Johnny Decimal on Supernotes - Ideias & Feedbacks

Thoughts & Feedback
1

I’m currently implementing the Johnny Decimal (JD) system that I used with Bear inside Supernotes. This will be a mix with the Timeline System created by my friend Vlad Campos.

Has anyone here already tried using JD on Supernotes?
Would you like to share your experience with it?

Thank you.

2

I am not aware of the JD approach, but in my understanding it targets the limitations of a tree-like folder-structure, basically your computers filesystem. Supernotes is neither tree-like, nor does it feature folders, so I struggle to see how, and even more importantly, why you would want to implement this?

3

Good question @freisatz
I have several reasons for using the JD System:

  • It utilizes IDs that make it easier to find items quickly if you know the numeric IDs.
  • Since it is based on a static hierarchy, you can quickly locate any PDF or file in your file system related to a note by searching using the ID.
  • I don’t need to create a new structure because I have the template shared by Johnny.
  • I believe using this in Supernotes could be fun.

The interesting part is that I can use the outline as the file tree and also have cards to other structures using parenting, like the Timeline System.

Btw I’m using the 10-19 Life Admin Template

4

I totally get the part where a reflection of your file system’s organisation scheme within Supernotes makes associations of data easier. I didn’t think of that before, but i like the idea (which is much more general than JD itself)

5

@ivomota I’m a little confused by something about the JD system, which hopefully you can clear up. On the JD website, the first claimed benefit is “limit your choices” with “no more than ten” folders.

But looking at your Life Admin folders screenshot, it’s clear that you have significantly more than 10. Have you added additional folders, or does the Life Admin template immediately break its own primary stated benefit?

6

Thanks for the question - it’s a great one, and I completely understand the confusion.

How the Johnny.Decimal structure works

  • Up to 10 Areas – in my setup I have a single Area here: 10–19 Life Admin.
  • Up to 10 Categories per Area – e.g. 10 Finances, 11 Health, etc. I’m currently using just five Categories, exactly as they come in the official Life Admin Pack.
  • Unlimited Items inside each Category – entries such as 11.23 Primary Care. These are notes/tasks/cards, not folders.

I use Supernotes, where everything is a card and where there’s no native folder hierarchy. So what might look like extra folders are actually individual cards carrying a JD ID. The same visual quirk shows up in Bear, the app Johnny demos - it relies on tags rather than folders.

Johnny keeps a dedicated index note (the JDex) to mirror the folder structure. I do the same, but Supernotes lets me go one step further: I can create proper child-cards under an ID. So as an example instead of packing everything into one huge “11.23 Primary Care” note (Bear’s default approach), I can spin up a new card called 11.23+ 2025-06-20 Medical Appointment and nest it under the parent. Because I also run a Timeline system, any given card can live inside the JD hierarchy and show up on this system at same time.

TL;DR

  • The 10 Areas × 10 Categories rule is intact.
  • The “extra” entities you’re seeing are unlimited Items, which are allowed to multiply.
  • Apps like Supernotes or Bear whern used as JDex flatten the view, so it can seem as though the rule is broken when it isn’t.

Hope that clears it up!

7

Another important point I want to add is my goals for using the JD Life Admin Template:

  1. To have a designated place for all created items
  2. To utilize a system inside a note app that helps me quickly locate files in my file system
8

Your explanation definitely clears up my misunderstanding of Areas, Categories, and Items. Thank you! :folded_hands:

However, there are still a few things with the system that continue to confuse me, especially in relation to Supernotes:

  1. I think that all your Items (e.g. “Primary Care”, “Identity Cards”, “Licenses”, etc.) would be best modelled in Supernotes as a parent card, with multiple child cards for each individual related note (or idea). In other words, Items actually feel like Sub-Categories, not like an atomic Item/note/card/idea/file. Even outside of Supernotes, I’d imagine Items would be much more useful as folders, rather than files (e.g. a folder that contains all your license files).
  2. In Supernotes, why not nest all Items under their parent Category? (e.g. “10-19 Life Admin” would only have 5 children: “10 Finances”, “11 Health”, etc., and “11 Health” would have all the 11.x Items as children)
  3. With a tool like Supernotes, which has excellent fuzzy search, I fear that the numbers will only get in the way of finding the right note quickly. Let’s say that you want to navigate to your Health note, so you can see all your Health Items in one Noteboard. You open the quick search bar (with CMD + K), you have to remember the number for “Health” is 11, you type “11”, you’ll get every card with 11 in the title listed, you’ll either have to scroll to find “11 Health”, or you’ll have to continue typing " Health" to narrow the search. At that point, you’d have been better off not having the numbers, and just typing “Health”, right?

I completely understand your desire to achieve this goal. However, I fear that using JD undermines enough of the power of Supernotes, that the tradeoffs just won’t be worth it. For the few Items where you need both a note and a file, wouldn’t it be better to just store a link to the file in the note?