u/faris_box

I watch a lot of video lectures and I had a problem with taking notes. I'd have to pause the video, switch tabs to Notion or Google Docs, write something down, then go back and find where I was. Half the time I'd miss something or just stop taking notes because it broke my focus.

So I built a Chrome extension that lets me take notes right next to the video without leaving the tab. Every note saves the exact timestamp automatically. I just write and keep watching. Later I can search all my notes and click to jump back to the exact moment.

That part is solved. But now I have all these notes and I still forget what's in them after a few weeks.

I've been hearing about Anki and spaced repetition. I've never used it but it sounds like it could solve the remembering part.

For those of you who use Anki with lectures, how does your workflow look? Do you turn your notes into cards? Would it be useful if I added a way to export video notes directly into Anki?

I watch a lot of videos to learn new things. But I always forget what I learned, which video it was in, and where exactly in the video I saw it.

The worst is when I need something I know I watched before but I can't remember which video. So I end up searching and rewatching the whole thing for one part.

I tried taking notes in Notion and Google Docs. But you have to leave the video, switch tabs, write something down, and by the time you're back you missed 30 seconds. And the notes are separate from the video anyway. I'd write "22:15 good explanation" then go back, scrub to that time, and hope I got it right.

What I wanted was something like a book margin but for videos. You read a book, you write next to the paragraph. Videos don't have that.

So I built a Chrome extension called ClipMargin. It opens right next to the video. You never leave the tab. Just type and keep watching.

What it does so far:

• Notes are pinned to the exact timestamp automatically
• Pin to a single moment or capture a time range
• Search across all your notes from every video
• Click any note to jump back to the exact moment
• Markdown formatting
• Screenshot capture from the video
• Tags to organize your notes

Right now it works on YouTube. Planning to add more platforms.

How do you take notes on videos? I'm curious what works for other people.