The territory
Most note systems optimise for capture and leave retrieval to memory. Memory is the one part of the system that degrades on a schedule you do not control.
What I did
Designed the retrieval path first — what future-me would actually search for — and let capture follow from that, rather than the other way round.
Where it stands
In daily use. The real test was not day one; it was whether a six-month-old note was still findable.