(Archived) What tags or notebooks do you use?

[sdfasjfgfhas;fh 1]

I'm just starting to get my head round the enormous potential of Evernote. I understand the idea of universal capture but, to be honest, I'm struggling to come up with a notebook or tagging structure that will allow me to organise and retrieve it all.

I appreciate this is "horses for courses" but if you'd care to share your tagging/notebook system and any comments I'd be very grateful.

Cheers.

Ian

[jefito 5,589]

I keep things as simple as I can. I have two notebooks, my real notebook "Jeff", and one for testing ("Test"). The Test notebook is also shared so that I can test out sharing scenarios. I use my main notebook for work and personal notes.

I don't have a lot of tags, about 100 or so. I think of tags as adjectives, to be combined flexibly to describe a note. Some obvious main categories are work and personal life, so two tags: 'Work' and 'Personal'. Some other general main tags: 'Computers', 'Development' (as in software), 'Cycling', 'Media', 'Fun', 'Productivity'. Then subtags as seems appropriate when I create it; it's also possible (even likely) that a subtag that I create for some higher-level tag could also apply to a different main tag, but I'm not particularly fussy about where they go, so long as they're there and I can combine as needed to describe a note (I'm thinking something like my "Editing" tag, which could equally apply to "Software", "Music" or "Image"). The main goal for me is to make is so that there's are no more than 10 or so tags at any level of the tree (I have 12 at the base level).

I also maintain several standalone tags: "@Star" (for immediately interesting items that need further investigation, tagging or other attention), "_Todo" for to-do list usage and "Test" (for testing purposes).

[BurgersNFries 2,407]

I think it's easy, to initially, overtag. Here's what I've posted before.

[sdfasjfgfhas;fh 1]

Thanks Jeff and BnF, that's really useful.

I was thinking along similar lines of having broad base tags PEOPLE, PLACES, ACTIONS, PROJECTS and then combining these with subtags a you described. So a note to remind me to mow the lawn would be tagged with todo (within ACTIONS) and Home (Within PLACES).

Although I'm not sure how I would then integrate images and ideas for reference.

[BurgersNFries 2,407]

Although I'm not sure how I would then integrate images and ideas for reference.

I make most of my own greeting cards. I have a parent tag of "card ideas" & child tags of "card ideas - sympathy", "card ideas - birthday", "card ideas - Christmas", etc. I often use my phone to take photos of cards I see in the store & tag them appropriately.

Also, I see a lot of things in catalogs, stores or online that I think I may want (but I don't want to buy it then because I'm not really sure) or perhaps someone I know may want. So I'll scan it (catalog), take a photo (in the store) or screen cap it (web) & tag it with "things I may want to buy".

I'm not sure what you mean by "reference". But if it's something you want to refer to later for a particular purpose, this may be helpful.