Zettelkasten - What, Why, and Why Not

Zettelkasten is a workflow used by Niklas Luhmann. It is popularized in recent times by Sohnke Ahren

Source

1. Import your highlights. Ensure that you add metadata to the top including appropriate tags and source. These are called reference notes. It is like inbox in GTD workflow
2. Take Literature Notes
   • Summarise
   • Explain idea enough to stand on its own, without the context of the book or the associated highlight.
   • Note your insights and questions regarding it.
   • Add metadata: Source, Keywords
3. Take Permanent Notes
   • Think how each literature note relates to things you already know. Place it appropriate position in that stream.
   • Add links to other notes. See Cross-Linking section below.
   • If this existing permanent note were used to write an article, what information is missing?
   • Write in full sentences.

Workflow Principles

This is more important than the workflow itself. From time to time, one should check their workflow against these principles. Your workflow should be able to:

1. Create positive experiences
2. Create Learning
3. KISS: Reduce the number of steps and decisions.
4. Do not attempt to drink the ocean. Filter, simplify and index.
   • Marie Kondo Principle: Keep that which sparks joy.

Organizational methods

1. MOC or Map of Contents: This is a note with links to other notes, revolving around a topic. It could be arranged to reflect the hierarchy of notes.
2. Mindmaps: Images to get a birds eye view of the content. It also helps to identify relationships that were not previously obvious.
3. Alphabetically sorted tags: This is the master list. This exists so that we do not have to depend on memory to see what all have we put into our zettelkasten
4. Unsorted tags: Inorder to add serendipity
5. Links: Links within article helps to develop wider understanding and clear up jargon.
6. Stream: This is a single link to the note that comes immediately after current note. Having this helps not to take shortcuts in the conversation with notes.

Cross-Linking in Zettelkasten

Source: Make Your Notes Work for You

• A link to a more general idea. If you’re writing about the diet of guinea pigs you might link to the nutritional requirements of rodents in general.
• A link to a more specific idea. Here you could link to protein requirements of guinea pigs.
• A related topic. This could be a lateral leap — guinea pigs as pets, alternate meanings of “guinea pig”, an article on “is a guinea pig a pig?”

Source: Defining Creativity Systems

• If I am to write an essay on this topic, what points are missing? Then write those notes and link it.
• What does it relate to is an easier question to answer than where does it belong.

Why

1. Avoid Collector’s fallacy
2. Convert Knowledge to Wisdom, implicit knowledge to explicit knowledge.
3. Better engagement with notes
4. Forces you to write more. Writing is thinking.

Why not

• It is primarily for those who wish to publish and academicians. Iterating through the notes is good idea always. However it need not follow the zettelkasten steps.
• It creates a lot of pressure on reading
• It is time consuming
• Other than Luhmann himself, no credible example of increased output due to zettelkasten.
• Writing is thinking principle need not apply to all. For some, writing is recording of thinking.

Interesting links

• Why Mind mapping works
• In what ways can we form useful relationships between notes?