Subtractive metadata instead of adding it to make it easier to manage

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In my template, I use tag to assign a “type” to each note. “Type” can be any of a list of values, and I used to leave the field empty and remember what I needed to add when I created the note.

For a while, I’ve flipped the paradigm and list all possible values in my template, so “adding” the right metadata is a deletion task instead of a remember and add task. When I create the new note, all of the possible values show up, and I delete the ones that don’t apply.

This is what my template looks like:

---
tag:
  - type/fact
  - type/structure
  - type/concept
  - type/principle
  - type/process
  - type/procedure
  - type/template
  - type/list
  - type/MOC
  - add-clarity
---

If you tag notes with a tag that has various values like note status or type, etc., then having all the values in your template makes it much easier to “add” the right metadata to all of your notes. Deleting what’s not needed is easier than remembering the right value.

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