I spend a ridiculous amount of time thinking about where to store my notes and ideas. A few years back, I stumbled upon Tiago Forte’s „Second Brain“ concept, and it clicked immediately. The core idea is simple: Your brain is for having ideas, not holding them.

Back in 2021, I even wrote a post about my Second Brain setup. At the time, I was a total disciple of the P.A.R.A. method (Projects, Areas, Resources, Archive). I moved my entire digital life – my cloud storage, my Obsidian vault, my local files – into those four folders.

But honestly? I struggled. I was constantly overthinking whether something was a „Project“ or an „Area.“ My projects rarely had hard deadlines, and many never truly „ended,“ yet they didn’t feel like static „Areas“ either. I felt like I was trying to force my life to fit into a system rather than making the system work for me.

Systems are supposed to be a foundation, not a straightjacket. So, I decided to stop fighting PARA and evolved it into something that fits the „Mayhem“ and „Penguin“ vibe of my brand, PENGUIN BLEND.de.

Meet the PGN-Method

I wanted something that felt natural. I really like Penguins and since my business also runs on the PGNBLD.de domain, I realized I could keep the simplicity of a four-letter acronym but redefine the categories to match how I actually work.

Here is how I organized my Obsidian vault and cloud storage to finally find some peace.

P – Projects (The Pulse)

This is where everything lives that requires my current attention, energy, and action.

  • Definition: Anything that is currently „breathing.“
  • The Pulse Rule: Unlike P.A.R.A, there is no requirement for a fixed end date. However, if I haven’t touched a topic in about four weeks, it loses its „pulse“ and has to leave the P-folder.

G – Grid (The Foundation)

The Grid is my knowledge network and infrastructure. It is more static than Projects, serving as the bedrock for everything I do.

  • Definition: This holds reference materials, long-term knowledge, and tools.
  • What’s inside: Book and podcast notes (usually synced via Snipd), financial documents, and person-specific notes. (Yes I keep notes about People I know or meet. How am I supposed to remember everything??)
  • Resources Sub-folder: Within the Grid, I keep a specific spot for „Resources“ – things like templates, assets, and icons that I use to build other things. (This is more Obsidian specific an less relevant in digital file storage I guess)

N – Notebooks (The Bookshelf)

In P.A.R.A., the „Archive“ always felt like a digital graveyard – a dark basement where data goes to die. I hated that. I prefer the metaphor of Notebooks on a shelf.

When a project is no longer active or information in the Grid becomes outdated, it moves to the „Notebooks“ section.

You don’t throw away a physical notebook just because the pages are full; you put it on the shelf. It’s part of your history and experience.

I use two specific sub-folders here:

  1. Freeze (On Ice): Projects or ideas that don’t have a pulse right now but could be reactivated at any time. It’s „standby“ mode.
  2. History (The Museum): This is for things that are definitively finished or legally required, like old tax years. It’s there if I need it, but it doesn’t clutter my daily search results.

Why This Works for Me

The transition took some work, especially in Obsidian where I had to move hundreds of files around. But it was the cleanup I desperately needed.

The PGN-Method gives me the freedom to be radical about what stays in my active workspace. I can clear out my Projects folder without feeling like I’m „deleting“ my work. It just gets a place of honor on the shelf.

If you have been frustrated by rigid PKM (Personal Knowledge Management) systems, remember that you don’t need a „perfect“ workflow to start. You just need a system that makes sense to you.

Maybe the PGN-Method works for you, or maybe you need to invent your own. Either way, stop storing everything in your head. Your brain has better things to do.

What does your digital filing system look like? Let me know if you’ve tried a PARA alternative or if you will give the PGN-Method a try!

And until then: Keep bringing order to the mayhem in your head.