If I asked you what ideas or lessons you learned from a book you read last year, could you explain them to me exactly? Or after reading an article, name a quote or concept that made you think. You, like most mortals, probably won’t be able to remember anything with this level of detail. The downside is that over time you will feel as if you have never read those books or watched those documentaries.

Therefore, in recent years, the concept of a “second brain” has become increasingly common, in the sense of an external system that allows us to store and classify all the useful knowledge and learning we have accumulated over the course of a career or the entire career life.

Without an effective system to capture and organize this information, much of what is learned by reading, taking classes, watching videos, or attending conferences gets watered down in the noise of daily life and falls into the abyss of oblivion.

At this point, the Zettelkasten method is presented as a tool that goes beyond the simple organization of notes and transforms scattered and in principle disconnected data into useful and organized information.

What is the Zettelkasten method?

Zettelkasten is a German word meaning “note box”, and the name, although difficult to remember, describes the essence of this note-organizing system, which aims to simulate the functioning of a neural network of ideas, such as neurons.

Although not its creator, German sociologist Niklas Luhmann was one of the main pioneers of this movement in the 1950s. Luhmann is known not only for his legacy of knowledge in the field of sociology, but also for being a prolific writer with more than 70 published books and some more. 400 items.

By arranging these cards in a box, Luhmann created a network of linked ideas that could expand indefinitely over the years, gradually expanding the knowledge of his “second brain.” According to this article by David B. Clear, when asked about his extensive bibliography, Luhmann replied: “I don’t think of everything myself. Most of my work takes place in Zettelkasten.”

Niklas Luhmann

In fact, it’s worth mentioning that those who already implement the Zettelkasten method as part of their workflow say that its potential begins to shine after adding more than 1,000 notes. Luhmann created more than 90,000 “zettels” containing unique ideas that were linked to other notes he had previously created and then pointed to a reference index for easy finding.

What is the Zettelkasten method not?

If you’re considering this system as a way to keep your notes organized, it’s definitely not what you’re looking for. This system prioritizes the connection of ideas contained in notes and their relationship to other notes, and is not a documentary filing system in which each note is a disconnected item.

This method does Zettelkasten is not suitable for everyone. For example, if you are looking for a system where you can only save your notes or reminders, this system will not be of much use to you. Rather, their approach aims to structure information using a “one note, one idea” format, with atoms of information joining others in a network. Ultimately, as James Clear emphasizes, the important thing is to focus on work systems, not goals.

Principles of the Zettelkasten method?

In the 50s of the last century, the computer was not like it is today; thus Luhmann’s entire system was based on writing down his ideas on small DIN A6 size cards and recording them in his zettelkasten or “note box”.

This very analog origin essentially means that this system can seem a bit cumbersome at first, but apps like Notion or Obsidian have link and reference functions inspired by the exact Zettelkasten method for connecting notes you create. .

Unlike other note-taking systems, the Zettelkasten method stands out with its ability to link notes to others. create some kind of idea Wikipedia are interconnected. Instead of a bunch of disconnected notes or even messy pages piled up in a notebook on the edges of books you’ll never open again.

Niklas Luhmann created several types of notes in Zettelkasten, each with a specific function. Although simpler in existing applications, it serves as a reference for creating your notes:

• Provisional notes: These are quick, spontaneous notes that capture fleeting ideas that can arise at any time, such as thoughts or flashes of inspiration. These notes are the embryo of the idea to go to Zettelkasten after processing.
• Source Notes: Created from a specific source, such as a book, article, or video. The key here is to write a single idea or concept for each note and add context in your own words for additional insight into it. Have you ever read a sentence in a book that made you think? As a note! Then add a few sentences explaining the context or meaning of this phrase, the book and page it comes from.

Have you seen it in a video? Well, its title and the minute it appeared. This is about have a reference to where you saw this content returning to it a week, a year or ten years later.

• Permanent Notes (Zetteller): These notes bring together relevant information and provide a broader context for the idea, always expressed in your own words, as if you were writing to a friend. Unlike memos or source notes, permanent notes are notes that truly integrate information, combining multiple ideas or concepts in a summary form, thus providing a deeper understanding of a topic.

These notes are already part of Zettelkasten, so They should contain references and links to other notes or related sources. The first note of a topic will have the highest hierarchy, and as new ideas are created about the same topic, they will be intertwined and associated with other notes.

Rather than organizing notes by topic or category, Luhmann used a numbering system to flexibly link ideas together. So, for example, a note may contain the number “1/1” and if related ideas arise, they are added as “1/1a” or “1/1b”. Fortunately, the digital world allows you to organize all of this much more simply with links and tags.

• Reference Notes: The reference notes serve as an index within Zettelkasten, as if it were a book. A guide that easily organizes and locates topics and concepts within the notes network. This way you will know that all notes about a book, for example, have a specific reference, from which endless slots are hung, and each of them can be associated with other notes with different references (such as a video of a book). same topic or an article).

Diagram showing how cards are arranged in Zettelkasten. Courtesy of David B Clear

Niklas Luhmann’s Zettelkasten consisted of 108 subject areas, each assigned a number specified in the reference note or index of the Zettelkasten. This way, when you added a new note, you only had to look at the reference note to find out what subject area it fell into and where in your box you should keep it after writing the appropriate reference.

As with persistent notes, creating this directory is much simpler with existing applications and templates (they do this almost automatically using links, tags, and selectors) than with the analog system Luhmann used. But the theory of the system is the same.

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Image | Pixabay (StartupStockPhotos), Wikimedia Commons (Universitätsarchiv St. Gallen (HSG), David B. Clear