Note-taking Systems: The PARA Method

The best method for beginners

When I first dived into note-taking systems, I hit a wall of confusion. I tried bullet journaling, the Cornell method, and later encountered the PARA and Zettelkasten methods. Having tried all these methods and several more, and with thousands of hours of note-taking under my belt, I’m in a position where I can make genuine recommendations for you to get started, so you don’t need to waste your time on trying all these options.

I recommend two methods: PARA and Zettelkasten. This newsletter will focus on PARA, covering its basics, why it’s suitable for beginners, and principles for using it effectively.

Next week we’ll look into the Zettelkasten method.

The PARA method

Created by Tiago Forte and detailed in his book “Building a Second Brain”, the PARA method extends beyond note-taking to structure your thinking and organize your entire life. It works with almost any tool and has plenty of online resources.

The PARA acronym stands for:

• Projects

• Areas

• Resources

• Archive

Projects

In Getting Things Done, projects are defined as anything that requires completion of multiple tasks to achieve a certain outcome. Projects have a short time horizon: not more than 12 months.

A project in the PARA method is simply a folder to collect your notes in.

It is similar to the classic way of managing projects. Say you are buying a house. You would have a physical folder in which you collect all the necessary documentation for the process, and keep adding to that folder as the project progresses.

You can easily take out the folder at any time when you need to work on this project, and when it’s done, you can put it in your archive.

Some more examples of projects with accompanying tasks would be:

• Plan a family vacation

  • research destinations

  • book flights and accommodation

  • create itinerary

• Launch a personal blog

  • choose platform

  • design layout

  • write initial posts

  • set up analytics

Areas

An Area is something you are responsible for over a longer period of time. It involves an ongoing engagement or responsibility. By definition, it plays an important and significant role in your life.

Examples of areas with their responsibilities:

• House Ownership

  • Painting

  • Gardening & landscaping

  • Cleaning and organizing

• Health & Fitness

  • Regular exercise routine

  • Diet planning

  • Medical check-ups

• Volunteer work

  • Timetables

  • Correspondence with colleagues

Notice that the project of buying a house can be transitioned to an area. When the project is completed, a long-term engagement with the house ensues which is then defined as an Area.

Starting a blog and then regularly writing on that blog would be another example of a project transitioning to an Area.

Resources

Resources are collections of information which you expect to be useful in the future. They are used for reference. You can collect notes in Resource folders so you can easily find them later.

Some examples of resources in my PARA system:

• Microsoft Azure

• Go

• Kubernetes

• Productivity

• Weight loss

• Writing

• Indoor vegetable growing 🥦

Archive

Finally, there is the archive. These are notes which are not useful currently or in the near future, but which you don’t want to throw away. When you keep notes in your archive, you will run into these notes while you're searching for something.

This way, you can make unexpected connections with older notes you’ve written. I recommend never deleting notes but keeping them in the archive instead.

However, you can always configure your app to exclude searches from the archive if that feels better to you.

Implementation

In the context of a note-taking system, the implementation is done by creating a directory structure.

I recommend using an inbox where you can capture notes on-the-go without much friction. Later, when you are calmly sitting at your desk, you can process your inbox and place the notes in their right location.

Why

If you are completely new to note-taking and productivity systems, the PARA method is a great place to start. It serves as an excellent framework for your notes and your thinking.

When I started out, it was very helpful to me to divide my time up between projects and areas. It helped to get a clear picture of my priorities. I had many different projects in my head, each with their explosion of unfinished tasks.

By creating folders for each project and area, and organizing my notes and tasks within them, I gained clarity and improved my time management.

I realized that some of my projects weren’t contributing to my goals and responsibilities.

Secondly, I think we are naturally inclined to divide our work into folders and categories. At least to most of us, it feels natural to separate things, and it gives a sense of control over our notes. This is important in the beginning, but less significant as your note-taking becomes more advanced and mature.

In the Zettelkasten method, which we will discuss next week, there is no such structure. All notes live in one directory and are linked together through identifiers. This can be a very daunting prospect when you are just starting out, which is why I recommend starting with PARA and then transitioning towards Zettelkasten later.

The most important thing is to start taking notes.

Principles and pitfalls

Here are some principles and pitfalls to look out for when adopting the method.

Make decisions quickly when processing your inbox. Don’t worry about whether a note belongs to a project or an area; just place it somewhere and spend no more than a few seconds on the decision. You can always find your note using the search functionality.

Avoid moving files around. While it’s tempting to go through folders and rearrange notes because they “feel better” elsewhere, restrict yourself in this regard. Move them from the inbox, maybe transition projects to areas, and archive later.

Your note-taking system should improve your productivity. It should not be a time sink. If you find yourself agonizing over note locations, or if you are spending inordinate amounts of time on processing your notes, reflect on whether this is the right system for you.

It will take some time to get used to this system and a slower startup should be anticipated. But when you get familiar with your new system it should make you more productive.

If you would like to get a step-by-step guide on starting with the PARA method in Obsidian, consider my “Notetaking System in 1 hour” course on Udemy. It guides you through setting up your Obsidian vault, and shows you an inbox processing workflow. Everything is done with a keyboard-based workflow in mind, so I also show you how to set up all of your key bindings so you can do most of the work without using the mouse.

If you’re curious about the Zettelkasten method, consider the course I’ve released on Udemy. It’s getting many positive reviews.

However, you are always going to get the best value if you join my Skool community. You will get unlimited access to all of my courses and you get direct access to me and the community of fellow note-takers. You can ask me questions directly by making posts or by joining one of 3 weekly Q&A sessions. Cancel anytime.

Join my community today.

Updates

It’s been an exciting week! The first video in my note-taking series has gone relatively viral, and has 57k views at the time of writing. My subscriber count has climbed to 15000 which is absolutely mental. I was celebrating 10k subscribers only one week ago!

As a consequence, many new people are exposed to my work and have either purchased a Udemy course or joined my Skool community. Thank you so much for all of your support!

With these results and combined with some savings, it seems I can actually live off my online income for a couple of months. I can focus completely on creating content and courses which is mind-blowing. And that’s all possible with your support, dear reader, and I’m eternally grateful for that.

Giveaway

I’ve contacted all the winners for the giveaway and the prices have been distributed. Congratulations!

Reading

I’ve been listening to some episodes from the Huberman Lab podcast that were on my backlog. In one of the episodes, Huberman mentions a book he always recommends to anybody: Mastery by Robert Greene.

I purchased the book in paperback format and so far, I’m really enjoying it. Now that I am a freelancer and possibly even a full-time creator, it is providing some clarity on the directions I can choose for my own life.

After years of using only a Kindle and a recent stint of audiobook exploration, it’s such a joy to read a physical book again.

Wrapping up

Well, that’s it for this week my friend. I hope you enjoyed reading about the PARA method and that you’ll give it a try in your own system.

Remember, it’s most important to start taking notes today. Don’t worry about how you do it and if you have the perfect system. It will sort itself out as you go along.

Starting to build the note-taking habit is the first priority.

Yours,

Mischa