It kind of disrupted my set-up, because I worked with categories and projects and I still do with all the factual business stuff and planning and such.
But with this Zettelkasten thing I now have one project where all things I find interesting go into and I use tags and @’s to sort them all out. The beauty of it is that these information networks do arise and all kinds of wonderful connections just pop-up (I transfered a lot of notes from other projects - and apps! - into the Zettelkasten). My way is less scientific than the original and more like Warren Buffetts Mental Models.
So yeah. Nice and it looks like it will be a good help to understand things and create new stuff.
Thanks for introducing me to Zettelkasten, I’m really getting into it.
Interestingly I’ve just read in another blog about the concept, the importance of hierarchy and cross links. This author is explaining the potential of the ZK notes-naming system to provide coherence to one’s notes. He’s using a paper based system. However, seems to me that Agenda’s category/project structure could be really useful.
I’m thinking about considering my entire Agenda as my Zettelkasten - or rather, any notes that are “ideas” I’ll apply ZK-type approach to them, regardless of whether I create them in a Project for a piece of work for a client, or in a special Ideas/ZK project. If I use consistent tags etc, and cross link appropriately, I’ll have a ZK which includes all my ideas and which I can explore using the “related notes” sidebar, tags and links!
I’ve been struggling with organising, and picking up again, my notes about ideas rather than tasks.
That’s my focus as I read more about the method. ‘Projects’ for me are more focused and/or self contained with a particular finite end in mind. This method seems apt for marking the trail of items that may be ‘more’ of use in the future. Can’t quite get my mind around it, yet. Never mind develop a system within Agenda to utilize it. Waiting for Roam to come out from Beta. Anyway, thanks guys for sharing.
I’m pretty happy how using Agenda as a Zettelkasten is working out. It may not have the bells and whistles of dedicated apps, but the big plus for me is that I don’t have to decide if an idea belongs in Agenda or Roam or wherever.
Basically, I’ve created a project called Ideas and each note/Zettel has one idea. I’m broadly following the structure recommended for Zettel contents, adding links between notes and tags.
However, I sometimes create Zettel notes in client-related and other projects if they also belong to that project. Because of links and tags they are still part of my Zettelkasten, even if they aren’t in the Ideas project.
I’m experimenting with a project “bibliography” where one note = one article. I include link to original and make my notes in the article here. I make the author’s name a person tag so I can search and also see other items in Related Notes. I can then link from an Idea note/Zettel to the relevant bibliographic Note. Obviously this won’t work if you need to insert properly formatted references in your writing, but don’t.
I may be breaking the Zettelkasten method, but I’ve added another type of Note which I’m calling ‘Arguments’.
The core of ZK is the Zettel (index card originally, now a Note) where one it’s strictly one idea per note.
Having got a number of ideas down, I’m trying to make a coherent argument building on these ideas. These arguments will probably turn into blog posts, revised home page for my company site, revised product descriptions etc. I have a number of ‘arguments’ within the same broad topic and drawing on the same ideas - but exploring different aspects or aimed at different audiences.
Each argument is developed in a single note, usually in outline style using indented lists.
Thanks for sharing. I’m taking more of a ‘general’ approach with the whole concept right now using one Catagory (Zettelkasten) and one Project (Zettels). It’s (the Zettels) a generalized idea file box managed by Agenda Links and Tags. Like you one idea (possibly multi thought) per Zettel. I’m looking forward to the next Agenda Beta with the Tag ‘browser’ and dual-link feature, .
Oh, thanks. I am very familiar with Luhmann’s essays and work. The “one idea” thing is baffling though. Not sure why it’s important to be so atomic – a bit of a stressful practice I would think. Some bloggers I’ve noticed get rather prescriptive about note taking.
The ‘one idea’ makes sense to me, though I think of it more as ‘one concept’. It can be a bit stressful, but in a positive way - it forces me to be clear what I’m actually thinking!
Here are a couple of examples of ideas/concepts that I’m working with at the moment:
"Pandemics, climate change and environmental destruction are connected”
"Communities with thriving local economies will best withstand future crises”
"Caring for others is core to human nature.”
I find it really works, for me, to write out the idea as a statement. I often start a Zettel by jotting down something much less coherent: eg "Fragility of global trade networks”. To make this useful I need to work out what I really mean by this. Something like “Global trade networks are much more vulnerable to shock than we realise”.
When I come to write about the subject, I look over these notes I can select those that I want to work with, and develop my argument.
@robbie07
I tried the Zettelkasten method, but i can’t find a work around with the Agenda tagging limitation. You can’t tag a specific portion of the note, it is all or nothing.
Could you please share an overview of your implementation? Thanks!
What are you trying to do? You can put a tag anywhere you want in the note? When you search on the tag it is highlighted, drawing attention to the relevant portion of the note.
Incidentally, useful advice about tagging in Zettelkasten here.
@trebso is right: every word in a note that represents or could represent some sort of topic, you make into a tag. So you might end up with four or five tags in a note but that’s the point: you’re building a web of interconnected concepts.
.
