Kolby's Garden

How I Use Johnny Decimal With PARA

🌳 Evergreen💡 Note

Planted 2026-05-06Tended 2026-05-063 min read

Question

How can Johnny Decimal help organize a vault that already uses PARA?

Working Answer

I use PARA as the main structure and Johnny Decimal as a light navigation layer.

PARA tells me what kind of thing a note is:

  • Project
  • Area
  • Resource
  • Archive

Johnny Decimal just keeps them in order.

How I Use It

I do not number every note. That would turn the system into overhead.

Instead, I use numbers mostly at the top level of the vault:

  • 00 Inbox - capture and triage
  • 01 Garden - garden notes and public thinking
  • 10 Projects - active projects
  • 20 Areas - ongoing areas
  • 30 Resources - resources and reference material
  • 40 Archives - archives
  • 50 Journal - daily notes and meeting notes
  • 60 Accounts - account or client context
  • 80 Tools - Python and Go scripts for quick-access tools and automation
  • 90 Templates - reusable note templates
  • 95 Prompts - prompts and reusable AI workflows
  • 99 Agent Reference - agent run books and operating notes

This gives the vault a map without forcing every note to carry a formal decimal ID.

Why Not Use Full Johnny Decimal Everywhere?

Full Johnny Decimal IDs are useful when a collection needs stable, browsable locations.

They are less useful when:

  • search already works
  • links are more important than folder location
  • a note belongs in more than one context
  • the numbering would slow down capture
  • the structure would be maintained for its own sake

For most notes, a clear title, useful links, and the right PARA location are enough.

When I Add More Structure

I only use Johnny Decimal past the root folders when a project or collection is big enough that my normal workflow would get in the way.

That usually means one of two things:

  • The project is large, long-running, or different enough that it needs its own internal structure.
  • I need to keep the material separate from my normal project workflow for clarity, privacy, client boundaries, or reuse outside Obsidian.

Good reasons:

  • A project has enough moving parts that one project note is not enough
  • Too many unrelated notes collect in one place
  • Similar notes keep getting filed inconsistently
  • A folder needs a stable external reference
  • The structure would help outside Obsidian too
  • Navigation has become slower than it should be

Bad reasons:

  • The numbering scheme has unused space
  • I want the system to look complete
  • I am reorganizing instead of doing the work

Rule of Thumb

Use the least structure that makes the system easier to use.

PARA gives the vault its operating model. Johnny Decimal gives it a lightweight map. Links and garden notes handle the relationships that folders cannot.

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