The value isn't in a note — it's between notes.

On its own, a single note is usually unremarkable. What's valuable is the thought that appears when two unrelated notes sit next to each other. So once you've captured something, don't rush to file it — first ask: what does this remind me of?

Folders force you to decide "what category is this?" at the moment of capture, but many ideas naturally cross categories. Links don't force that choice: you just join related notes, and structure grows on its own as the connections accumulate.

After a while you'll notice certain notes being pointed at again and again — that's usually a theme taking shape.

Revisit, don't just collect.

Connecting isn't a one-time act. Every so often, page back through old notes: merge duplicates, split the overloaded ones, add the links you missed the first time. This light, repeated tending keeps the system alive far better than one big cleanup ever could.

When the notes around a theme grow dense enough, they're already nudging you to write. In the next entry, we move from notes to writing.