jottings
Quick written reminders
Jottings are brief, informal notes scribbled down quickly—the kind of writing done more to capture a thought than to communicate polished ideas: His jottings filled the margins of the manuscript.
The word suggests something casual and fragmentary, closer to mental scratch work than finished prose.
Hasty, careless marks
- scribblingsHurried, messy writing
- notationsWritten symbolic marks
- memosShort official messages
- marginaliaNotes in page edges
shorthand · scrawls · doodles · sketches · annotations · memoranda · squiggles · scratches
Commotion or fuss
appointments · deadlines · checklist · agenda items · errands · reminders · ticklers · aide-memoire
Produces ideas rapidly
- musingsLeisurely contemplative thoughts
- thoughtsMental reflections
- inspirationsSources prompting creativity
- conceptsAbstract mental constructs
notions · inklings · glimmers · fragments · snippets · observations · reflections · impressions
Record of daily events
- diaryPersonal daily record
- logbookOfficial record of events
- notebookBlank pages for jottings
- daybookDaily transaction register
chronicle · minutes · transcript · ledger · rough drafts
scribbles
Hasty, careless marks
- scribblingsHurried, messy writing
- notationsWritten symbolic marks
- memosShort official messages
marginalia · shorthand · scrawls · doodles · sketches · annotations · memoranda · squiggles · scratches · writings
to-do
Commotion or fuss
cues · appointments · deadlines · checklist · agenda items · errands · reminders · ticklers · aide-memoire · memory joggers
brainstorms
Produces ideas rapidly
- musingsLeisurely contemplative thoughts
- thoughtsMental reflections
- inspirationsSources prompting creativity
concepts · notions · inklings · glimmers · fragments · snippets · observations · reflections · impressions
journal
Record of daily events
daybook · chronicle · minutes · transcript · ledger · rough drafts
- written worksessay, novel, anthologies, history books, letter
- jottingsscribbles, scribbling, memos, reminders, marginalia
- field notesnotebook, observations, sketches, entries, drawings
- collectionscollection, collections, anthology, anthologies, compilation
- annotationsfootnote, annotations, marginalia, endnote, footnotes
- notationsRoman numerals, Arabic numerals, Braille, Morse code, shorthand
jottingstreatise
Formal scholarly composition
dissertation · tome · magnum opus · monograph · opus
- jotting downWriting briefly, informally