A garden is not a warehouse
A useful knowledge system does not preserve everything. It helps an idea move from interesting to actionable, then lets the leftovers disappear without guilt. The objective is not collection size; it is giving material a clear next destination.
I keep three layers:
- Inbox: fragments captured in seconds, responsible only for making capture cheap.
- Working notes: material attached to an active question, with context and a next step.
- Durable pages: conclusions worth finding next year, written to survive without memory.
A plain Markdown file can support all three layers; an elaborate workspace can fail if every captured sentence is treated as permanent.
A weekly pruning loop
- Empty the inbox and send each item to a project, a durable page, or deletion.
- Attach useful fragments to a current question.
- Rewrite one durable page in complete sentences.
- Delete anything that no longer creates a decision or a useful question.
| Signal | Action | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Changes a decision | Keep | It can affect future action |
| Records reusable context | Rewrite and keep | The context should survive without memory |
| Exists only because capture was easy | Usually remove | Low capture cost is not long-term value |
Minimum maintenance checklist
- Every durable page has a clear title.
- Important links explain why they matter.
- Active projects have a next action.
- An export can be opened without the original app.
- One backup is restored at random each month. The Markdown Guide is useful because simple syntax lowers the cost of moving material elsewhere. Portability does not require abandoning rich tools; it requires keeping the underlying ideas legible.
What I would export first
Start with durable pages and active project notes. The inbox is intentionally disposable, while durable pages contain the vocabulary and decisions that make the rest of the system understandable.