Reframing and simplifying the idea of how to keep a Zettelkasten

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planted: 14/03/2024last tended: 14/03/2024
An
article
Written by
Chris Aldrich
Found at
https://boffosocko.com/2022/06/10/reframing-and-simplifying-the-idea-of-how-to-keep-a-zettelkasten/

Commonplace books, zettelkasten.

Really nice summary of the minimum of what you need to do to keep a 'zettelkasten', cutting through a lot of the complexity that has appeared around this.

  • start with a commonplace book
  • add a way to find things again (could be an index, could be search)
  • keep reference / bibliography notes
  • summarise and rewrite ideas in your own words
  • link individual notes together
  • answer a question by finding your notes on the topic, following the links you've made, and pulling together your summaries

Similar in spirit to e.g. Collector to Creator. But I like that Chris frames collector as a perfectly valid and minimal friction starting point.

collect interesting passages, quotes, and ideas as you read.

No stress to create just yet.

1. Elsewhere

1.1. In my garden

Notes that link to this note (AKA backlinks).

1.3. Mentions

Recent changes. Source. Peer Production License.