Your (smart) folder structure

shifu

Hi all, new to this framework but very happy to find this gem. Thanks for sharing this with the world Matthias!

In the past, I've worked with many different tools (Obsidian, Notion, Evernote), but switched to Notes for its native capabilities a while back. The addition of this framework brings me exactly where I want it to be.

I do have a question on (smart) folder structure: what does your structure look like? I'm curious to learn how people structure their folders for easy retrieval. For example, how do you add the Hub on top of your smart folders? Do you add some of your Hubs next to the folders and how?

I previously used the PARA folder structure in Notes. However, like Matthias indicates in his videos, it is too static and not usable. It's better to use tags and combine information on a per-need basis than having a rigid folder structure.

tr4jan

shifu
Welcome. Frankly spoken your post doesn't really make much sense to me.

The F✱N approach does not take a folder structure into account. It's about the arrangement (esp. linkage) of notes. The only point where folders come into play are smart folders. And these are simply at the top level of the system in Apple Notes and are intended (within F✱N) for “only create Collections for notes you frequently access or need a broader overview of”.

Maybe you just take a look at the one-pager on F✱N: https://www.myforevernotes.com/docs/overview

shifu

tr4jan thanks for your response.

This might be my detox moment from the PARA method, but I like to keep a structure in place that is navigable. Currently, I have the Home Note in my dock, but within the Notes app itself it's harder to navigate with the structure looking like this in the left pane:

I'd rather have a structure like the below. I was wondering how others approached this.

Home Note
Projects
- Key Hub 1
- Key Hub 2
- Key Hub 3
Areas
- Smart Folder Start-Up
- Smart Folder Ideas
- Smart Folder Finance
Resources
- Smart Folder Book Notes
- Smart Folder Recipes
- Smart Folder People

AriDorfman

shifu I'm in a similar situation to you. I love the FN system and the idea of it. What I did was use a mix of the home note and hubs with tags. I prefer a folder-type structure, so I moved over to the Bear App. There is a free version, but for $29 per year, you get all the features. So I ditched Evernote and went with Forever Notes on the Bear App.

tr4jan

Gotcha, but desiring folders or a folder structure to be the landing lights, you’re wrong with the F✱N approach -as you saw in the overview I linked to you. You should also have noticed that Apple Notes does not allow smart folders to be placed in folders.

I think it's important to understand a system before trying to utilise it. Therefore, I can highly recommend watching Matthias' videos about F✱N on YouTube, because they depict what F✱N is and what it is not.

RECO: Define what you need and create out of the many approaches available the system that works best for you. No data systematisation approach is per se suitable for all -even if this is a persistent misconception.

shifu

AriDorfman

Interesting, that application looks sleek. I want to stay away from using a third party app (again) and stay in the native Apple environment. What kind of folder structure are you using?

How I solved it now is by creating a Smart Folder just for the Home note, so I can quickly access it in the left side pane. Will start building the structure from there.

tr4jan

shifu

I understand your affection for folders, but it's, again, frankly totally illogical what you're asking for. Smart Folders can't be put into a folder and don't allow subfolders. So technically they are not ‘real’ folders and it is impossible to create your desired structure like it is with ‘normal’ folders. But you want to use them like normal folders, so you want to do a 100M run with hiking boots. Then… good luck with it.