Principles for creating evergreen notes - atomic, lasting insights that compound over time. Use when discussing note quality, what makes a good evergreen note, or the "only what was explored" principle. Tool-agnostic concepts that apply regardless of note-taking app.
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---
name: evergreen
description: Principles for creating evergreen notes - atomic, lasting insights that compound over time. Use when discussing note quality, what makes a good evergreen note, or the "only what was explored" principle. Tool-agnostic concepts that apply regardless of note-taking app.
---
# Evergreen Notes
Atomic insights that remain true and useful over time.
## Atomicity
One claim per note. The title states the claim. If you can't write a complete statement title, decompose.
- Good: "Spaced repetition works because forgetting is desirable difficulty"
- Bad: "Spaced repetition"
## Quality Bar
**Include:** Genuinely grasped, non-obvious, atomic, lasting value
**Reject:** Surface observations, vague generalizations, obvious statements, current-event descriptions
## Core Principles
**Only what was explored** - The note reads "here's what you discovered, explained expertly."
- If something would illuminate understanding → stop and discuss first
- Deepen, don't expand
**Self-contained** - Makes sense when you've forgotten the original context.
**Notes evolve** - Not final artifacts. Revise as understanding deepens.
**Concept-oriented** - "How spaced repetition works" not "Notes from Make It Stick"
**Links over folders** - Connections create value; associative beats hierarchical.
## Multiple Notes
Write in dependency order. If re-explaining → link instead. If concept repeats → extract.
