How to Capture, Review, and Use Your Notes

TL;DR

Use two capture filters—whether something should be remembered and whether it’s interesting—to reduce decision-making when saving new material.

Briefing Cornell Notes

Briefing

A reliable note-taking system starts with two filters—whether something is worth remembering and whether it’s interesting—and then turns daily capture into a repeatable loop of review, organization, and linking. The payoff is practical: instead of hoarding screenshots, links, and fragments, the workflow routes only what passes those filters into a central “Daily Note” hub, then revisits it later to decide what to write, what to tag for future use, and what to ignore.

Capture is intentionally broad at the beginning. The method says there’s no “made up standard” for how much a Daily Note should contain; the amount should match real life. When unsure what to save, the guidance is to start with what’s already in hand—especially screenshots. Screenshots can be converted into text and sent into the Daily Note so the capture step doesn’t require extra decision-making. In Capacities, the Daily Note acts as the hub around a calendar, and new items can be pushed there through multiple routes: WhatsApp or Telegram integrations, email “note to self,” Raycast on MacBook, or dedicated apps.

Once items land in the Daily Note, the second filter kicks in during review. Because information piles up quickly, the review asks a different question than capture: is the item useful now, or could it become useful later? That judgment is framed as contextual and imperfect—an “educated guess” based on current needs. Useful-now items get turned into structured notes with titles, properties, and writing space. Useful-later items can be kept without further elaboration, then resurfaced through tags or by linking them to relevant areas.

Tags and placement matter because they determine where ideas reappear. For example, a habit-related insight might be tagged so it shows up in a “habits” view later, while productivity material might be grouped under a productivity tag. Another layer of organization uses tag pages—especially for themes like “curiosity”—so existing fragments can become raw material for future thinking.

The workflow then leans on links and backlinks to build a network over time. Whenever something is linked in Capacities, the system surfaces where that link came from via backlinks. Mentions extend this by scanning for places a term appears even when no explicit link was made. Backlinks aren’t treated as an obligation to read everything; instead, they provide targeted context—reminding users what else is connected to a note and helping decide what to do next. The example of creating a “Kairos” definition shows how backlinks can refine meaning: notes that were useful for reading can also supply specific sections that later become definitions, quotes, and sources.

Finally, the method argues that note-taking should generate momentum, not just storage. Tag pages can kick-start new work—like revisiting a “curiosity” question and adding commentary using already-collected quotes and links—while project notes can pull together tasks and references. The core practice is consistent engagement: capture regularly, review regularly (weekly is suggested), link ideas, and use backlinks to learn from what’s already been saved. The system evolves with needs, but the building blocks—capturing, reviewing, and processing—stay stable.

Cornell Notes

The workflow centers on two filters—whether to remember something and whether it’s interesting—followed by a second review filter: whether it’s useful now or useful later. Items that matter immediately get turned into new notes with titles, properties, and writing space; items that don’t can be kept for future resurfacing via tags or placement. Daily Notes act as a hub where everything flows in, and review cadence (often weekly) prevents information from piling up unseen. Linking creates backlinks and mentions, which provide context about where ideas live and help refine definitions, projects, and personal knowledge over time. The goal is to keep momentum by engaging with notes regularly rather than passively collecting them.

What are the two filters used to decide what to capture, and why does the system start broad?

Capture is guided by two signals: (1) “Do I want to remember this thing?” and (2) “Am I interested in this thing?” Because the next step is review, the workflow encourages capturing broadly at the start—anything that passes those two questions. Over time, patterns emerge about what actually gets used, so the capture behavior becomes more selective naturally.

How does review differ from capture, and what does “useful now vs. useful later” mean in practice?

Review applies a second filter after capture: “Is this useful to me now, or could it be useful in the future?” The decision is contextual and not exact—an educated guess based on current needs. Useful-now items get converted into full notes (with a title, properties, and space to write). Useful-later items can be left untouched but tagged or placed so they resurface when relevant.

Why does the workflow treat the Daily Note as a hub, and how is it populated?

The Daily Note is positioned as the central hub where new notes flow in and from which next steps emerge. It’s surrounded by a calendar, and it can support actions like creating meetings either by writing under the text or using calendar integration. Items can be sent to the Daily Note through multiple channels in Capacities—WhatsApp or Telegram, email “note to self,” Raycast on MacBook, or dedicated apps—so capture doesn’t require extra friction.

How do tags and tag pages help resurface ideas without rewriting everything immediately?

Tags group notes under shared keywords and enable “wall views” of related content. Tag pages then become a starting point for future work. For example, items tagged with “curiosity” can later be used to develop a new question like what a curiosity-driven life looks like, using already-collected quotes and links instead of starting from zero.

What role do backlinks and mentions play in turning scattered notes into a knowledge network?

Backlinks show where a note was referenced from—so opening a note reveals other notes that linked to it. Mentions scan for places where a term appears even without an explicit link, consolidating those occurrences. Together, they provide context for refining a note’s meaning; the example of building a “Kairos” definition uses backlinks to identify which parts of sources are most relevant for the definition.

How should someone decide whether to review every backlink, and what’s the recommended focus strategy?

Backlinks are powerful but not meant to be exhaustively reviewed. The workflow argues it’s unreasonable to maintain a standard of reading everything, and it’s often unnecessary. Instead, focus on what’s relevant to “now” or what’s likely relevant in the near future—those are the notes worth spending attention on consistently.

Review Questions

When you capture an item, what two questions determine whether it should go into the system?
During review, how do you decide whether to convert a captured item into a new note versus tagging it for later?
How do backlinks and mentions change what you can do with a note after it’s already been created?

Key Points

1
Use two capture filters—whether something should be remembered and whether it’s interesting—to reduce decision-making when saving new material.
2
Treat the Daily Note as a hub: everything flows into it, and it’s where next actions are triggered.
3
During review, apply a second filter: decide whether each item is useful now or useful later, then act accordingly.
4
Convert useful-now items into structured notes with titles, properties, and writing space; keep useful-later items via tags or placement.
5
Use tags and tag pages to resurface ideas and to start new thinking without starting from scratch.
6
Rely on backlinks and mentions to build a connected network of notes, but don’t try to review every backlink every time.
7
Maintain a consistent review cadence—weekly is a practical target—so valuable information doesn’t get buried.

Highlights

Daily Notes are designed as the central hub: capture everything that passes the two filters, then let review determine what becomes a new note versus what stays as a future reference.

Review uses a different question than capture: whether something is useful now or useful later, with decisions based on current context rather than perfect accuracy.

Backlinks and mentions turn scattered reading into a network—helping refine definitions (like “Kairos”) using the most relevant parts of previously saved sources.

Tag pages (especially for themes like “curiosity”) act as momentum engines for new projects and questions, leveraging existing quotes and links instead of starting over. 