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How to Organize Your Ideas with Apple Notes Using the PARA Method

William Eliezer

Summary:

This video explains how to transform Apple Notes into an effective "Second Brain" for enhanced creativity and productivity.

  • Problem Identification [Image 0 at 0:00]: The creator previously struggled with disorganized notes scattered across various apps like Notion and Obsidian, leading to mental fatigue [Image 1 at 0:08].
  • Second Brain Concept [Image 3 at 0:38]: A second brain serves as an external system to capture, store, and retrieve information, freeing up mental capacity for new ideas, using Apple Notes as the central hub.
  • Why Apple Notes: It's free, user-friendly, and seamlessly integrates across all Apple devices (iPhone, MacBook, iPad), offering universal accessibility and synergy with other Apple applications like Reminders and Calendar.
  • PARA Method [Image 27 at 2:53]: The organizational framework (Projects, Areas, Resources, Archives) structures notes from actionable to less actionable, based on the MECE principle [Image 29 at 3:19].
    • Projects [Image 37 at 3:59]: Specific goals with deadlines.
    • Areas [Image 41 at 4:10]: Ongoing responsibilities and priorities without deadlines.
    • Resources [Image 43 at 4:30]: Interests or topics being explored.
    • Archives [Image 45 at 4:39]: Completed or inactive items.
  • 6-Step Tutorial [Image 47 at 4:52]:
    1. Consolidate: Gather all existing notes into Apple Notes.
    2. Create Main Folders [Image 49 at 5:15]: Set up numbered folders for Projects, Areas, Resources, and Archives (e.g., 1. Projets) [Image 51 at 5:26].
    3. Create Sub-Folders [Image 53 at 5:47]: Further categorize notes within main folders (e.g., Professional/Personal under Areas) [Image 55 at 6:15].
    4. Standardize Formatting: Use consistent naming conventions and emojis for visual clarity.
    5. Add Tags [Image 57 at 8:17]: Apply singular tags to each note for easy searching and filtering (e.g., #admin, #productivity, #book, #todo).
    6. Create an Inbox [Image 61 at 9:29]: Utilize a Smart Folder to automatically capture untagged notes [Image 63 at 10:29].
  • Key Features for Productivity: Rapid note capture [Image 64 at 11:11], converting notes to reminders [Image 66 at 11:47], voice memos with automatic transcription [Image 68 at 12:55], scanning documents and text [Image 69 at 13:08], embedding photos/videos, and efficient search capabilities using keywords and tags [Image 74 at 15:13].
  • Weekly Review [Image 76 at 16:27]: A crucial 10-minute weekly session to process new notes, assign tags, and move them to appropriate folders, preventing system decay and maintaining organization.

Why I Transformed Apple Notes into a Second Brain [0:00]

The speaker shares his personal struggle with disorganization, having notes scattered across multiple applications like Notion, Obsidian, OneNote [Image 0 at 0:00], and even initial attempts with Apple Notes. This led to mental fatigue and frustration, making it difficult to retrieve information efficiently [Image 1 at 0:08]. He made a radical decision to centralize his "second brain" in Apple Notes. He highlights that Apple Notes is free, user-friendly, and universally accessible across all Apple devices. This consolidation allows him to quickly capture and retrieve notes, significantly boosting his productivity.

Second Brain in Apple Notes [0:36]

The concept of a "second brain" is introduced as an external, reliable system to capture, organize, and retrieve thoughts and information, allowing the primary brain to focus on generating new ideas [Image 3 at 0:38]. This system can dramatically enhance creativity and productivity by making knowledge readily available. Tiago Forte, an American productivity expert, popularized this concept with his book "Building a Second Brain." The speaker chose Apple Notes over other tools for several reasons:

The PARA Method [2:49] [Image 26 at 2:49]

The PARA (Projects, Areas, Resources, Archives) method, developed by Tiago Forte, is a digital organization framework that the speaker has adopted [Image 27 at 2:53]. It's built on the MECE (Mutually Exclusive, Collectively Exhaustive) principle, meaning each piece of information fits into only one category, and all information is covered [Image 29 at 3:19]. This structured approach ensures nothing is missed and everything is actionable. The PARA categories, translated into French as PDRA (Projets, Domaines, Ressources, Archives) [Image 35 at 3:52], are ordered from most actionable to least actionable:

Second Brain Tutorial [4:52]

The speaker outlines a 6-step method to implement the Second Brain system in Apple Notes [Image 47 at 4:52]:

  1. Sort Existing Notes [5:03]

    • Consolidate all notes from various apps (if scattered) into Apple Notes.
    • Transfer any existing notes from other applications or ensure all current Apple Notes are accessible in one place.

  2. Create Main Folders [5:15]

    • Create four primary folders in iCloud Notes, numbered to enforce the PARA hierarchy [Image 49 at 5:15]:
      • 1. Projets
      • 2. Domaines
      • 3. Ressources
      • 4. Archives
    • To create a new folder: Tap the folder icon at the top, enter the name (e.g., 1. Projets), then tap the yellow checkmark [Image 51 at 5:26].

  3. Create Sub-Folders [5:47]

    • Within each main folder, create sub-folders to further organize notes [Image 53 at 5:47].
    • 1. Projets examples [5:51]: Studio, Notion, Second Cerveau (the project of creating the second brain itself).
    • 2. Domaines examples [6:15] [Image 55 at 6:15]:
      • Professional: YT - Stratégie (YouTube Strategy), YT - Titre / Miniature (YouTube Titles / Thumbnails), CC - Admin (Content Creation Admin), CC - Réseau (Content Creation Network), CC - Branding, CC - Idée (Content Creation Idea), CC - Écriture (Content Creation Writing), CC - Enregistrement (Content Creation Recording), CC - Montage (Content Creation Editing), CC - Argent (Content Creation Money), Communication.
      • Personal: Admin, Finance Personnelle (Personal Finance), Santé (Health), Relations, Maison (Home), Voyages (Travel).
      • Example of Voyages folder containing notes like "Liste des bagages" (Packing list), "Astuces pour payer moins chers" (Tips for cheaper travel).
    • 3. Ressources examples [7:04]: tech, instagram, mindset, citations, newsletter, livres (books), productivité, immobilier (real estate), fiscalité (taxation), parfums, juridique (legal), vision, amour (love), vêtements (clothing).
    • 4. Archives example [7:17]: A single archive folder named Archive 27/12/2025 containing all previous non-current notes.
    • Tip: Avoid creating empty folders; only create them when you have notes to store.

  4. Standardize Formatting [7:46]

    • Implement a consistent visual hierarchy:
      • 1. Projets: Emojis next to sub-folders (e.g., 🧠 for Second Brain).
      • 2. Domaines: Capitalized first letter for sub-folders (e.g., Admin, Santé). An asterisk can indicate personal sub-folders (e.g., ⭐ Admin).
      • 3. Ressources: Sub-folders in lowercase (e.g., tech, mindset).
      • This consistency helps quickly identify and access different categories of notes.

  5. Add Tags [8:17]

    • Tags are crucial for discoverability. Every note should have at least one tag.
    • All tags should be in the singular form (e.g., #admin, not #admins) for simplicity and consistency.
    • Use 3-4 types of tags to facilitate searches [Image 57 at 8:17]:
      • Category: Broad topics (e.g., #admin, #santé, #finance, #pro).
      • Detail: More specific descriptors (e.g., #productivité, #studio, #idée).
      • Type of Notes: Format or content type (e.g., #newsletter, #document, #lien, #livre).
      • Status: For project notes (e.g., #àfaire (to do), #encours (in progress), #terminé (completed)).

  6. Create an Inbox [9:29]

    • Create a "Boîte de réception" (Inbox) as a Smart Folder [Image 61 at 9:29].
    • Purpose: Prevent notes from getting lost or unused. All new, untagged notes will automatically appear here, mimicking an email inbox.
    • Setup:
      • Create a new Smart Folder.
      • Name it "Boîte de réception".
      • Set the filter: "Include notes matching all filters" > "Tags" > "Any Tag" (select "No Tag" or similar to ensure it only collects untagged notes, though the video demonstrates n'importe quel tag which means "any tag", this is a slight discrepancy in the video's instruction and visual, I will clarify this below) [Image 63 at 10:29].
    • Correction/Clarification: At 10:29, the visual instruction for "Tags" is "N'importe quel tag" (Any tag) but the speaker states it will exclude notes with tags. This means the filter should actually be set to exclude notes with any tag, or simply include notes with no tags. The visual shows "N'importe quel tag" and then "1 filtre activé" and the next screen shows all notes without tags. Therefore, the implied filter is "Notes without any tag." This ensures that all new notes without a tag automatically appear in the Inbox.

Functionalities of Apple Notes [11:04]

These features help manage and find notes efficiently:

Weekly Review [16:27]

This is the final and most crucial step for maintaining an organized Second Brain [Image 76 at 16:27].