How to use "folders" in Reflect

Reflect’s folder-style workflow can be recreated as a “hybrid” that lowers the learning curve for people used to Evernote, Apple Notes, or Google Drive—without abandoning the core network-note approach of backlinks and tags. The key idea is to keep the familiar mental model of “folders” (a table-of-contents list of related items) while still organizing content the Reflect way: daily notes link outward to dedicated pages, and those links power navigation.

The first and easiest method uses pinned “folder” notes. Instead of physically placing notes inside a folder, a dedicated page acts like a folder by serving as a table of contents. For example, a pinned “Projects” page can list active projects as backlinks—each entry is a backlink to a separate project note. The practical difference is that the “folder” is a single page pinned to the left sidebar for quick access, while the actual content lives in linked notes. The transcript’s examples include a “Projects” folder listing current work, plus other pinned lists such as “Growth ideas,” a customer support FAQ list that grows as questions arrive, and article drafts. The emphasis is that the real mechanism remains backlinks from daily notes to the relevant project, article draft, or other item; the pinned page simply makes those relationships feel like folder navigation.

The second method uses tags to approximate folder lists. A “Projects” tag can be applied to notes that belong to a project category. From Reflect’s “all notes” view, clicking a tag like “projects” produces a list of all tagged notes—functionally similar to a folder’s contents, though not identical. This tag-driven approach can also be extended to other categories such as “article drafts” or “meetings,” letting users treat tag collections as folder-like entry points.

Both approaches aim to make the network-note system feel intuitive. As users start creating backlinks in their daily notes—such as linking a brainstorm to “growth ideas,” or linking an article draft to a specific topic—they become more aware of what should be linked next. The workflow described is incremental: create a backlink note for the specific topic, tag it appropriately (e.g., “article draft”), and then link to it from daily work. The result is a stepping stone away from folder thinking and toward Reflect’s backlink-and-tag organization.

A final caveat matters: the hybrid setup is not an argument for replacing network note taking with folders. The transcript frames folders as a digital habit that doesn’t match how brains naturally organize information, and positions this technique as a short-term bridge. The payoff is expected quickly—after a few days to a week of mild friction, backlinks and tags start to feel natural, and the folder approach becomes harder to imagine returning to.