Chaos to Clarity in Apple Notes: Forever * Notes with Matthias Hilse
If you’re an Apple Notes user who’s feeling buried in folders, tags, or forgotten ideas — and you’ve struggled to bring order to your notes — this episode is for you.
We dive deep into the Forever * Notes system with its creator, Matthias Hilse, and explore how it brings clarity, structure, and intentionality to even the messiest note collections.
You’ll hear:
- How to set up a central Home note
- The power of hubs, collections, and simplified tagging
- How Forever * Notes scales beautifully — even with thousands of notes
Plus:
- The features Matthias wishes Apple would add
- How this system completely changed Jeff’s Notes experience
- And why weekly notes are surprisingly complicated
Resources & Links
- Forever * Notes Official Site
- Forever * Notes YouTube Channel
- Forever * Notes Workshop
- Join the community: Forever * Notes Forum
Question or Comment? Send us a Text Message!
Contact Us
- Drop us a line at feedback@basicafshow.com
- You’ll find Jeff at @reyespoint on Threads and reyespoint.bsky.social on Bluesky
- Find Tom at @tomanderson on Threads
- Join Tom’s newsletter, Apple Talk, for more Apple coverage and tips & tricks.
- Tom has a new YouTube channel
- Show artwork by the great Randall Martin Design
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Intro Music: Psychokinetics - The Chosen
Transcripts and some images are AI generated and may contain errors and general silliness.
...
00:00 - Intro
02:52 - Welcome, Matthias Hilse!
05:48 - Origin of Forever * Notes
10:26 - The Components of Forever * Notes
14:28 - User Experiences and Customization
17:34 - Tagging and Organization Strategies
26:40 - Forever * Notes Workshop
32:38 - Navigating Feedback and User Experience
34:44 - Ways Apple Can Enhance the Notes App
38:32 - Future Additions
40:48 - Task Management Tools and Preferences
45:13 - Framework Portability Across Apps
49:10 - Beta Testing New Operating Systems
54:17 - Where to Find More on Matthias and Forever * Notes
55:58 - Close
Matthias Hilse
Creator
Matthias is the creator of Forever ✱ Notes, a little nerdy but beautifully simple knowledge management system built entirely inside Apple Notes. It helps thousands of people turn digital chaos into clarity—without switching apps. When he’s not linking notes or making YouTube videos, Matthias works as a creative director, produces raw vegan cakes, and plays table tennis at a local sports club in Vienna.
