I use a lot of awesome tools to store my data. I have some “stuff” in trello, evernote, google keep, todoist, my email, text files, and probably other places I’m forgetting. Each of these tools is great in its own way. Similarly, they also all feel limited in their ability to organise.
In trello I have lists inside boards and labels, 1>1×1. Evernote has notebooks and tags, 1×1. Google keep has colours and labels, 1×1. Todoist has hierarchical projects and labels, n>1×1.
Structure
These all share the same essential structure. There are multi level folders, sometimes limited to 1 or 2 levels, and there are single level tags. Usually an item can exist in only one folder, and in many tags.
For example, in todoist, a task lives in a single project, but that project can be inside another project. In trello a card can exist in only one list, that list inside only one board.
Somehow I want more flexibility than these limitations will allow.
Type
One limitation that all of these platforms share is type. In all of these platforms, there is 1 single type.
There are sometimes different variations on these types. For example, google keep has lists or notes. Trello supports all kinds of stuff inside their cards, lists, attachments, dates, and more.
Fundamentally though, there is no option for me to describe what something “is”. If I create a card that represents a person in Trello, there is no way for me to say “this is a person”. There are workarounds, but all with their limitations.
Ideas?
How could these tools be improved? What would a better tool offer? Is there a killer feature in this mix that you’ve been waiting for someone to build? We’d love to hear your feedback in the comments…