Metadata Strategy
Table of Contents
If tagging a note takes longer than writing it, the system is fighting the writer.
Key Concept
- Tags, categories, dates, aliases - metadata should help me find notes, not become a second job.
- Metadata earns its keep when I can find the note in ten seconds.
- Light tags and aliases beat taxonomy hell inside PARA buckets.
- Frontmatter is publish metadata; the body is the writing - YAML breaks the build, Markdown typos rarely do.
Level 1 - Recognize
Metadata strategy means tags, categories, dates, and aliases exist to find notes fast, not to become a second full-time job.
Level 2 - Explain
Like labels on boxes in the attic, light tags beat taxonomy you never maintain - metadata earns its keep when search takes ten seconds.
Level 3 - Use
Cap active tags at five you would actually pick - if tagging takes longer than writing, the system fights you.
Level 4 - Connect
Frontmatter is publish metadata; the body is the writing - YAML breaks the build, Markdown typos rarely do.
Level 5 - Create
Design the smallest tags-and-aliases scheme that makes PARA Method buckets searchable, then extend it toward Building a Personal API only when a real lookup needs more structure.
Examples
- I tagged every note with twelve labels and used none on search - cut to five I would actually pick.
- The team wiki had forty categories; new hires filed everything under Misc within a week.
Note Relationships
| Relationship | Wikilink | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| contradicts | Building a Personal API | when light tags beat automation-ready frontmatter |
| extends | PARA Method | Tags and aliases help you find notes inside PARA buckets without taxonomy hell |
| extends | Taxonomy | Tag-and-category design this note sizes |
