The Zettelkasten method

This article originated from a video about Zettelkasten that I saw on YouTube, which prompted me to improve my note-taking system’s usability and organization.

The Zettelkasten method is a system to write, collect, and organize your thoughts on notes used by a German academic who produced many papers and articles in his field.

The method

The writing process can be understood as a sequence of steps from creating direct and clear notes in a specific order, changing them into drafts, revising them, and publishing them as articles.

• Write simple thoughts that pass by your mind to eliminate distractions in short notes.
• Write literary notes as information you don’t want to forget when reading.
• Revise both notes and see if any idea contradicts or adds to your notes already in your system.
• After some time, you will get to make connections between all of these notes written in the past. Now, group them into a draft with structured thinking in your own words.
• Remember to add references.
• Now revise, edit, and publish the final version.

The results

After gaining a deeper understanding of the method, I felt much happier writing articles and my productivity increased significantly.

“Learning, thinking, and writing should not be about accumulating knowledge but about becoming a different person with a different way of thinking.” ― Sönke Ahrens, How to Take Smart Notes.