#Core Concepts

Understanding the following core concepts before using Aino LifeOS will help you build a better knowledge management system.

#Two Note Systems

LifeOS consists of two note systems:

#Periodic Notes (Time Dimension)

Notes organized by time period, from longest to shortest:

Yearly → Quarterly → Monthly → Weekly → Daily

Predictability increases from low to high: It's hard to predict what will happen a year from now, but you basically know what you need to do tomorrow. Therefore, long-term notes are suitable for goal management (sense of direction), short-term notes are suitable for task management (execution), and daily notes are suitable for recording (capturing information).

#Theme Notes (Topic Dimension)

Notes organized by topic, typically using PARA classification:

Archives → Resources → Areas → Projects

Actionability increases from low to high: Content in Archives is no longer active, Resources are interesting but not urgent knowledge collections, Areas require ongoing maintenance, and Projects have clear next actions.

#Theme Tags

Theme Tags are one of the most important concepts in LifeOS. Each Theme Note has a unique tag as its identifier, used to index tasks, bullet notes, and files related to that topic across the entire Vault.

#How It Works

Suppose you have an Area note called "Personal Brand," and its theme tag is #个人品牌. When you record in your daily note:

- [ ] 准备分享会 PPT #个人品牌
- 了解了一种新的内容营销方式 #个人品牌

This content will be automatically indexed to the "Personal Brand" theme note, even if they are written in daily notes on different dates.

#Theme Tags vs Regular Tags

In simple terms, Theme Tags are the "ID card" of a Theme Note, while regular tags are "stickers" on content.

#Note Templates

Templates are predefined note structures stored in the Templates folder of your Vault. When creating Periodic Notes or Theme Notes, the system uses the corresponding template to generate a new note.

#Periodic Note Templates

Each type of periodic note has its own template:

• Daily.md -- Daily note template
• Weekly.md -- Weekly note template
• Monthly.md -- Monthly note template
• Quarterly.md -- Quarterly note template
• Yearly.md -- Yearly note template

Templates come with pre-set structures commonly used for that type of note. For example, a daily note template might include sections like "Today's Tasks," "Records," and "Project Time Tracking."

#Theme Note Templates

Different types of Theme Notes also have corresponding templates:

• Project template -- Includes project goals, deadlines, task lists, etc.
• Area template -- Includes area description, related projects, periodic review, etc.
• Resource template -- Includes topic introduction, material collection, etc.
• Archive template -- Includes archiving reasons, historical records, etc.

You can modify template content to suit your needs, and the system will automatically apply them when creating new notes.

#Index Files

The *.README.md file in each Theme Note folder is that topic's index file. It acts like a "portal page" for the topic, automatically aggregating all tasks, records, and file links that carry the corresponding theme tag.

For example, the index file for the "Parenting" area, 育儿.README.md, will automatically display all content tagged with #育儿, regardless of whether that content is written in daily notes, weekly notes, or other notes.

#Next Steps

• Primary and Sub-systems -- Learn how the primary and sub-systems work together
• Quick Start -- Start creating your first note