FREE: TASK: Start Tracking What Actually Works

Learning to work effectively with AI coding tools is a journey of discovery. The techniques, patterns, and gotchas you encounter are incredibly valuable, but only if you capture them. That's why your first real task in this course is to set up an AI journal.

This isn't busywork. This is one of the most important things you'll do in this entire course.

In this task you should:

• Choose a journaling tool (Obsidian, Bear, Apple Notes, OneNote, Notion, Craft... so many choices)
• Install/open your chosen tool and create a dedicated space for AI development notes
• Set up your organizational structure (chronological, topic-based, or hybrid)
• Save or bookmark the entry templates provided in this lesson
• Create your first journal entry documenting your course start
• Add at least one tag to your first entry
• Test screenshot capture and attachment in your tool
• (Optional) Set up a daily/weekly reminder to review your journal

Why You Need an AI Journal

When you're working with AI assistants, things happen fast. You discover a prompt pattern that works brilliantly. You encounter an edge case that caused problems. You figure out the perfect way to structure a refactoring request. In the moment, these insights feel crystal clear and unforgettable.

A week later? Gone. Or worse, you vaguely remember that there was a technique you used, but you can't quite recall the details.

An AI journal solves this problem. It becomes your personal knowledge base of what works, what doesn't, and why. Over time, this becomes one of your most valuable resources, a library of patterns and techniques that you've proven in real work.

What you'll capture

• Effective prompt patterns that got great results
• Mistakes you made and how you fixed them
• Context management strategies that worked
• Tool-specific techniques and features you discovered
• Before-and-after examples of AI-assisted work
• Time saved and productivity wins
• Problems you encountered and their solutions

Think of it as building your own AI development playbook. Every entry makes you a little bit better at this craft.

How to Structure Your Journal

Once you've chosen your tool, you need a structure. Don't overthink this, you can always adjust as you go. Here's a simple starting point that works:

Option 1: Chronological Entries

Create a daily note, letting your thoughts come together organically as you have them:

• 2025-12-29 - Refactoring with Claude
• 2025-12-30 - Testing Patterns in Copilot
• 2026-01-02 - Database Migration Success

Tag each entry with relevant tags: #claude, #refactoring, #success, #database

Option 2: Topic-Based Organization

Create separate notes for different topics:

• Refactoring Techniques
• Testing with AI
• Database Work
• Prompt Patterns

Add entries to the appropriate topic note as you learn new things. This can keep things organized if your brain works that way.

Option 3: Hybrid Approach (Recommended)

Combine both approaches:

• Keep daily/session notes for capturing things quickly
• Create topic-specific notes for synthesizing and organizing
• Link from daily notes to topic notes
• Review and consolidate weekly

This gives you the speed of chronological capture with the organization of topic-based structure.

What to Capture (Templates to Get You Started)

Not sure what to write? Here are some templates for common situations:

Successful Prompt Pattern

Date: [Today's date]
Tags: #prompt-pattern #success #[tool-name]

## What I Tried
[Describe the prompt or approach]

## Why It Worked
[What made this effective]

## Example
[Screenshot or code snippet]

## When to Use Again
[Situations where this pattern applies]

Mistake/Learning

Date: [Today's date]
Tags: #mistake #lesson #[tool-name]

## What Went Wrong
[Describe the problem]

## Why It Happened
[Root cause analysis]

## How I Fixed It
[The solution]

## What I'll Do Differently
[Prevention strategy for next time]

Time Savings Win

Date: [Today's date]
Tags: #win #productivity #[tool-name]

## The Task
[What you needed to accomplish]

## Traditional Approach Time
[How long it would normally take]

## AI-Assisted Time
[How long it actually took]

## What Made It Fast
[The technique or approach that worked]

## Reusable Pattern
[Can this approach work for similar tasks?]

Tool Discovery

Date: [Today's date]
Tags: #tool-feature #discovery #[tool-name]

## Feature Found
[What feature or capability you discovered]

## How to Use It
[Step-by-step or screenshot]

## Use Cases
[When this is helpful]

## Impact
[Why this matters for your workflow]

Your First Entry

Right now, before moving on to the next lesson, open your chosen tool and create your first entry. It can be simple:

Starting the AI Pro course today. Setting up my journal in [tool name].

Goal: Master AI-assisted development techniques
Tools: [Claude/Copilot/Both]
Current skill level: [Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced]

Looking forward to: [What you hope to learn]

That's it. You've started. Look at you go!