Evergreen vs Fleeting Notes

Sparks belong in fleeting notes; trusted claims belong in evergreen, with a clear path between them.

Key Concept

• Two speeds, one promotion rule.
• Level 1: Quick notes catch ideas you might lose this week; slow notes hold what you trust next year.
• Level 2: Fleeting and evergreen are two speeds on one desk - capture fast in the tray, promote to the cabinet only when the claim survives a second read.
• Level 3: Because not every spark deserves a permanent note, promotion from fleeting to evergreen is a deliberate choice, not automatic archiving.
• Level 4: Capture fast in fleeting; promote only when you would trust the claim next year - forcing everything evergreen buries what was only true this week.
• Level 5: Note Maturity is the path between - fleeting catches what might vanish this week; evergreen holds what you would cite next year after promotion earns it.
• Fleeting notes catch sparks you would lose by Friday; evergreen notes hold claims you would cite next year.
• The stake is rot - sparks that never promote clutter the inbox, and forcing everything evergreen buries what was only true this week.
• Note Maturity is the path between: capture fast, promote when the idea survives a second read.

Examples

• I promoted a hot take about last night's game into the garden and winced rereading it six months later - sparks belong on the fridge, not in permanence.
• The shift manager's scribble about today's rush stays on the clipboard; the safety rule we cite in training every quarter lives in the binder.

Note Relationships