📝Zettelkasten process

tags

§ Zettelkasten

source

Ahrens₂₀₁₇

Process:

1. Make fleeting notes (write random ideas that come into your head)

2. Make literature notes

   • store those in bibliography

   • be selective (esp. with quotes). don’t skip thinking about what your read

3. Make permanent notes

   • use it to develop ideas, not collect them → Zettelkasten is about developing ideas, not collecting them

4. Link it to other notes, add it to index cards (Structure Zettel)

5. Trust the process.

   • don’t cling to topics

   • the slip box will naturally accumulate what interests you

   • build topics bottom-up

6. Take all the relevant notes on the topic together. Look for what’s missing or redundant

   • Don’t wait for a finished topic—give yourself time to do more reading and note-taking.

7. Translate your notes into argument (don’t copy)

8. Edit and proofread