Overview of My Zettelkasten

In the past few years I have been gripped by a deep fascination with history, behavioral psychology, and other sciences. There is such a wonderful library of nonfiction works to read through, I find myself endlessly falling into obsessions with niche curiosities. For every book I finish, several new ones beg to be read.

The trouble is, nonfiction is rooted in the details. Without an excellent memory to keep a firm grasp on the tiny, interwoven facts, the whole tree comes crashing down. A statement like, “I read a book about some person who made some sort of important breakthrough,” is not very inspirational and will not impart much wisdom. Yet for all the enthusiasm or discovery a book may incite, a few months after I have turned the final page the details grow inevitably hazy. I remember the pirates as swashbuckling and the double agents as disquieting, but the details are lost, and with them any hope of seeding similar passions in the hearts of others.

So I need a system that can draw up these specific, tiny details. Something that does not synthesize the book or diminish the richness of individual facts, but holds them in an accessible place. The system should also allow for my meandering mind, because let’s be honest; if I’m trying to remember a fact about Black Beard, it is not at all unlikely that I’ll wind up asking questions about the absorptive qualities of moss.

Zettelkasten

About half a year ago I read the book “How to Take Smart Notes” By Sonke Ahrens and was introduced to the idea of a Zettelkasten.

Zettelkasten is a German word for “slip box”. Originally developed by Niklas Luhmann, the Zettelkasten is a method for collecting atomic-sized knowledge and ideas in one location, outside the brain by means of note-taking and organizing. The goal is to make connections between individual ideas easy and probable, thereby inspiring new ideas. Unlike archiving techniques that focus on tucking information into organized but deep folders, a Zettelkasten is designed to readily recall even the most disparate information. This is accomplished by taking an organic (as opposed to linear) development approach, allowing ideas to branch and link based on the direction of any research. It does, however, have the added benefit of never forgetting a recorded idea, even if that idea is a mere byproduct of some research.

I created a digital Zettelkasten in Notion. For me, the process of writing Zettels and linking them together became natural and familiar after approximately a month of consistent note-writing, so if you are interested in trying, but it is intimidating or feels unnatural at first, keep at it. My usual philosophy applies here; find what works. As alluring as a nice, crisp, perfectly rule-abiding slip box may be, it is more important to actually use it. So purists, close your eyes.

In theory, there are five kinds of notes for the Zettelkasten not including bibliographic cards:

1. Fleeting Notes – A fleeting note is a note written with the goal of reminding the author of an idea. The ideas that qualify for a fleeting note are those worth remembering, and seem at least remotely useful for work or a project. These notes may come from any source, be written on any medium, and contain incomplete sentences, bad grammar, or poor wording. They are short-lived, ideally lasting only a day before reaching the trashcan. The note-taker reshapes and elaborates on the fleeting note, creating a literature note or a permanent note, then places this new note in the Zettelkasten and disposes of the fleeting note.

   
   

2. Literature Notes – Literature notes, unlike fleeting notes, belong permanently in the Zettelkasten. They are a graduation from fleeting notes, as the note-taker expands a single idea into a brief but complete description on what they understood from the media consumed. When complete, individual notes still only contain one idea. Literature notes come from external sources, not the note-taker’s original thinking or connection-making, have one source (the book, etc. that was consumed), include the complete reference and relevant citations, and are written in clear enough language that they may be understood in isolation long after the note-taker has forgotten the context of the note.

   
   

3. Permanent Notes – Permanent notes belong, permanently, in the Zettelkasten. They contain one idea, written concisely. Unlike literature notes, these notes are written in light of the note-taker’s own ideas and connection-making, not a regurgitation of what was learned from a single external source. This means that permanent notes can have multiple source connections, as they can be inspired by multiple literature notes, other permanent notes, or multiple topics.

   
   

4. Index Notes – An index note belongs permanently in the Zettelkasten. A single index note contains a cluster of related literature notes or permanent notes, though it is not necessarily an exhaustive list of all the possible related cards. It is a way to make an entry into a topic or thought path, and refers to a relatively small subtopic, unlike keyword notes.

   
   

5. Keyword Notes – Keyword notes are like index notes, but contain a broader range of links and topics. They might, for instance, cover a large discipline that breaks into sub-disciplines and subtopics, such as “art” might break into renaissance, postmodern, etc. They house index notes in the way that index notes house literature and permanent notes.

   
   

A System That Works For Me

I have created a space for each kind of note, but I spend the vast majority of my time creating literature notes and use index notes for a few representative zettels. I rarely make a keyword note, and have never used one even after I made it. It is probable that I am able to enjoy these cut corners because my Zettelkasten is digital. Notion makes it extremely easy to search for specific slips. If I possess any sense while tagging a note during its creation, then I should be able to sleep at night knowing my zettels aren’t lost to the abyss.

While creating a new note, my goal is to create at least one link to another note; index, literature, or permanent. Once the the note is written, tagged, and linked, I consider the note processed.

By being picky, specific, and economic with my tags I reduce the pool of unfiltered junk when I am searching for a particular piece of information. For instance, a vague tag such as, “food” could accurately describe a massive number of subtopics such as weight loss, nutrition, traditions, disease related to food, cultural dishes, farming, and more. Instead I create tags such as, “nature inspired engineering”, “growth mindset”, and “biphasic sleep” which will reduce the number of results to those zettels which most likely address the question that has piqued my curiosity. Then the links I see within the zettels can lead me down alternate paths and to new, useful notes.

I treat the index notes as a big picture search bar; if I am not quite sure what I am looking for, and am tempted to type something as vague as “food” into my zettel search bar, then it is better I first search my index notes. These index notes are launchpads into individual zettels, as well as grouping similar notes together. Looking through index notes can not only give me the names for zettels of interest, but also give shape to a larger unformed question, ie, what about “food” am I actually interested in at this moment?

When I was first writing notes, the distinction between types was unclear and examples were difficult to find. I was most nervous about writing notes that contained more than one atomic-sized idea. The fear wasn’t entirely unfounded; I suspect most of our brains are so well practiced in absorbing dense packages of ideas that it feels almost backwards to pick apart cathedrals to closely observe their bricks.

As with many endeavors, confidence comes with practice. And another shocking revelation; mistakes don’t make the zettel useless. So what if I accidentally house two ideas in one note? When I next pull the note out, I can split it into two if I really feel that is necessary.

The Biggest Benefits I Have Enjoyed From Keeping A Zettelkasten

Though note-taking and organizing has slowed my reading (sometimes to an agonizing crawl through informationally-dense books), I can honestly say that:

1. I understand the material much better after reading, scribbling, and ultimately rewriting concepts in my own words.

   
   

2. I feel confident I can find the most important information from a source, including citations, when I need it.

   
   

3. Writing becomes massively easier since I can copy and paste together large amounts of text.

   
   

4. I do not need to keep the source book. I like to give books away and when I feel as though I have gleaned all I want from a text there is no longer any reason for me to keep it. I can be generous and open-handed without causing my future self to suffer the purchase of a book I used to own.

References:

[1] Ahrens Sönke. (2022). How to take smart notes: One simple technique to boost writing, learning and thinking. Sönke Ahrens.