Knowledge work should accrete not evaporate
Most knowledge work disappears. Meetings end. Projects finish. Insights fade.
andy-matuschak: "Many activities feel like knowledge work but don't compound." Reading without notes. Discussing without writing. Planning without artifacts.
evergreen-notes fix this. Each note is a durable unit. Time spent writing compounds because the output remains useful and findable.
The accrual mechanism:
- Write atomic insight
- Link to related notes
- Notes reinforce each other
- Network becomes more valuable
- Future writing gets easier (ideas already articulated)
This contrasts with the blog model where old posts ossify. Or corporate wikis where information rots. Gardens compound because bi-directional-links keep old notes discoverable and new notes connected.
If your note-taking doesn't accrete, you're just processing, not building.