and create your own
nextralike apiLike i have done here github.com/100mslive/100ms-docs
doesn't have all functionality as
nextrabut is fun to make.Wow, cool. Is it using Obsidian like you said before?
Don't get me wrong, I document my own stuff all the time, and nab and store other documentation but I don't see a need to keep a website for it alas. I use Joplin, and it sync between my work and home PCs and all my mobile devices via the NextCloud instance I do maintain, and Joplin can store webpages (as links, as complete HTML, simplified, markdown) via browser plugins and so on. It's got a beta server too that self hostable and will support better sharing with others (shared todo lists and suc) - my general point being, while I extend my respect to the personal documentation site, I prefer to use existing tools that I can, if they fall short in any way easily enough contribute to via PRs and don't need a public facing website to store my docs (not least as it's not all public info).
Yep it's up to you, you can make or do it by your own way or preferences. There is no formal rules for developing personal docs, because everyone have their own preferences.
By the way, Joplin seems interesting. I like open-source tools that boost my productivity. I will look and discover more of it soon.
I've been doing that for several years now. Moved from mkdocs -> tiddlywiki -> Dendron
Check current version at pkm.desipenguin.com/
Wow nice tools, feels like "digital garden"
😆