## Digital Zettelkasten 🔹 [[⏶ Zettelkasten|Zettelkasten]] ▫️ [[References/Readwise/Books/How to Take Smart Notes in Obsidian|How to Take Smart Notes in Obsidian]], [[❞ How to Take Smart Notes|How to Take Smart Notes]], [[References/Readwise/Books/Digital Zettelkasten|highlights]] ### Steps for processing notes - *Fleeting notes* - notes taken as you read, thoughts on highlights, comments on references. - Re-review highlights soon after, or during, reading. Writing something interesting in your own words causes you to have to recontextualize and think about the meaning. - Only write about highlights that are interesting and that contains information that you can imagine using in the future. - Experienced readers try to understand how an argument is framed in order to ask questions and think critically. Inexperienced readers just take new info as given, limiting their ability to develop their own thoughts. - The process of copying an idea down, then writing in your own words, causes the brain to make associations that it may not have from just reading. It also results in a more positive mood about what you’ve learned (how, exactly?) - It also helps consolidate ideas in order to focus on what information is most important to you, personally. Each note should contain one major idea (i.e., atomic) and: - contain related links (alias with related idea) - Contain tags Not everything has to follow the same process. - Some things are for pleasure - Some articles are just skimmed over - Decide by need or level of interest ### How to name files There are several options - Phrases: “Is ego depletion real” - Can be long but helps communicate content better. - Con: may end up deciding to rename. - Unique ID: 20210414080511 - Faster but tells nothing about context or topic - The Folgezettel method: 23a2c5b - Used by Luhmann - Cons: very complex, each number relates to an offshoot of the original idea - Not necessary in digital filing as long as notes link to related topics - Combination w/Identifier: 23a2c5b * Is ego depletion real >> Question - I kind of like the idea of adding the category identifier to the note: “Quotes”, “Facts”, “Stories” - Might end up causing a headache with renaming or constant tweaking ### Keywords Keywords should not be generic: `#Psychology` - This might be how an archivist would tag a note but it doesn’t help find it later when relating other notes. Instead, it’s better to create patterns using useful keywords that make sense to us: - I.e. `#IcebergPrinciple` might refer to the idea that any idea you come across is only going to be a small part of larger idea. - Bryan Jenks has a different idea about tagging - he tags things based on categories and development of note (evergreen icons). I’ve implemented this but so far barely use it. I’m not sure how to make it more useable and helpful to me. This author recommends linking things only if they have relevancy to one another. - He only links one way: A to B but not B to A - Use backlinks in Obsidian to see the notes linking to a parent instead of trying to fill all thinks backward and forward. ### Upkeep of notes He recommends upkeep of notes related to contexts: - Active - shower, eating, waiting in line. Good place to capture new ideas as they come to mind. - Fleeting - capture ideas - Literature highlight - Lying down - Great for reading, highlighting, short notes - Fleeting - highlights, reading, brainstorming - Literature highlights - Reclining - Reclining but with keyboard, best for writing or detailed notes - Fleeting - brainstorming - Summarize highlights - Upright - Sitting or standing at computer. Best for linking, tagging, organization of notes - Fleeting - triage inbox - Create, tag, link permanent - Create tag indexes ### Turning Notes into Completed (Permanent) Think of Zet notes almost like mianature rough drafts Tag indexes might group a variety of useful ideas on a topic: “Useful applications of…”, “Counter-examples of”, “Related”, all followed by related links. You could Dynamically generate an index (but he thinks it’s overrated) He likes to organize a Topic Index as a general skeleton of how he wants to present a permanent topic. ### Meta Data Meta Data can help locate but it can also bog things down if there are too many elements. He organizes it in the following way - Title - Basic concept or idea - “My thoughts” - Related links - References - Tags It all depends on needs and context. Some common types of Meta Data - Title - Author - Web (link) - Date created - Date edited - Tags Mine has - Title - Aliases (auto) - ZetID (auto) - Date created - Tags - Related Links / Parent - Overview/Concept - Refs (if applicable) Mine might have more but so far I’m liking the structure and order Include anything that you find yourself looking for Eliminate things that cause extra work with no payoff ### Other books by author Mind management not time management The Heart to Start How to Write a Book ### References