[tlug] how to keep track of one's work... another 'Best Practices' question

["Micheal E Cooper" <mcooper@example.com>]

I am wondering what others do for work logs. I have tried many different
methods of keeping track of my activities and the changes made to the many
systems that I administer, and I am wondering what more seasoned folks are
using.

On any given day, I call/ talk face-to-face with/ am called by
salespeople, support staff, accounting staff, users, and many other
categories of folks. I do certain things to my environment like re-tiling
ceilings after installing a new projector ceiling mount. I make changes to
different systems, like upgrading Gallery1 to Gallery2 on the web server.
I write documents, like a Ringishou (proposal) for a new printer in one of
the labs. There are many tasks performed each day, and each task consists
of a change made to a facility or system, a communication with someone, a
set of steps used in the task, and consequences of that task.

I try to keep track of these things by recording what I did and how I did
it, to whom I spoke and when (including phone number and/or email
address), what was said, what needs to be done next, etc.

The problem is that I have not yet found an ideal way to record these
details. I want the method to be easy to back up, platform-independent,
and as portable as possible.

At first, I tried a spreadsheet, but that was too easy to screw up and
very difficult to read.

I then tried using a tabbed text editor, with a todo list, a journal file,
and a separate document for each system open in tabs as I work. However, I
wanted something that was not restricted to one machine in one location,
something that I could access from anywhere.

So I tried using a Xoops blog, but the response over the net was slow, and
I could not use a tabbed interface and switch quickly between tabs. It
slowed me down.

So now I have returned to the tabbed text editor method, using JEdit.
However, while text files are wonderful for back-ups and editable with any
OS, I have problems with duplication of information and searchability.
Upgrading the web server to Gallery2 is a task for the daily journal, but
it is also something that should be detailed in the web server log. I have
to consistently back up and preserve this data so that it won't disappear,
but this is not so bad. But the worst part of it is that a simple grep on
the text files returns too much information, making a simple search very
daunting.

I would really like to have a kind of logging system, web-based or local,
that would allow me to have specific fields in which to store data:
date-time, title-topic, keywords, details, attachments. The keywords field
is crucial, because when you are searching your logs for the details on
how you installed ical, you don't want entries that deal with who you
spoke with at the camera shop when you had the baby calendar printed. I
want to be able to specify my search keywords for each entry. Also,
attachments would be nice because I could attach things like pdf's of
purchase estimates or before-after photos of a server room reorganization.

If I had more time and better skillz, I could use Python or Java to make a
log editor that would include a keyword search function, tabs, attachment
link facility, etc. Of course, if email, todo, and calendar functions were
also included, it would be even better.

The closest thing I have found so far is http://www.pi-sync.net, which
does not contain any of the journalling functions but does do the email,
todo, and calendar parts. Another idea I had was to use a trouble ticket
web app to store the journalling info, but that would still be slow over
the net and non-tabbed.

Any other solutions you know about? What do you do?