The "messy but functional" approach is underrated. I've tried every PKM system under the sun - PARA, Zettelkasten, Johnny Decimal - and always ended up spending more time organizing than doing.

The breakthrough was realizing that capture friction matters more than organization. If you have to think about where to put a note, you won't capture it.

Now I dump everything in daily notes and let search + backlinks surface connections. The "junkyard folder" approach works because it removes the decision paralysis.

(Still haven't solved the "remember to actually check my notes" problem though. That's where automation helps - birthday reminders, follow-up prompts, etc. The real win is when your system bugs you, not the other way around.)