# Refining my note-taking workflow—lessons from Evernote for Obsidian. 2025-06-24 ### As someone who believes that serious note-taking needs a solid system, I’ve frequently encountered a challenge: effectively managing my ever-growing collection of notes. Dynamically switching between multiple views of the same information is a strategy I used a lot in the past. However, I lost that when I moved to #Obsidian, as I find its handling of lists of notes less intuitive than Evernote’s elegant approach. I can’t think of any note-taking app that handles note lists quite like #Evernote. Its “All Notes” list is essentially a dynamic filter displaying all your notes. If you’re an Evernote user, you’ve likely noticed that the list automatically refines as you click on notebooks, tags, and so on, transforming to show exactly what you need. This brilliant method of listing notes is something I truly miss in Obsidian. ![[vladcampos.com/_files/2025-06-24-refining-my-note-taking-workflow.png]] When you select a notebook, tag, stack, etc. in Evernote, the items in the list are filtered to show only notes within that group. So much so that you can easily replicate this filtering using the advanced search operators. For example, typing `tag:tag-a` in the search box yields the same list as clicking on the `tag-a` tag. Evernote’s AI-powered search functions similarly; the displayed items adjust based on the elements the #AI selects to create the filter. In Obsidian, however, filtering notes by a tag or using the search box will also list the items, but I’m limited in what I can do with the results. While I can clearly see the list, there’s no way to select all items and, for instance, add a tag to them or move that group of notes to a different folder. ![[vladcampos.com/Static/Toolbox/Evernote/Evernote posts|Evernote posts]] In Evernote, this is not only possible but incredibly easy. You just select and move them to another notebook. While a limit on the number of selectable notes exists now, it wasn’t there before Evernote 10. This clever way of displaying notes does come with technical challenges, though. For example, I believe the current selection limit was imposed because, in the past, moving long lists often led to significant conflicts. Because there's no easy way to filter notes in dynamic lists like in Evernote, I opted for subfolders within my [[vladcampos.com/Static/Timeline System|Timeline System]] in Obsidian. But by doing so, I sacrifice a true timeline of my life’s events, as each type of information is located in a separate subfolder. I haven’t tested #Bases yet, but judging by the [official documentation](https://help.obsidian.md/bases), it appears there’s no limit to the size of lists a Bases file can handle. If true, I’ll finally be able to build a real timeline by creating a single `Timeline.base` file that lists everything from the subfolders within my Timeline folder.  Not only that, but I’ll have access to various dynamic filters within that `Timeline.base` file. ![[vladcampos.com/Static/Toolbox/Obsidian/Obsidian posts|Obsidian posts]] While I’d prefer not to, if the number of files proves too large for the new Bases feature to handle, I can always split it into yearly files: “2025.bases,” “2024.bases,” “2023.bases,” and so on. It will not be a perfect replacement for Evernote’s list of notes, as I will not be able to select multiple notes to add tags, move them elsewhere, and any other bulk action. But I'll at least, have a real timeline and multiple possible filters.  The Bases feature is still in beta, and online discussions suggest the final public version will take some time. Meanwhile, I can ensure my Timeline notes have all their properties populated with the proper data, allowing my `Timeline.base` to beautifully simulate the visual effect of multiple views of the same list, just as I was accustomed to in Evernote. Ultimately, my goal with the [[vladcampos.com/Static/Timeline System|Timeline System]] is to create a note-taking system that truly adapts to how we think and behave, allowing us to interact with all the information we deal with in a fluid, intuitive way. Bases seems to be a promising step in that direction regarding using the Timeline System in Obsidian. What about you? Any plans for the new Bases feature?  ![[vladcampos.com/Timeline/Blog/Posts|Posts]]