Taxonomy should reduce thinking, not create more of it
The fastest way to make a notes system unusable is to ask people to decide too much at capture time. If every thought needs a perfect folder, tag set, and project assignment before it can exist, the system will be avoided.
The distinction we rely on
Inside Orgo, we think about note organization in three layers:
- projects for work that has an outcome
- places for where context tends to live
- tags for qualities that may cut across both
The order matters. Projects and places are relatively stable. Tags are lighter and should stay optional.
The rule of maintenance
Every organizing surface creates future maintenance. That is why we bias toward fewer categories with clearer meanings. The right question is not “can this be tagged?” but “will this still help three weeks from now when I am looking for something under pressure?”
If the answer is uncertain, the simplest structure usually wins.
