Zettelkasten means "slip box". It was developed by the German sociologist Niklas Luhmann. It can be used both digitally and with paper or cardboard notes.
The main principles are:
- Take "smart notes", short and concise, in your own words, mentioning why you are noting this information, in a way that you will understand it later. Your notes can be:
- Fleeting notes: temporary notes taken throughout the day as you read or think; to be processed at the end of the day/week, the valuable ideas are incorporated into permanent notes, the rest discarded.
- Literature notes: created for a specific resource such as a book or article. Can be organised in a citation manager such as Zotero.
- Permanent notes, with links to related notes
- Index/Structure notes
Do not just collect, but ask yourself how this piece of information will be useful to you, how it can help you to develop your thinking, add to existing ideas/arguments, how it contradicts/corrects/supports previous notes, what areas you would like to explore further.
- Link/connect your notes: each note (especially the permanent ones) should have a unique ID and tags to create links to other notes. Some digital tools will allow you to create such links.
- Bottom-up organisation: do not use a preconceived classification of topics, the organisation of your notes is created step by step, from the links between your notes.
How to Take Smart Notes: One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning and Thinking - for Students, Academics and Nonfiction Book Writers by