Design note templates for a personal knowledge base

Create a small set of reusable note templates, with fields and linking rules, for your note-taking app.

Change note: Initial version

Prompt

Design a set of note templates for my personal knowledge base in {{app}}.

What I use notes for: {{purpose}}
What I mostly capture: {{sources}}
How I want to retrieve notes later: {{retrieval}}
Maturity: {{maturity}}

Create 4 to 6 templates, no more. For each template give:
- Name and when to use it (one line)
- The exact template text I can paste, with field names and short prompts in brackets
- Suggested properties, tags or links I should always fill in
- One filled-in example of 3 or 4 lines

Also provide:
1. A folder, tag or link scheme that fits {{app}} and stays simple (no more than 8 top-level tags or folders).
2. A 5-minute weekly habit to keep the system tidy.
3. A list of 3 mistakes to avoid at my maturity level.

Favor fewer fields over more. If a field is rarely useful, leave it out and tell me.

Variables

• {{app}}Notes appselectrequired

  Options: Obsidian, Notion, Apple Notes, Evernote, plain markdown files

  Default: Obsidian

• {{purpose}}Purposelongrequired

  Default: Keeping track of what I learn as a self-taught data analyst, and drafting blog posts from it.

• {{sources}}Sourcestextrequired

  Default: Online courses, books, articles, work problems and solutions

• {{retrieval}}Retrievaltextrequired

  Default: Find by topic, and quickly find 'how did I solve this before'

• {{maturity}}Experience with note-takingselectrequired

  Options: beginner, intermediate, advanced

  Default: beginner

Example output

**Templates (Obsidian)**

**1. Concept note**: use for one idea in your own words.
```
# [Concept]
**In one sentence:** 
**Why it matters:** 
**Example:** 
**Related:** [[ ]]
Source: 
```
Always fill: tag #concept, one link to a related note.
Example: "Window functions: compute across rows related to the current row. Example: running total of sales."

**2. Problem and solution**: for work problems.
```
# [Problem in plain words]
**Context:** 
**What I tried:** 
**What worked:** 
**Code or steps:** 
```
Always fill: tool tag, date.

**3. Source note**: for books, courses and articles (title, link, 3 key takeaways, my reaction).
**4. Blog seed**: a rough idea with audience and a one-line angle.

**Scheme**
Tags: #concept, #problem, #source, #blog-seed, plus tool tags (#sql, #python). Link, do not file.

**Weekly habit (5 min)**
Review notes created this week, add at least one link to each.

**Mistakes to avoid**
1. Copying quotes instead of rewriting them.
2. Adding too many tags.
3. Perfecting templates instead of writing notes.

Notes

Capping the template count and asking for an example per template prevents an over-engineered system. Try each template for two weeks before asking for changes.