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Collection logs ​

A collection log tracks individual items you want to organize and keep searchable.

Use it for books, gear, contacts, tasks, or anything where you care about the items themselves, not just a total count.

Examples: home inventory, reading lists, repairs & maintenance, photo catalogs, contacts, project tasks, equipment tracking

What makes a log a "collection" ​

In a collection log, each item has its own identity and details.

You are not tracking "how many books" or "total value." You are tracking which specific books you have, when you added them, their details, and whether they are still part of the collection.

This makes collection logs good for organizing things you want to search through, update, and keep track of individually.

What you see ​

When you open a collection log, you see a table of all your items.

Each row is an item. Each column shows details like name, tags, date added, or any custom fields you have defined.

You can:

  • Search for specific items
  • Filter to see only certain items (like "status: active")
  • Sort by any field
  • Click an item to see its full details and history

The table shows you what is currently in the collection. Items you have unlinked are no longer shown by default.

How you work with items ​

Collection logs have a few main actions:

Add item ​

This creates a new item and adds it to the collection.

You can fill in details like:

  • Name — what the item is called
  • Note — longer description or context
  • Tags — labels for grouping and filtering
  • Custom fields — any details specific to your collection (like Author for books, or Serial Number for equipment)

Examples:

  • Adding a book to your reading list
  • Recording a piece of equipment in your home inventory
  • Creating a task in your project log

If an item already exists in another collection log, you can link it to this one too.

This is useful when the same thing appears in multiple collections. For example, a book might be in both "Books I Own" and "2025 Reading List."

Linking does not copy the item—it connects the same item to multiple logs. Updates to the item appear everywhere it is linked.

This removes an item from the collection without deleting it.

The item stays in any other logs where it is linked. You can always link it back later if needed.

Examples:

  • Finishing a book and removing it from your "Currently Reading" log
  • Selling equipment and removing it from your inventory
  • Completing a task and archiving it

Update item ​

You can edit any item's details at any time.

Changes are tracked, so you can see what was updated and when. But the item itself stays continuous—it does not get deleted and recreated when you change something.

Templates ​

Templates define what fields your items can have.

For example, a reading list template might include:

  • Title (text)
  • Author (text)
  • Genre (dropdown)
  • Started (date)
  • Rating (number)

Templates help keep your collection organized. They make sure every item has the same structure, which makes searching and filtering work better.

You can create templates and reuse them across multiple collection logs. If you track multiple types of things, you can use different templates or none at all.

Items vs entries ​

Collection logs work differently from balanced logs:

Collection logs track items (individual things with identity). Balanced logs track entries (transactions that add up to a balance).

In a collection log, you might have "The Great Gatsby" as an item. In a balanced log, you would have a $15 entry for buying the book.

Use collection logs when you care about the things themselves. Use balanced logs when you care about totals and flow.

Linking items across logs ​

Items can be linked to multiple collection logs at once.

This lets you organize the same items in different ways without duplicating data.

Examples:

  • A book linked to both "Personal Library" and "Science Fiction"
  • Equipment linked to both "Office Inventory" and "Items to Insure"
  • A task linked to both "Marketing Projects" and "Q1 Goals"

When you update an item's details, the changes appear everywhere it is linked. This keeps everything in sync without manual copying.

Anchors and items ​

You can connect items to anchors to show relationships.

For example:

  • An item linked to a person anchor (who owns it or is responsible for it)
  • An item linked to a location anchor (where it is stored)
  • An item linked to an account anchor (what account it is associated with)

This adds context without cluttering the item's core fields.

Parent and child logs ​

Collection logs can have parent-child relationships, just like balanced logs.

For example:

  • Parent: "Personal Library"
  • Children: "Science Fiction", "Biography", "Technical Books"

This helps organize large collections into manageable sections while keeping everything connected.

Why collection logs work this way ​

Collection logs keep track of what you have without requiring you to rebuild your collection from scratch every time something changes.

You add items when you get them. You update them when things change. You unlink them when you no longer need them in that collection.

The record of what happened stays intact. You can always see when items were added, what changed, and when they were removed.

This makes collection logs good for things you want to stay organized over months or years.

When to use collection logs ​

Use a collection log when:

  • You are tracking individual items (not totals)
  • Each item has its own details you care about
  • You want to search, filter, and sort by those details
  • You might want to link the same item to multiple logs
  • You want to see when items were added and what changed over time

When to use something else ​

If you are tracking quantities with running totals (money, hours, points), use a balanced log instead.

Balanced logs are for amounts that add up. Collection logs are for things with identity.

Where to go next ​

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