My A/B Testing Was a Mess Until I Tried This Simple Note-Taking Trick

If you've been running A/B tests for a while, you know the feeling. You've got dozens of experiments, some running, some paused, some just ideas scribbled somewhere. The results are scattered across spreadsheets, dashboards, and emails. When someone asks, "What are we testing next?" you draw a blank.

I hit that wall after about a year of running tests at my last job. We had 30+ ideas in a Trello board, and I was the only one who knew what was going on. It was a mess. But then I figured out a system that's basically the same thing I use for my notes. It's called INL: Inbox, Now, Library.

Sounds dumb, but hear me out.

What the Heck Is INL?

INL stands for three things:

• Inbox: a place to throw new stuff without thinking
• Now: what you're actually working on or about to start
• Library: everything else, neatly filed or not

That's it. But the magic is in how you layer it.

Sort Your Test Queue: Now vs. Library

Your testing backlog is probably a pile of 50 things. Stop treating them all the same.

Make two lists. One called Now with the 3-5 tests you're actively running or definitely doing next. The other called Library with everything else: ideas you had, tests that didn't work, long-term bets.

Now open your testing dashboard. You see only the important stuff. No noise. That's the NL part—separating what matters right now from the rest.

But here's the catch: your Library will grow. You'll have 50 ideas, and you'll still need to find something. So nest the structure.

Nested NL: Go Deeper Without Losing the Plot

Inside your Library, you might have categories: pricing, onboarding, checkout, email. Instead of treating them all equally, pick the top 2 or 3 categories you're most likely to test next. Put those in a sub-Now, and shove the rest into a sub-Library (maybe called "More").

You can repeat this at every level. The point is: no matter how deep you go, you always see what's most relevant first. This is exactly how I handle my notes, and it works for experiments too.

The Inbox: Your Safety Net for Random Ideas

Now, the Inbox. Some people argue against having an inbox because it becomes a dumping ground. But that's the point. You need a place to throw things when you're tired, busy, or just not in the mood to categorize.

In A/B testing, the inbox is where you jot down a random hypothesis you had while brushing your teeth. It's where you save that customer feedback that might be a test idea. You don't have to sort it right away.

Here's the key: put an inbox at every level. Your main testing backlog has an inbox. Your pricing category has an inbox. Even a specific test can have an inbox for follow-up ideas.

When you're feeling lazy, you drop new stuff into the inbox. Later, when you have energy, you sort it out. This respects your natural energy cycles, so you're more likely to keep the system clean.

The Real Problem: Complexity vs. Usability

Why do A/B testing programs fall apart? Because there's a fundamental tension between complexity and usability.

If you try to organize everything neatly, you create deep hierarchies that are a pain to navigate. If you keep it flat, you can't handle the volume. So you start dragging important tests to the top, and soon it's chaos.

The INL structure solves this by giving you a shallow, high-visibility layer (Now) that handles usability, and a deep, hidden layer (Library) that handles complexity. The Inbox adds flexibility, so you can always capture new stuff without breaking the structure.

This is exactly what I discovered with my notes. I used to have one giant folder, and it was impossible to find anything. Now I have a clean Now folder with my active projects, and a Library that's allowed to be messy because I don't look at it often.

Why INL Works: It's About Attention, Not Just Organization

Here's the deeper insight: INL isn't just a filing system. It's a reflection of how your brain focuses.

Your brain can only hold a few things in working memory. When you look at your testing dashboard, you need to see what's relevant right now. Everything else is just noise.

INL makes that attention mechanism explicit. When you're working on a specific experiment, you only see the Now folder for that experiment. When you're planning the quarter, you see the Now folder for your whole program.

This reduces cognitive load. You don't have to remember that the checkout test is paused because you moved it to Library. You just know that it's not in Now, so it's not urgent.

How to Start (It'll Take 10 Minutes)

Ready to try it? Here's a simple way to start:

1. Create your Now folder: Make a list or a project called "Now" and add only the tests you're actively running or about to run. Limit it to 5 or fewer.
2. Create your Library: Make another list called "Library" and move all your other test ideas there. You can add subcategories later.
3. Add an Inbox: Create a third list called "Inbox" and use it for anything that pops up—ideas, feedback, random thoughts. Don't sort it until you have time.
4. Nest as needed: Inside your Library, you can create sub-Nows and sub-Libraries for different themes (e.g., pricing, onboarding). Inside each experiment, you can have a Now Key—a short summary of the hypothesis and key metrics—and a Library for background data.
5. Review weekly: Spend 10 minutes at the end of each week moving things around. Empty your Inbox, promote important tests to Now, and archive finished ones.

That's it. No fancy tools required. You can do this in a spreadsheet, a note app, or your testing platform's tags.

Beyond Testing: INL Is a Life Hack

Once you get the hang of it, you'll see INL everywhere. Your browser bookmarks can be organized this way. Your email inbox can be. Even your physical desk.

I was in a library the other day and noticed the books on display. The featured books were the Now, the shelves were the Library, and the return cart was the Inbox. It's a universal pattern.

So, the next time your A/B testing program feels overwhelming, remember: separate the Now from the Library, and give yourself a safe place to dump the rest. You'll be surprised how much clearer your thinking becomes.

I've been using this for years, and it's the single best thing I've discovered for keeping my experiments—and my notes—under control. Try it for a week. I bet you'll never go back.