Prefer Note Titles with Complete Phrase

summary from Andy Matuschak’s note

  • Complete phrases as note title forces us to be convicted with the statement

    • Evergreen or permanent notes should be concept-oriented
      • For example: Educational objectives often subvert themselves, Evergreen notes permit smooth incremental progress in writing (“incremental writing”).
    • if you struggle to summarize it in a sharp title, that’s often a sign that this note is about several topics
      • contra Evergreen notes should be atomic.
      • the solution is to break the ideas down and write about the bits I understand best first.

  • Questions also make good note titles because that position creates pressure to make the question get to the core of the matter.

    • Some questions really are evergreen (To what extent is exceptional ability heritable?); others are more ephemeral creative prompts (How might the mnemonic medium enable readers in genres outside platform knowledge?).
    • The goal with the latter type of note is to eventually drop the question mark, refactoring it into declarative/imperative notes.

[!caution]+ Exceptions

  • use nouns and noun phrases in note titles only to define core terms
    • (which other notes generally orbit around). Examples: Executable strategy, Enacted experience, Enabling environment
    • Outline notes (see Create speculative outlines while you write) like §Note-writing systems
    • For more, see Taxonomy of note types
  • I often begin by writing a note without knowing what the title will be. The title often emerges from the text as it’s written. When a note suggests a strong title with a clear claim, that’s a good sign that it’s starting to make sense. Related: Evergreen note titles are like APIs

References

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    #MOC / for notes related to productivity and self improvement
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