Extend-the-end: a deep-dive

Extend-the-end (EtE) is a new pattern that is still finding its feet in the real world. Here's a deep-dive and discussion of the use cases that I see on the forum & Discord.

Pattern 1: 'lifting up' a header

You have some ID, and in that ID you can hold a whole bunch of information. Let's say you keep one long JDex entry with neat headers.

The simplest way to think about EtE is to imagine 'lifting up' each of those headers into its own document. Because eventually that single note is going to get really long.

So this:

# 11.11 Some note

## Header about thing A
Yada yada blah blah for 10,000 words…

## Header about thing B
Blah blah yada yada for 15,000 words…

– is going to become 3 notes. We keep the parent

• 11.11 Some note, and introduce
• 11.11+ Header about thing A and
• 11.11+ Header about thing B.

Format: AC.ID+▁Title of the thing

Note the specific format here, which is in contrast to pattern 2. The EtE'd note's title is:

• The ID of its parent 11.11, then
• The +, then
• A space , then
• The note's title.

This recognises the general broadening of IDs

A broad pattern (see YouTube 'What is an ID?') is that IDs are getting broader, and holding more.

I'm not really sure why this is, to be honest. I can't tell you the last time I got anywhere near filling up a category with IDs (our pre-built systems excepted; they were designed to be full).

So exercise caution: if you do think about 'lifting up' a header like this, ask yourself, should I instead just be creating a new ID?

Concerns

It can be easy to forget that you've created these 'sub-notes'. Think carefully before creating one: prefer to 'fold' the header in the existing note.¹

Leave yourself a breadcrumb in the parent note. I always do this at the top.

# 11.11 Some ID

- Sub-notes:
  - 11.11+ Header about thing A
  - 11.11+ Header about thing B

---

Main note contents here.

If your notes app supports it, make these clickable [[wiki-links]].

Pattern 2: use it as a short code

I use Life Admin (LAS) as my personal system. So it already has all of the IDs that I need, day-to-day.

I manage my own data storage & backups at 14.14 Data storage & backups. But I also manage this for my bestie Michelle, a photographer. She has her own setup and I don't want that mixed in with my own.

In a 'normal' system, i.e. not the pre-built LAS, I'd probably just create her own ID:

14.83 Michelle's data storage & backups

– but I am in LAS, and I already have a place, and the system is pretty full. Also, this isn't the only piece of data I'm storing for her: I also manage her domains, and who knows what else in the future.

So here's what I've created:

• 14.14+MGH Data storage & backups
• 14.25+MGH Domains & hosting

+MGH = a reusable short code

Being her initials, in this case. And note the subtly different naming pattern here: no space after the +. Because this enables searching your JDex for this specific string, revealing all of the stuff that is exclusively related to Mishy.

More importantly it conveys to you the fact that this is a reusable short code.

Using this to manage the family

A very common question in the context of LAS is how do I use the system to manage my family?

The simplest pattern is to use EtE as just described. Assign your husband and each of the kids a short code. Obviously this code has to be the same everywhere. Initials are great, but use whatever works for you. I'd probably keep it to <5 characters, but really that's arbitrary. There's nothing fundamentally wrong with +BARTHOLOMAEUS but I think you'll get sick of typing it.

(Actually there is a sound logic to shorter codes: they're harder to get wrong. It'd be easy enough to type +BARTHOLOMEAUS one time and now you're at risk of losing that note.)

Think of this like a 'shadow system'

In this situation, you have one primary system. All IDs are created in this primary system.

But underneath that, you have any number of 'shadow systems'. They're the same system; same structure, so you don't have to remember a whole bunch of other IDs. And you reveal it by searching for your short code.

Alternative (not EtE)

For the record, the other way you might do this is by completely duplicating the LAS structure for each of the kids, or whomever.

10-19 Life admin ← your stuff
   …

20-29 Michelle's life admin
   24 Her online life
      24.14 Data storage & backups
   …

30-39 Bartholomaeus' life admin
   …

This feels like you'll have a lot of empty space. Personally I prefer the EtE pattern.

Retraction: the 'blog pattern' was wrong

The EtE page lists as an example this blog. E.g. the page you're reading would be 22.00+0133.

I'm going to remove this example and instead number blog posts using the 5-digit creative pattern. That's a future post.

100% human. 0% AI. Always.