Knots, notes, and archival systems

A good archival and note taking system reminds me a lot of what makes a good knot.

As I’ve been reading Getting Things Done, I was reminded by the importance of a system to input and retrieve information. Be it notes, or different reference materials.

I’ve also been learning to sail, and one of the main activities and responsibilities of a good sailor is to “master the lines” or “know the ropes”, for which mastering the knots are a big part of. A good knot has a few very important characteristics: it’s relevant and appropriate to the situation, it’s reproducible, it’s easy to tie, and it has to be easy to untie (very overlooked).

By definition a good knot has to untie easily when needed (while not coming loose unintentionally). In a stressful and urgent environment such as a sailing ship, not being able to tie or untie a knot quickly and easily (many times in rough or uncomfortable situations) can literally cause an accident or death.

Although the stakes for note taking are not that high, there’s still a valuable connection to be made and learned from here.

As David Allen points out in his book, an archival system has to be easy, quick and delightful to both add information and retrieve it. This mirrors his concept of “collection buckets” – tools that make capturing thoughts and information frictionless. Just as a sailor needs different knots for different situations, Allen advocates for having appropriate capture tools ready wherever you might need them.

If it’s cumbersome to add a new entry to it, you’re either going to resist using it or be unable to make a quick note. If it’s cumbersome to retrieve something from it, its usefulness will decrease, you’re not going to trust or like it and adding information to it might as well be throwing it to the void. This lack of trust creates what Allen calls “psychic weight” – the mental burden of keeping track of things you don’t trust your system to handle.

One key, overlooked, aspect is that both, knots and archival systems, do take time to perform but this time is allocated beforehand. It takes time to study and really learn the knots so you can do them one-handed, floating and with your eyes closed. And yet the tying/untying itself is very fast.

The same is true to your archive and note taking, there’s an upfront need to plan and practice it. So when you’re using it in your day to day it becomes quick and easy.

Modern software makes developing such systems much easier, but I still believe it takes some intentionality from the user and self-awareness of one’s needs and style. Of course, learning by doing and trying it in practice is a very valid strategy.

So, at the end of the day, what makes a good note taking and archival system?

It has to be delightful and fun to use. Maybe the only quirk the knots don’t require.

It has to be appropriate for the situation. Different kinds of information and context may require different tools or processes.

It has to be quick and easy to enter information. Even if it later requires enrichment or more organizing (what Allen calls processing), entry has to be as effortless as possible.

It has to be quick and easy to retrieve information. This is also relative to the context and situation, there’s no “1 or 2 minute rule”. But the time has to be reasonable. And the process of finding and getting the relevant information has to be intuitive.

Just as a sailor wouldn’t set sail without mastering essential knots, we should be careful about navigating our information-dense world without reliable systems to capture and retrieve what matters.

Whether you’re securing a mainsail or securing an important thought, the principles remain the same: learn the techniques before you need them, choose the right tool for the job, and practice until the process becomes second nature.

Written by a human, edited with the help of AI.