Outliner — block structure as the atom of every note
Why you should not think in sentences, but in blocks — and how that carries every later link.
- 1Open the existing Word document, select all sections, copy them into a plaintext editor (e.g. VS Code).☐Checkpoint: Plaintext visible, formatting lost — content complete.
- 2Create one top-level bullet per section heading. One bullet at depth 2 per paragraph.☐Checkpoint: Same number of sections as in the original.
- 3Check each paragraph: does it carry an “and” / “but” / a citation in brackets? If so, split it into two bullets.☐Checkpoint: Each bullet carries exactly one statement.
- 4Push citations and examples to depth 3 under their statement (Tab).☐Checkpoint: Depth ≤ 4 across the whole page.
- 5Create concepts named more than once (e.g. “SemVer”, “quarter comparison”) as their own page, move the statements there, leave a backlink here.☐Checkpoint: The concept page has at least 2 backlinks from this migration.
- 6Move the original Word document into “archive/<year>/” — never delete. Add an entry to the migration inventory.☐Checkpoint: Archive path present, inventory entry with page link.
Why the outliner comes first
If you use only one feature in mium, make it the outliner. Block references, tags, backlinks, queries, templates — every one of them assumes that a statement is addressable. And it becomes addressable only once it is a block of its own.
The rules
Atomicity is the only discipline that counts. If a block carries two statements, you can reference only one of them — the other gets lost in the backlink noise.
Tab and Shift-Tab are the only tools for parent-child relationships. Bullet lists out of Word are not outlines — they are itemised points at the same depth.
The path of a statement in the outline is a view — the block’s UUID is the truth. You may move it any time, and the backlink follows.
A collapsed outline is a table of contents. You edit only what you need right now. Depth 4 is the reading limit — anything below that needs a sub-page.
Unlike the final Word document, an outline is a living document. Statements migrate into concept pages, return as a backlink, get restructured. That is the point — not the bug.
Before / after
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| Q2_competitor_analysis.docx··12 pages of running text··quarter change = a refactoring project | page Q2-competitor··outline of 38 blocks··every statement ((blockref)) citable in Q3, Q4, … |
When one block should become two
- When the block carries an “and” that joins two separate statements.
- When the block holds a citation in brackets — the citation belongs in a child block.
- When the block carries a “but” — the counter-position needs a block of its own, or it gets lost.
- When you already reference the block from three other places — it is a concept and belongs on its own page.
- When the block runs over two screen lines without being a list.
- Atomicity
- A note is atomic when it holds exactly one self-contained statement. Atomicity is the precondition for reuse — only an atomic statement can stand in another place without loss of context.
The human side
Outliner discipline is a writing technique, not a feature of the product. At first the extra Tab keystroke feels like bureaucracy. After four weeks you see that linear, sentence-style writing only seemed quicker because the next-quarter effort stayed invisible.
Atomic notes are not an end in themselves. They are the basis for every reuse — and so for every hour you do not work twice.
Done in three weeks
- Week 1: learn outliner discipline — keep one note a day deliberately atomic.
- Week 2: migrate three existing Word documents — deliberately “one statement = one block”.
- Week 3: set your first block refs — reference a statement from document A in document B instead of copying it.
Atom by atom, not page by page.
Write once, use everywhere. Your second brain keeps every statement addressable — a companion that thinks along with you, not a filing cabinet.
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