Let’s say you have a bunch of projects in your gear and in each project you have some patterns you really like in different banks.
Now, let’s assume you want to make a new track and you would love to find a techno beat you did 6 months ago but you don’t know in which project and bank it is. How do you do to find it?
…with proper naming things as a standard routine thing right from the start…
…and fixed track politics…kiks, basslines, snares…u name it… always to find and used in same track logistics/locations…
we all tend to skip that fuzzy naming job on the go…but once u learned the hard way, how much convinience it brings…well…u never go without again…
that’s usually the point, where u really start to become a pro…
jup…damned learning curves all over the place… 
You go through every single one until you start a spreadsheet with what’s in every project. Haha.
Yes, but it doesn’t help to find the pattern you did 6 months ago. You still don’t know in which project, bank and pattern it is.
This is actually what i do but it take for ever. Because in each project you can make so much pattern in different bank. Usually, i’ll use almost every banks in each project. Imagine you have 20 projects!!
…u can give projects also some kind of meaningful name, beyond just some number or letter combo…
and if u have such high output in different projects, without ever recording parts of it to get further serious with ur content, it might be a good idea, to start a little production diary…
anything that helps…to remember…and recall sucessfully…
and seems like u gotto set some fixed rules u stick to…like…only one idea per bank…
or even only one idea per project…
all based on static track layouts and reconfirmed missions per machine…
makes it also way easier to stitch various live sets together, later on and on…and end of the day…
real and endless complexity is based on simple rules u define TO stick to…
the earlier u force urself to make stuff like that a fixed habit of ur workflow, the further ur workflow can take u…
I’ve not checked this, but presumably the OT adds typical “created” and “modified” date stamps to files. Mount your OT as a USB drive and search/browse by date to get in the ballpark. This way you can narrow down your search to a few projects. (Hopefully).
I “theme” my projects, and name them after the theme: projects for specific live show; for exploring a technique or synth pairing; for random sketching; for exploring a specific vibe; per genre; tracks my kid makes etc. This helps get some idea where I left something. That said, I am probably less prolific than you.
Maybe using the arranger you can write notes about the pattern.
Ex: A01 …
C06…
That one rocks!
F04…
Or even just by naming an arrangement with your best project’s pattern in it.
In this scenario I think it is probably best to have one project with all patterns and samples within, but I’m not organised enough for that.
That’s could be a good idea for the future beats. Could you give some examples of “theme” projects?
But guys, is it a pain for you to find old beats in your gears or you never re use your old patterns?
Do you mean “more examples”? I already listed six 
I mostly not reuse patterns, or at best I start with the previous one.
When I record a pattern on a track, I try to leave marks (Machine/Project/Pattern/Kit) to be able to refine it later, but I never do this.
So when I have to find an old pattern I use trial and error 
A thing though: I name my Kits after the Pattern (e.g. “A01 LORNER”), so in the Kit list I can see the history of the Project, so to say, ie the order in which patterns where made. It’s thus the place where I look for hints.
Do you use the same theme name for all “random sketching” (as for example) with a number at the end?
I’ve not filled up my random sketching project yet so I only have one.
But also, I’m sure you can imagine a system that works for you rather than copying mine exactly. I’m making mine up as I go along. It fits how I work: it might not fit how you work. I have a couple of projects with only 3 patterns in. They hang around unloved for months, wasting space on my screen, not “finished” but not “inspiring” either. I discovered yesterday that I have two projects for just “Octatrack + Rev2”. Whoops.
I suspect I don’t have enough material to get as lost as you. Or maybe my workflow means the situation doesn’t come up so often.
Out of interest, how do you know you have a beat or pattern somewhere that fits what you want now? How did you get to this point? What’s your “normal” workflow?