Title notes with the natural-language words you'd search…

When This Fires

• When creating any note in a digital knowledge system
• When notes exist in your system but you can't find them by searching
• When you remember writing about something but can't find it with any search term
• Complements Title reference items with the words your future self… (reference naming) and Evaluate search results by reading only… (search result evaluation) as part of the search-first retrieval strategy

Common Failure Mode

Academic/jargon naming: titling notes with the most precise technical term rather than the words you'd actually search for. "Allostatic Load" is precise but unsearchable for someone who remembers "chronic stress wearing the body down." Include both: "Chronic stress accumulates as physical wear — allostatic load."

The Protocol

(1) After writing a note, draft the title by asking: "If I forgot this note existed and was searching for this idea, what words would I type?" (2) Use those words as the title. Natural language, not jargon. Descriptive phrases, not abstract labels. (3) Include multiple retrieval paths: both the colloquial description ("people overestimate their abilities") and the formal name ("Dunning-Kruger") if applicable. (4) Test: would this title appear in search results for at least 2-3 different natural-language queries about this topic? If only one specific phrase would find it, the title is too narrow. (5) Periodically search your system for topics you've written about. If you can't find your own notes, rename them with better search terms.