Tagging strategy

patriq

Implementing the Forever Notes system also means this is the first time I will be using tags for my notes. However, I feel the need to have some kind of idea on HOW to tag my notes, rather than just slapping some random tags on them.
Adding only one tag / note, or adding some kind of tag hierarchy to them is pretty much the same as using folders. Also, search functionality within Apple Notes are so good so I don't really need tags to search for.

Do you have any good ideas on strategies for tagging your notes?
Or perhaps links to great YouTube videos or articles on this subject.

Matthias

My video on ✱ Tags is coming out next week. It’ll cover types of tags and the process to apply them. So stay tuned.

tvillemw

I'd be interested in hearing other people's strategies as well.

Just yesterday I was looking for a timeline I thought I had created for the history of railroads in my area. A search on railroad failed because it was actually in a note about my beloved rail-to-trail network. Oddly, the word railroad appears nowhere in the timeline or the title of the note. Since railroads isn't a major focus of mine I didn't create a #Railroad tag. Instead I added the word to the note text.

Your question reminds me of the early days of Spotlight. We had become accustomed to organization by nested folders, then suddenly we could search for any word in a file. I tried to be more careful with naming files (especially non-text media.)

In a way it's a numbers game. The longer your note the more likely you will find it via a regular search. On the other hand, if the note contains only a web link, chances are you won't get many hits - that's when additional note text or a tags would be useful.

tvillemw

Another suggestion. I use Quick Notes as my inbox. When I have time I review the notes in the Quick Notes folder, decide what to keep, whether to merge them with other notes, how to tag them, etc.

shokk

The benefit of tags for notes comes in when you want to limit your search to a specific set(s) of notes, as you would with searching only within folders. This is handy for separating broad topics and finding the notes quicker by having to type less to be specific.

Jeff

I'm struggling with this as well. Some advice I've read is to write something called 'atomic notes'. Not exactly sure what those are but it seems to suggest that the more concise your note is the easier it is to apply useful tag(s).

-J-

I found it helpful to keep my tags sorted. I use the | symbol for my “type” notes to make them appear on the bottom of the list and [ for status tags. Like [FollowUp] and |Recipe. Anyone else use a”system” within te tags?

Jeff

-J-

I have a home inventory list in another note app that I’m slowing moving over to Apple Notes and F✱N.

I’ve concluded that tags will take the place of folders for locations (e.g., bedroom, nightstand) and for category (e.g., clothing, tools).

To keep what will become a lot of inventory specific tags from diluting my F✱N tags I’m considering a similar approach.

Have in mind using the symbol for the Greek letter Omega (which sorts below most stuff) as the first character in those tag names via text replacement just like ** ➡️ ✱.

Maybe ## ➡️ Omega?

tvillemw

-J- Not for tags but that's a great idea. I use symbols for Smart Folders. A hyphen identifies a process Smart Folder, e.g. show me the notes I've created today (-Today).