# Notebooking Best Practices

* Keep the notebook up to date
  * Don’t let entries pile up and do your best to enter them on the day they took place
  * Entry dates should reflect the day they were entered into the note, not necessarily the day they took place
  * As many teams are transitioning to a digital notebook, it should not be seen as an excuse for being able to go back in time and edit or add additional details
* Mistakes in a notebook are okay
  * Misspellings, grammar and missed entries happen
  * Strikethroughs, cross outs and other edits to an entry are fine to have
* Take notes whenever possible
  * Have someone responsible for taking notes during a team meeting
  * When building, take notes of any special steps or unique build processes
  * During a competition take time to write up match results
  * Review match videos, if available to fill in any missed information your team feels is necessary
* Take lots of pictures
  * Highlight or magnify key focus areas in a photo
  * Use before/after images (great for identifying problems encountered and solution implemented)
  * Label pictures/images/drawings/sketches in the notebook
  * Create a figure table if possible
* Integrated CAD into your notebook and design process
  * While the use of Fusion 360 / Onshape / Solidworks / Protobot / etc can enhance your design process it provides additional details to the reader that can make it easier to follow or recreate your design
  * Sketches can be a good substitute to using CAD software
  * Provide parts list if possible
* Avoid creating an overly beautiful notebook
  * Pretty notebooks are nice and may attract attention, but the appropriate details may get overlooked
  * Background images may distract from the core content of the notebook
  * Moving into the university/working world content will be key above the look
* Find a format that works for your team
  * There are a number of good examples available to explore, but don’t just copy and paste those examples. Use them as a getting started guide/template for your journey
  * Develop your own team’s identity where possible
  * REC Foundation provides a nice starter template and digital parts library that should not be overlooked
* Have multiple team members contribute to the notebook
  * Not all members need to provide details, but everyone should be able to provide input that is used in developing your team’s design
  * It is okay for a primary person to be responsible for entering the finalized notebook entry, this can help with keeping a consistent notebook format
* Keep things concise
  * If entries become a little long, use underlining, bolding, or highlighting to bring attention to key points
  * Use bullet points
* Get feedback on your notebook
  * While judges are not allowed to give feedback on notebooks or interview, there are some mentors that might be willing to look over your notebook and give you some tips
  * Listen to feedback and don’t be closed to making changes to your notebooking process
  * If you make a big formatting change to your notebook, it is okay to mention why as judges will likely see the change and may wonder why it took place
  * Don’t be afraid to share ideas with others as you might get some good ideas in return.
* The notebook is not a journal
  * While it is great to notate as much as possible during the season, the notebook doesn’t need to contain details around what pizza was provided for a team members birthday celebration at a team meeting
  * Paragraphs of information are hard to digest and writing a storybook format may make it difficult for a judge to find relevant information in your team’s notebook
* Don’t see the notebook as chore
  * While this may be a hard item to avoid, it should be looked as piece of your design process
  * Good documentation will only enhance your ability to be able to come up with a solid end solution
