One of the most powerful and useful functions provided by Org Mode is the capture facility. With it, you can easily capture data and context and store it in an Org file of like items in any of a number of useful formats. I have capture templates for everything. If I see a blog post or tweet that I think might form the basis of an Irreal post, I can pop up a capture buffer that will automatically capture the context—the Web page or tweet embedding code—along with any notes that I want to add. These go right into my Blog Ideas org file for later use. Similarly, I never write directly in my journal. I just pop up a capture buffer, write whatever I have to say, and it gets filed with the proper date and time in my journal. I have a template for every type of data that I enter regularly. It’s a huge timesaver.
If you look at a capture template, it can seem intimidating. There are all sorts of special symbols and keywords with no obvious meaning. In truth, it’s not really very complicated once you learn how things work and you don’t have to remember the keywords and symbols except when you’re writing the template.
If you’re a visual learner, you might be interested in Protesilaos Stavrou’s video on how to write and use capture templates. He says at the beginning that the video isn’t meant to be comprehensive but he covers just about everything you need to know and points you to the appropriate help system documentation for keywords and symbols that you can use. If you aren’t already using Org capture you’re working too hard and should take a look at Stavrou’s video.
The video is just short of 29 minutes so you’ll need to schedule some time. Even if you’re already using Org capture you might learn a few new things so it’s worth taking a look if you can find the time.