I am thrilled to have discovered your channel that delves into the principles and practical application of the good zettelkasten technique. You deserve more views. Lately, I have grown weary of the self-proclaimed PKM experts on TH-cam who promote complex and intricate PKM workflows. They encourage their followers to waste time on automating and perfecting their PKM system instead of focusing on creating quality zettelkasten notes.
Thanks so much for your kind words. I plan on releasing a couple more videos within the next two weeks, though they aren’t focused on building a Zettelkasten, I’m afraid. They are instead about my use of an app called Heptabase.
@@forrestrperry I am excited about your upcoming videos. However, I wanted to remind you to continue creating the #1-#9 series videos, even if they are not as popular with viewers. These videos are more educational than promotional, but they are still valuable. In my opinion, they are the best educational videos on zettelkasten that I have ever watched. Sometimes, I wonder if Niklas Luhmann would have been interested in creating complex queries for the data view, experimenting with different plugins/apps, or showcasing the size of his graph. My guess is that he cared more about taking good notes with a pen and cards and making connections for his research papers.
Just discovered the Zettlekasten method like 3 days ago and have been intrigued but confused by the system. This video (as well as a couple others of yours I stumbled upon) has illuminated a lot for me (I still have plenty of learning to do, as I have many questions about practical side of things) and- I say this in the Friendliest of fashions- you are SUCH a professorial type (which I find super conducive to learning).
Thank you for your comments. In the Folgezettel video I mention at the end of this video, I plan on talking about what it looks like to “develop lines of thinking.” But basically, a line of thinking in your Zettelkasten is any sequence of cards where each card has a “good-enough relation” to the one preceding it (with the phrase “good-enough relation,” I’m referring to video #3, which was released before this one).
Thanks for reply. I asked because where are numbers (or ids of notes) there are possibilities to referencing them, even when they are in different folders. But now I get it, step by step. And I am looking forward to next videos 👋
I’m still learning about Zettelkasten so maybe I just need more exposure to it or I’m overthinking this question, but I’d love to see examples of how to use a Zettelkasten system for creating ideas from learnings/observations not tied to other readings/content, but personal research. As a design researcher (kind of like UX but not completely) in the civic space, I’m constantly discovering insights about specific systems and designs that come out of my research and testing. I do some “desk research” where I read reports, books, and journals but, unlike maybe a literary analyst, it’s a smaller portion of what I do-most of my learnings come from doing the work. I want a system where I can capture these learnings but also allow the learnings to be dynamic and link-able to other learnings and fields via other projects and “desk research” but I struggle to imagine how to organize it all so the learnings can be captured, shared, and expanded upon. I feel like the Zettelkasten method could work for this, but when I see people give examples about how they use it, it’s usually them linking insights gathered from digesting books/podcasts/videos. In my mind I guess I can imagine my Zettelkasten containing more cards that are fleeting notes or permanent notes that are my ideas linked to other ideas or books, nestled in folders under topics or fields that it might relate to (information sciences, policy, visual design, etc), or maybe each of my projects just needs it’s own box separate from “desk research” boxes but still linked in a “see research 45.78-a” way. IDK! 🤷♀️
Thanks for your remarks here, Kristen. Based on what you have said, I'm thinking that maybe an old-school (analog) Zettelkasten of the sort that Luhmann used isn't an ideal fit for your purposes. I say that not because the majority of the ideas you want to capture and organize come from your "personal research" and "doing the work" (one could do this sort of work using a Zettelkasten the way Luhmann did) but because of the way it appears you want to organize ideas and the kinds of connections you want to make among them. I recommend that you look into Obsidian (obsidian.md/), which is free to use. Perhaps also Scrintal (www.scrintal.com), which is not free to use. In the future, I hope to make quite a few videos about how people can use Obsidian for research and making connections regardless of whether they're building a Zettelkasten. Oh, and I should add that whereas lots of people nowadays say we should abandon folders, the authors of THE SCIENCE OF MANAGING OUR DIGITAL STUFF make a compelling case for holding onto them. That said, in plenty of cases it's a good idea to use tags (for instance, if you have a note that is as much about policy as it is about visual design, you can tag that note with both #policy AND #visual_design rather than agonizing over what folder to put it in). There is no shortage of stuff online about folders vs. tags vs. links, but a good place to start (if you're fine with reading something lengthy) is the following piece by Tiago Forte (author of the course and book called Building a Second Brain): fortelabs.com/blog/a-complete-guide-to-tagging-for-personal-knowledge-management/ Btw, civilla looks pretty dope.
@@forrestrperry Thank you for the reply, suggestions, and resources! Definitely helpful and giving me lots to think about. A while back, I did try experimenting with a digital zettelkasten in both Notion and Obsidian, but felt overwhelmed by the number of options, possible customizations, having to learn different coding/shortcuts, seeing TH-cam tutorials with hundreds of zettels tucked in sidebars giving me war-time flashbacks of my ever-growing gmail inbox... I ended up stepping away and reconsidered going analog. But then a few days ago, I did hear about Scrintal, which gave me hope that perhaps a digital ZK might be possible for me. As a visual person, I liked the idea of being able to see each card, get a preview of what's on them, and how they relate to each other simultaneously. Scrintal also feels exciting because of how I could add another layer of identification with color and visuals using my sketched notes. I'm sure I'd run into some limitations, but it seems like it's set up well enough that I can jump into it without too much thought. And now, reading though Forte's Guide to Tagging, I feel like I'm getting more ideas about how to approach whatever system I end up creating to compliment what I need with how my brain handles all the information I gather. And thank you! Civilla is pretty dope and we do pretty fun work. :)
For some reason it's only now that TH-cam has decided to reveal that you responded to my message over a week ago. Grrrr. Glad to see you're enjoying Scrintal. I agree that Obsidian and Notion can be pretty overwhelming. I've spent so much time with Obsidian these past couple of years that I have customized it to do more or less exactly what I want a note-making app to do. However, that took LOTS of time and effort. The advantage of an app like Scrintal is that it has fewer bells and whistles and so you can focus on getting actual work done rather than making modifications to the app over and over and over again.
I wonder if do I understand correctly what do You mean by „develop lines of thinking”. I know what does it mean per se, but in the context of „foldering” notes I am not sure. If You can elaborate more on that matter, it will be appreciated. And, by the way, Your’s blogpost is unfortunately empty…
Thanks for raising this comment.. I was wondering how the creation of folders will go along with developing lines of thinking. I remember the last time I read the book "How to Take Smart Notes" by Sonkë, the author was not encouraging the folder method as it can become a barrier to the development of lines of thought.
Your series on analog Zettelkasten has been the missing bit of information I needed to start my Zettelkasten. Keep up the good work!
Thank you for the words of encouragement. Much appreciated.
I am thrilled to have discovered your channel that delves into the principles and practical application of the good zettelkasten technique. You deserve more views. Lately, I have grown weary of the self-proclaimed PKM experts on TH-cam who promote complex and intricate PKM workflows. They encourage their followers to waste time on automating and perfecting their PKM system instead of focusing on creating quality zettelkasten notes.
Thanks so much for your kind words. I plan on releasing a couple more videos within the next two weeks, though they aren’t focused on building a Zettelkasten, I’m afraid. They are instead about my use of an app called Heptabase.
@@forrestrperry I am excited about your upcoming videos. However, I wanted to remind you to continue creating the #1-#9 series videos, even if they are not as popular with viewers. These videos are more educational than promotional, but they are still valuable. In my opinion, they are the best educational videos on zettelkasten that I have ever watched. Sometimes, I wonder if Niklas Luhmann would have been interested in creating complex queries for the data view, experimenting with different plugins/apps, or showcasing the size of his graph. My guess is that he cared more about taking good notes with a pen and cards and making connections for his research papers.
Just discovered the Zettlekasten method like 3 days ago and have been intrigued but confused by the system. This video (as well as a couple others of yours I stumbled upon) has illuminated a lot for me (I still have plenty of learning to do, as I have many questions about practical side of things) and- I say this in the Friendliest of fashions- you are SUCH a professorial type (which I find super conducive to learning).
Many thanks for your remarks. I hope you continue to find the videos useful.
Thank you for your comments. In the Folgezettel video I mention at the end of this video, I plan on talking about what it looks like to “develop lines of thinking.” But basically, a line of thinking in your Zettelkasten is any sequence of cards where each card has a “good-enough relation” to the one preceding it (with the phrase “good-enough relation,” I’m referring to video #3, which was released before this one).
Thanks for reply. I asked because where are numbers (or ids of notes) there are possibilities to referencing them, even when they are in different folders. But now I get it, step by step. And I am looking forward to next videos 👋
You waited for nothing. I already subscribed lol.
Im going to use these methods to help organize my computer folders
6:30 I think it was a delivery vehicle with my like on this video 😅 Very well done, sir! Thanks for Your videos. 👍
Fantastic explanation of these concepts! What are you using to create the mind map that shows your sub-topics?
Thanks for the comment. MindNode (Mac/iOS only) is what I use to maintain the mind map version of my Zettelkasten.
I am so happy I’ve discovered this. Thank you for the help
Great! Thanks for letting me know.
I’m still learning about Zettelkasten so maybe I just need more exposure to it or I’m overthinking this question, but I’d love to see examples of how to use a Zettelkasten system for creating ideas from learnings/observations not tied to other readings/content, but personal research. As a design researcher (kind of like UX but not completely) in the civic space, I’m constantly discovering insights about specific systems and designs that come out of my research and testing. I do some “desk research” where I read reports, books, and journals but, unlike maybe a literary analyst, it’s a smaller portion of what I do-most of my learnings come from doing the work.
I want a system where I can capture these learnings but also allow the learnings to be dynamic and link-able to other learnings and fields via other projects and “desk research” but I struggle to imagine how to organize it all so the learnings can be captured, shared, and expanded upon. I feel like the Zettelkasten method could work for this, but when I see people give examples about how they use it, it’s usually them linking insights gathered from digesting books/podcasts/videos. In my mind I guess I can imagine my Zettelkasten containing more cards that are fleeting notes or permanent notes that are my ideas linked to other ideas or books, nestled in folders under topics or fields that it might relate to (information sciences, policy, visual design, etc), or maybe each of my projects just needs it’s own box separate from “desk research” boxes but still linked in a “see research 45.78-a” way. IDK! 🤷♀️
Thanks for your remarks here, Kristen. Based on what you have said, I'm thinking that maybe an old-school (analog) Zettelkasten of the sort that Luhmann used isn't an ideal fit for your purposes. I say that not because the majority of the ideas you want to capture and organize come from your "personal research" and "doing the work" (one could do this sort of work using a Zettelkasten the way Luhmann did) but because of the way it appears you want to organize ideas and the kinds of connections you want to make among them.
I recommend that you look into Obsidian (obsidian.md/), which is free to use. Perhaps also Scrintal (www.scrintal.com), which is not free to use. In the future, I hope to make quite a few videos about how people can use Obsidian for research and making connections regardless of whether they're building a Zettelkasten.
Oh, and I should add that whereas lots of people nowadays say we should abandon folders, the authors of THE SCIENCE OF MANAGING OUR DIGITAL STUFF make a compelling case for holding onto them. That said, in plenty of cases it's a good idea to use tags (for instance, if you have a note that is as much about policy as it is about visual design, you can tag that note with both #policy AND #visual_design rather than agonizing over what folder to put it in).
There is no shortage of stuff online about folders vs. tags vs. links, but a good place to start (if you're fine with reading something lengthy) is the following piece by Tiago Forte (author of the course and book called Building a Second Brain): fortelabs.com/blog/a-complete-guide-to-tagging-for-personal-knowledge-management/
Btw, civilla looks pretty dope.
@@forrestrperry Thank you for the reply, suggestions, and resources! Definitely helpful and giving me lots to think about. A while back, I did try experimenting with a digital zettelkasten in both Notion and Obsidian, but felt overwhelmed by the number of options, possible customizations, having to learn different coding/shortcuts, seeing TH-cam tutorials with hundreds of zettels tucked in sidebars giving me war-time flashbacks of my ever-growing gmail inbox... I ended up stepping away and reconsidered going analog. But then a few days ago, I did hear about Scrintal, which gave me hope that perhaps a digital ZK might be possible for me.
As a visual person, I liked the idea of being able to see each card, get a preview of what's on them, and how they relate to each other simultaneously. Scrintal also feels exciting because of how I could add another layer of identification with color and visuals using my sketched notes. I'm sure I'd run into some limitations, but it seems like it's set up well enough that I can jump into it without too much thought. And now, reading though Forte's Guide to Tagging, I feel like I'm getting more ideas about how to approach whatever system I end up creating to compliment what I need with how my brain handles all the information I gather.
And thank you! Civilla is pretty dope and we do pretty fun work. :)
For some reason it's only now that TH-cam has decided to reveal that you responded to my message over a week ago. Grrrr.
Glad to see you're enjoying Scrintal. I agree that Obsidian and Notion can be pretty overwhelming. I've spent so much time with Obsidian these past couple of years that I have customized it to do more or less exactly what I want a note-making app to do.
However, that took LOTS of time and effort. The advantage of an app like Scrintal is that it has fewer bells and whistles and so you can focus on getting actual work done rather than making modifications to the app over and over and over again.
Thanks!
Prego!
that twenty seconds stare though
I appreciate your comment. VERY much. Thank you!
I wonder if do I understand correctly what do You mean by „develop lines of thinking”. I know what does it mean per se, but in the context of „foldering” notes I am not sure. If You can elaborate more on that matter, it will be appreciated. And, by the way, Your’s blogpost is unfortunately empty…
Thanks for raising this comment.. I was wondering how the creation of folders will go along with developing lines of thinking. I remember the last time I read the book "How to Take Smart Notes" by Sonkë, the author was not encouraging the folder method as it can become a barrier to the development of lines of thought.