After trying different approachs (including ORG mode) I think I ended using Joplin. Love Org BTW, but I need/want to work with my PKM from phone and tablet without access to a physical keyboard, and not die trying it. Anyway, this is not the discussion.
My issue is I’m new to notetaking, and I see a lot (and I mean, A LOT) of information about zettelkasten, numbersystemwhathever, and so on, and ended up with several folders and notebooks and spending time tring to find something. I feel overwhelmed not knowing about how I should approach to this. I guess is “easy” in logseq (or denote in org, or others) because you don’t care at all how this information is stored and organized, but using Joplin, I’m not sure how to organize “my life” because is the first time I try to do it. I want to do it because every day I manage a lot of information I want to store it to be easy to find it later, manage my own personal and profesional projects, tasks, documentation, and so on….
I would like to know if you can share how you use Joplin to maybe adopt how others do it and find my way.
I have tried all of the popular notetaking tools and systems but found Joplin to be above all of them for my needs. I have 2400+ notes (nearly all original writings) spanning 49 years.
I've used Joplin for quite a few years. I use the johnny decimal system to organize my folders, and using the Quick Links plug-in. resulted in an information-dense but readable note system that rivals the more popular alternatives.
My advice (which I have taken myself), ignore the PKMS influencers on Youtube. Their videos are helpful if you plan on being a PKMS influencer yourself, but do little to help create a PKMS that is a tool for the typical person.
Start out with a simple structure that works for you. The more you use Joplin, the more you’ll find out what approaches work and which ones don’t.
Many use the PARA method for note organization, but for the way my mind works, the Johnny decimal method works perfectly. Johnny decimal helps provide a framework for structuring notebooks and notes in a hierarchical manner that is predictable. The screenshot below shows a little of that structure.
The Quick Links plug-in is a must-have IMO. It adds the ability to link notes in a manner similar to other notes apps.
I have a single note at the top called, “DASHBOARD” that is the first note that I reference each day. It has a few graphic headers to separate areas of focus. I work from the top to the bottom paying attention to the things that need it. (too much personal information to post a screenshot of that note)
My suggestion is to keep it simple. File the notes naturally into areas/projects. Don’t use too deep a folder structure. It’s tedious to navigate and also you tend to forget where you have filed the note. Rather, rely on tags and search.
Maybe not what you're looking for, but I like to keep it simple as well. I have 5 notebooks - inbox, pinned, general, specific, archive. I use search quite a bit and I find it to be sufficient without the need to use subfolders or tags.
Inbox - any note gets added here first, then gets moved to any one of the other folders.
Pinned - daily tasks and notes that are needed for quick access/review are added here.
General - notes that encompass a broader set of individual ideas or themes go here, for example, one note per project, logs, plans, trackers etc.
Specific - atomic notes/ideas, quotes, links, specific notes about people, things etc.
Archive - everything else goes here.
This is all very loosely organized and I don't obsess over which note goes to which notebook, the idea is to have one place where I vaguely know where my notes are, and can engage with them as often as necessary.
I use a relatively flat structure. One notebook for task management, with sub-notebooks for projects (one home note for each project), next-tasks, and references (work meeting notes, people, etc.). I separate personal projects, work projects and an archive for old ones, but that's it (some would probably prefer more areas at that notebook level). One notebook for PKM with sub-notebooks for fleeting, permanent (general), literature and concert notes. I use inline tags and frontmatter for information retrieval and task management, and try to link related notes as much as I can. Templates help maintaining a consistent structure (generate note IDs, create project notes, populate the frontmatter, etc.). AI also helps.
I go basically as simple as you can. Everything in one notebook. Each topic I want to make notes about gets exactly one note, and if it has multiple distinct sections I separate them into collapsibles. I don’t use tags at all.
1. Keep notes simple and uniform. Joplin has achieved a sufficient level in this regard.
2. In terms of basic applications, Joplin has implemented batch management of Markdown, especially for the unified management of images. Additionally, it can achieve encrypted synchronization through oss and other means, ensuring data is absolutely private and secure.
3. In terms of advanced applications, Joplin feels like a note-taking tool that is friendly to developers. It can use APIs to manage notes and call capabilities such as AI and MCP through plugins, making it easy to integrate with features like RAG for flexible knowledge management.
I dont profess to know anything about the ‘science’ of note organisation, but this works for me (see below piccy)
Tags mean that notes can be in more than one category which is essential
If only Joplin had nested tags, then it would be neater, but this works (I cant remember who told me this workaround for nested tags, someone on here, thank you thank you whoever it was)
Also, as an extra level to the ‘work around nested tags structure’ using the general search helps me find notes
Thanks all for your answers, will try to answer every one, sorry if I miss something to reply.
My issue with Jhonny Decimal is than I have to learn first the system, and later to use it, and I can't find it natural to me.
What do you mean with linking Dashboard everyday?
Your theme looks awesome BTW.
Agree,. this is what I wanna do. Keep it simple because if not is not usefull IMHO.
Maybe I think as sub notebooks because I tend to navigate throw the tree, while tags and searching should be enough. Will think about this.
Interesting, I had it in other way, tasks inside project notebook, probably is easier more comfortable as you do. Do you use the native "tasks" or just a note with a list of ""?
Native tasks allows to have more description and context inside each task, but on the other side I don't feel (maybe just because I never used like this way) natural to organize, or I'm not using correctly. Sample
Yeah, I think one of my issues is I don't use the search. I used in logseq, but here is like, hey, I see the tree, use it. How do you get tasks with different colors? Is theme related? or some feature I missed?
I use checkboxes for tasks, and then tag them with inline tags (example below). This way they can be placed anywhere: in a meeting note, in a project note, or in notes on an article that I read, depending on the source of the task. I use a plugin to collect and display relevant tasks based on search queries (it essentially generates a dashboard).
“Batch management “ refers to a one-stop solution.
Before using Joplin, I used other note-taking tools, which may face risks such as data not being exportable, difficult export compatibility, or even the risk of losing data; if using folders and Markdown for notes and syncing through cloud storage, not only is it difficult to synchronize on mobile devices, but managing image attachments is also challenging. If using image hosting to create image links, it can lead to scattered storage, making deletion, modification, and migration inconvenient, and it may also result in leaks or cyberattacks due to public links.
However, Joplin can manage Markdown and images within a single software, with encrypted storage for synchronization, and allows for safe exports. After all, only note-taking software that allows for unrestricted export is truly reliable to use.
The most difficult part is establishing the top-level categories. That took me 2 weeks of consideration and was about to give up before it “clicked”. There’s not need to immediately build out the 2nd tier folders. Just start with the top level and starting using it. As you write notes and organize them, topics and themes will become obvious.
Re: Dashboard
Here’s a screenshot with much of the detail blurred. I start my day on this note. I start at the top and work my way down. On this page, I have links to other notes that require my attention.
For what it’s worth many years ago I started with philosophical categories like Career, Friends & Family, Health, Hobbies, Home, Home Network, Investing, Life, Local Area, Reference, Technology, Automotive, Cloud/Web/Email, Renewal/Recovery, Retirement, Spiritual, Travel, etc. I added sub-Notebooks under those top level ones.
I tried using Tags but they didn’t help me as much as I would like. I finally decided on (what I think many other users do) on a Desktop and sub-Desktops. I based it on my real life experience of when I had trouble finding things. So I used the Right Click Copy Markdown Link on a Note to copy a link to a Desktop or Sub-Desktop. In some cases things such as Checklists (e.g., for grocery shopping) would be with other Checklists Links on a Checklists Sub-Desktop.
So in other words I let my real world experience drive the creation and expansion of my Joplin database.
One other thing I do is if I want to record how I got past a particular real life problem I would write (to myself) a lengthy explanation of the problem and the solution that I found worked best. Recently I had a similar problem that required a slightly different approach to solve. Therefore I created links from each to the other. That way if I happen to phrase my search such that I miss the most relevant solution I will see a link in the one note to the other note (e.g., some monitors not showing a screen when in Work from Home mode).
Well, that’s what I’ve been doing for years, but Your Mileage Will Vary.
