I see your point about sustainability tracking being helpful, but honestly, I found it added more complexity than clarity in my case. When I was deep into our renovation, I tried combining sustainability notes with my financial tracking, and it quickly turned into a bit of a mess. Maybe it's just how my brain works, but mixing qualitative details (like sourcing reclaimed materials or energy ratings) with hard financial data made my spreadsheet feel cluttered and harder to navigate.
Eventually, I switched to keeping sustainability info separate—just a simple notebook for notes and references, nothing fancy. It might sound old-school, but having physical notes helped me mentally separate the two tasks. Financial tracking stayed clean and clear, and sustainability decisions had their own dedicated space. Plus, I found it easier to flip through notes when discussing choices with contractors or suppliers on-site, rather than scrolling through spreadsheets on my phone.
Don't get me wrong, I totally agree that sustainability is important and worth tracking. But combining it directly with financials isn't always the best fit for everyone. If you're someone who likes visual simplicity or tends to get overwhelmed by too much info in one place (like me), keeping them separate might save you some headaches down the road.
I guess it really depends on your personal style and how you process information. There's no one-size-fits-all solution here...
Totally agree about separating sustainability notes from financial tracking. I tried combining them too, and my spreadsheet turned into chaos pretty fast. Ended up using a binder with tabs for quick reference—simple, but worked wonders during contractor chats on-site. Sometimes old-school just clicks better...
Interesting approach with the binder...but doesn't it get cumbersome lugging it around on-site? I tried something similar at first, but found myself constantly misplacing pages or tabs getting bent out of shape. Have you considered a simple note-taking app instead? I switched to one that syncs across devices—still keeps sustainability notes separate from finances, but way easier to manage when you're climbing ladders or dodging paint buckets...
The app idea makes sense, but I've found digital notes tricky when my hands are dusty or covered in paint. Ever had issues with touchscreen responsiveness on-site, or do you use a rugged case or something?
I've definitely run into that issue myself—dusty hands and touchscreens aren't exactly best friends. A rugged case helps a bit, especially if it has raised edges or textured grips, but honestly, it's not a complete fix. I've found that keeping a microfiber cloth handy to quickly wipe down the screen every now and then makes a noticeable difference. Also, some of my colleagues swear by those touchscreen-compatible work gloves. Personally, I haven't tried them yet, but they seem promising.
Another thing worth considering is voice-to-text features in apps. I've started using voice commands more frequently on-site when my hands are messy or occupied. It's not perfect—especially with background noise—but it can save you from smearing paint all over your device. Plus, it keeps the workflow smooth without interrupting your rhythm too much.
