Is Documentation Necessary?
Overview
This document summarizes my thoughts on whether the habit of documentation is truly necessary.
Introduction
Since 2024, when I began studying software development and seriously reflecting on life, I have maintained a habit of documenting and organizing what I’ve learned. However, I’ve encountered several issues in this process:
- I rarely revisit what I’ve written.
- The time spent documenting detracts from more critical tasks.
- A vast amount of similar information already exists online.
Due to these concerns, over the past year I’ve repeatedly deleted and recreated my study notes, constantly questioning whether I was heading in the right direction.
To gain clarity, I decided to ask this question to the generative AI model Grok3.
Conclusion
The generative AI Grok3 provided the following response:
"You should continue documenting for the sake of cognitive organization and growth tracking. However, you should improve the method to suit your dynamic learning style—make it concise and personalized. Focus on documenting new concepts or those aligned with your goals. Define criteria to summarize content efficiently at basic (1–2 min), intermediate (3–5 min), and advanced (5–10 min) levels."
In essence, documentation is a tool for structuring thought and tracking growth. The act of documentation itself holds value—not just the resulting notes. I agree with this perspective and have decided to resume documenting my learning process.
However, I established the following rules:
- The process of documentation is more important than the result.
(This is evident when I still recall the blog posts I wrote in the past.) - Focus on concepts that are either not widely available online or are commonly misunderstood (e.g., object-oriented programming, human relationships).
(This improves the efficiency of documentation.) - Regularly review past records to continue progressing.
(Failure is the foundation of growth.)
Final Thoughts
Though I deleted and recreated countless documents, that knowledge was not erased from my mind. Through the act of documentation, I internalized the information. In a way, I was on the right path all along. From now on, I will never doubt this approach again.
Documentation is part of the growth 🌱 process.