Set a Consistent Title Rule So You Can Search Through Piled-Up Notes

Notes are meant to be retrieved, not just accumulated

Once you have more than 300 notes, “I wrote it down somewhere” becomes a habit. The problem is not the quantity, but the titles. If everything is titled similarly, like “Meeting,” “Idea,” or “Note 1,” any search term brings up dozens of results. Standardizing just one title rule can cut search time from 5 minutes to 5 seconds.

Fix the title into three fields

The recommended format is “[date]_[category]_[core keyword].” Examples: “0609_work_Q3BudgetDraft,” “0609_personal_DentistAppointmentChange.” Placing the date first automatically sorts notes by time, and placing the category in the middle groups similar notes together.

1. Limit the category field to 5 words and write them on paper, such as work / personal / study / idea / reference.
2. Starting today, for new notes, generally type the title first in the order “date_category_core,” then write the content.
3. Use mainly nouns for the core keyword, and keep it to only 2 to 4 words, such as “NewClientMeetingSummary.”
4. Standardize the date as 4 digits in “MMDD” format, such as June 9 → 0609.
5. Do not fix old notes all at once. Whenever you reopen one, rename just that note using the new rule.
6. At the end of the month, if your category words exceed 5, merge similar ones and reduce them back to 5.

The key is grouping category words into 5. If you have 20 categories, that becomes another maze of its own. In practice, 95% of notes fit into five categories: work / personal / study / idea / reference.

Do not memorize the rule; keep it visible

Put the 5 category words on the first screen of your notes app or on a desk sticky note, and you will stop hesitating every time you type a title. After just 2 weeks, your hands will type “0609_” first.