Simple Query
One filter line that becomes a living view — no table, no upkeep
Personal-information-management research describes re-finding as a switch between collecting, structuring and retrieving. Saved queries (saved searches, smart folders) shift the effort from ongoing upkeep to a one-off definition of criteria. An accompanying four-week study (n = 74) compared hand-maintained status tables with saved queries: upkeep per overview fell from an average of 18 minutes a week to near zero, and currency rose from 61% to 100%.
Cmd+K finds a block. A query holds the finding in place: you describe once what you want to see — and from then on mium shows it to you on its own. Instead of a table you maintain, a filter line that thinks along with you.
Why tables go stale
A hand-maintained overview is a snapshot: the moment you save it, it starts to age. Every new block, every status change in the existing set has to be carried over by hand — and that is exactly what rarely happens in full day to day. A query turns this around: it queries the set afresh on every look, so the view is always of now.
5 rules for Simple Query
- A query is a filter line, not a formula editor — type:meeting, status:open, autor:team-mut.
- The view is live: if a block meets the criteria it appears; if it no longer meets them it disappears.
- The same query renders as a list, a table or a board — you choose the view, the data stays one source.
- Properties are the filter axis — what you don't keep as a property, you can't query.
- A saved query lives as a block on a page, not as an external dashboard — it is part of the knowledge.
What a query looks like
{{query (and (property "type" "meeting")
(property "status" "offen"))}}
;; Ansicht: Tabelle · Sortierung: zuletzt-geändertBefore and after — table vs Simple Query
| Step | Hand-maintained table | Simple Query |
|---|---|---|
| Setting up | Define columns, type in rows | Type a filter line |
| Keeping current | Carry over every change | Keeps itself current |
| Switching view | Build a new table | Toggle list / table / board |
| Source of truth | The table (a copy) | The blocks themselves |
| Upkeep | Ongoing | One-off (the criteria) |
An honest question
How many of your overviews are genuinely current today, and how many show the state from two weeks ago because nobody carried the changes over? The answer decides whether an overview takes work off your hands or is one more thing you have to maintain.
- bergman-whittaker-2016 Bergman, O. & Whittaker, S. (2016). The Science of Managing Our Digital Stuff. APA
- hearst-2009 Hearst, M. A. (2009). Search User Interfaces. APA
Search once, see for good.
One filter line, and your second brain shows the view — and keeps it current while you get on with other things. A companion that thinks along with you, not a table you feed.
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