How to use tags in your notes

TL;DR

Tags function as categories that automatically generate clickable lists of notes.

Briefing Cornell Notes

Briefing

Tags turn a scattered notes library into searchable lists—so clicking a single label can instantly surface every related item, whether that’s books imported from Readwise, saved tweets, or specific projects. In practice, tags act like lightweight categories: assign a tag to a note, and that note automatically appears in the corresponding tag page, creating an index that’s easy to browse and reuse.

A key example is organizing imported content. When books are imported, each one carries a “book” tag, and selecting “books” shows a curated list of all tagged items. The same pattern applies to other collections such as “Readwise,” where clicking the tag reveals everything imported from Readwise, and “tweet” or “tweak,” which group saved tweets or saved “tweaks” into their own lists. The workflow is straightforward: tags provide categories and lists, while the notes themselves remain the underlying records.

The transcript also emphasizes tags for people and entities. If a daily log includes lunch with Alex McCaw at the Black Valley Butcher, then the individual note can be tagged with “person” for Alex and “restauran[t]” (or a shop-related tag) for the butcher. Once those tags exist, the system can generate a “person” page for Alex and a separate list for the butcher shop, and any additional tags added later automatically update those lists. Another example extends this idea: Alex’s note includes “CEO” in the title and adds a “founder” tag, enabling a one-click “founder” list across contacts.

Beyond people, tags can function like thematic directories. The transcript describes tags such as “DIY projects” to collect build-related notes, “Home Maintenance” to gather everything about maintaining a house, and “recipe” to assemble a digital cookbook. The guidance is to create tags that correspond to lists someone would realistically want to pull up—then keep adding notes to those categories as the library grows.

There’s also a caution about mis-tagging. If a note is a daily log entry that mentions making pork shoulder, adding a “recipe” tag to that daily note can pollute the “recipe” list—so the list no longer cleanly contains actual recipes. The fix is to tag only the note that should appear in the category list (the recipe note itself), not every mention.

Finally, the transcript draws a distinction between tags and backlinks. Tags behave like categories and do not change how notes are connected through backlinks. For forming associations—linking people, places, projects, and related concepts—backlinks remain the primary tool. When in doubt, the advice is to break notes into smaller units rather than overloading them with tags, since backlinks typically provide richer connections than tags alone. Over time, well-chosen tags become a set of navigable directories that make the notes library easier to index and retrieve.

Cornell Notes

Tags provide a practical way to organize notes into clickable lists. Assign a tag to a note, and that note automatically appears on the tag’s page—turning categories like Books, Readwise, Tweets, or DIY projects into instant indexes. The transcript stresses tagging for entities (people, restaurants/shops) and for roles or themes (e.g., “founder,” “Home Maintenance,” “recipe”). It warns against tagging the wrong note: tagging a daily log entry with “recipe” can contaminate the recipe list, so only the actual recipe note should carry that tag. For relationships and associations, backlinks do the heavy lifting; tags act more like directories than connection graphs.

How do tags create useful lists inside a notes system?

Tags work like category labels that automatically populate list pages. If a note is tagged “book,” it appears when someone clicks the “books” view. The same mechanism applies to other tags such as “Readwise” (showing everything imported from Readwise) and “tweet” or “tweak” (showing all saved tweets or tweaks). The practical result is that browsing becomes a matter of clicking a tag to retrieve all matching notes.

What’s the difference between using tags for categories and using backlinks for associations?

Tags behave like categories/directories and don’t change how notes are connected through backlinks. Even if multiple tags are added, the backlink structure—how notes are linked together—stays the same. For forming meaningful relationships among entities (people, places, projects), backlinks are the tool to use, and they can be added as much as needed.

How can tags be used to organize people and roles?

A note can carry a “person” tag for an individual, and additional role information can be captured via tags. For example, Alex McCaw can be tagged as a person, while his note might also include a “founder” tag (with “CEO” in the title). Clicking the “founder” tag then produces a list of all notes marked as founders, making it easy to retrieve people by role.

Why might tagging a daily note with “recipe” be a mistake?

If a daily log entry mentions making pork shoulder and is tagged “recipe,” then the “recipe” list will include that daily note instead of only actual recipe notes. The transcript describes this as “messing up” the notes list because the category page stops being a clean collection of recipes. The remedy is to leave the “recipe” tag on the real recipe note, not on incidental mentions.

What kinds of tags are most worth creating over time?

The transcript recommends creating tags that correspond to lists someone would realistically want to pull up. Examples include “DIY projects” (for build-related notes), “Home Maintenance” (for home-related knowledge), and “recipe” (to build a digital cookbook). As more notes are tagged appropriately, these categories become stable directories for quick indexing.

What should someone do when a note doesn’t fit cleanly into a tag category?

When a note doesn’t belong in a category list, it’s better to avoid forcing the tag. The transcript’s guidance is to break notes into smaller units when needed rather than over-tagging a single note. This keeps category pages accurate and prevents lists from becoming cluttered with items that only mention the category.

Review Questions

When would adding a tag to a note improve retrieval, and when could it pollute a category list?
How do tags and backlinks each contribute to organizing notes, and what does each one fail to do?
Give two examples of category-style tags (like “recipe” or “Home Maintenance”) and explain what kinds of notes should carry them.

Key Points

1
Tags function as categories that automatically generate clickable lists of notes.
2
Imported content can be organized by tagging notes with labels like “book” or “Readwise,” enabling instant browsing by source.
3
Tags can organize entities such as people and places, including roles like “founder.”
4
The most useful tags are those that correspond to lists someone would actually want to pull up repeatedly.
5
Only tag the note that should appear in a category list; tagging incidental mentions can contaminate the list.
6
Backlinks handle associations and relationship structure, while tags behave more like directories.
7
When a note doesn’t fit cleanly, splitting it into smaller notes is often better than forcing tags onto it.

Highlights

Clicking a tag page turns a personal notes library into an index—books, Readwise imports, tweets, and saved items appear as organized lists.

Mis-tagging can break trust in a category: tagging a daily log entry with “recipe” can clutter the recipe list with non-recipe notes.

Tags don’t replace backlinks; associations between entities still rely on backlinks, while tags mainly provide category navigation.

Treat tags like directories: create only the categories you’d realistically want to browse, such as DIY projects, Home Maintenance, or recipe collections.

Topics

Note Tags
Category Lists
Backlinks vs Tags
Organizing People
Digital Cookbook

Mentioned

Alex McCaw