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consistent naming and coloring of taxonomies lowers mental overhead

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Work in progress

Reduce mental load in note-taking

Consistent naming and visual taxonomy lowers cognitive friction and improves usability.

The Cognitive Problem

In zettelkasten systems, cognitive overhead accumulates when your brain must constantly decode inconsistent organizational patterns. Every time you encounter a note, your mind performs rapid pattern recognition to understand: right

  • What type of content this represents
  • How it relates to other notes
  • Where it fits in your knowledge structure
  • What actions you might take with it

Inconsistent taxonomies force your brain to solve these puzzles repeatedly, creating friction that compounds over time.

Naming Consistency Benefits

Predictable Mental Models

When you establish consistent naming patterns, your brain builds reliable mental shortcuts:

# Good:
[[Philosophy - MOC]]
[[Machine Learning - MOC]]
 
# Bad:
[[ML Hub]]
[[Philosophy Index]]

Result: Your brain instantly recognizes structure notes without parsing each title individually.

Reduced Decision Fatigue

Consistency reduces choices when naming, finding, or linking notes. Example taxonomy:

Consistent prefixes and formats enable autocomplete, quick searches, and intuitive linking.

Why Visual Consistency Helps: Instant Recognition. Visual patterns reduce time spent parsing lists or graphs and aid orientation during context switches.

How to Implement It

Work in progress

In Obsidian:

  • Use tag/folder CSS for color coding
  • Templates for consistent formatting
  • Color-coded graph views

Roll It Out in Phases 1. Use consistent naming for all new notes 2. Gradually update old notes 3. Add visual styles/themes 4. Automate where possible

Cognitive Science Foundation

Dual Coding Theory: Consistent naming + visual coding creates redundant encoding - information is stored both linguistically and visually, making retrieval faster and more reliable.

Cognitive Load Theory:

  • Intrinsic Load: The actual thinking about your notes’ content
  • Extraneous Load: Mental effort spent decoding inconsistent organization
  • Germane Load: Building long-term knowledge structures

Consistent taxonomies minimize extraneous load, freeing cognitive resources for actual thinking and knowledge building.

Recognition vs. Recall: Consistent patterns transform difficult recall tasks (“What did I call that note?”) into easier recognition tasks (“I see the expected pattern”).

Maintenance Tips

  • Monthly: Check new notes
  • Quarterly: Update inconsistencies
  • Annually: Review whole system
  • Use templates, auto-tagging, and batch renaming

Long-Term Payoff

  • Saves time per interaction → big gains over time
  • Reduces friction → easier to reach flow
  • Enables scalable, intuitive knowledge growth

Bottom Line: Consistency turns your zettelkasten into a cognitive amplifier, not a mental chore.

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