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General Software Discussion / Re: I'm thinking of going primitive, with discursion into zettelkasten
« Last post by Dormouse on January 04, 2020, 05:52 AM »The zettelkasten part of the system is much simpler. Everything I think about goes in. It’s the antithesis of the project zettelkasten approach.
The underlying concept is that if I spend some time thinking about anything, then I might think about it again in the future.
Subsequent notes are simple. They are written, linked, named, and tagged in one pass.
For me, the initial stages of making notes are more rigid and time consuming than conventional systems. Thereafter it is efficient and integrating new thoughts into previous structures is easy.
The later notes in conventional systems are either more time consuming or only retain their ease at the cost of full integration with previous thoughts.
No system copes well with independent small thoughts and small notes. Database systems work best (The Journal is okay). I simply combine them to create documents to put into the archive. Time will tell whether this is effective. I think it will work where the combination is on a single topic, but thoughts aren’t always like that.
The underlying concept is that if I spend some time thinking about anything, then I might think about it again in the future.
- Notes based on reading are usually processed as a group because I don’t distract myself from reading by making a detailed note.
- Usually I will mark a section that gets put in as a direct quote.
- Next I make a quick brief note (the fleeting note) - might be done at the time of marking, otherwise later but soon after reading.
- Next, usually after some hours, I make a fuller note. I regard this as a Level One note. The format is as a document with the quote at the bottom, the fleeting note above and the Level One note at the top.
- Naming and tagging can be done at any point, but is usually most convenient when the Level One note has been completed and the note is placed in the long-term zettelkasten (previously it was moving through staging folders).
- Within days, I hope to complete Level Two notes. These reorganise the ideas in the earlier notes so that the concepts are clearer and better separated. This is the first major linking stage when the linking may become more complex.
Subsequent notes are simple. They are written, linked, named, and tagged in one pass.
For me, the initial stages of making notes are more rigid and time consuming than conventional systems. Thereafter it is efficient and integrating new thoughts into previous structures is easy.
The later notes in conventional systems are either more time consuming or only retain their ease at the cost of full integration with previous thoughts.
No system copes well with independent small thoughts and small notes. Database systems work best (The Journal is okay). I simply combine them to create documents to put into the archive. Time will tell whether this is effective. I think it will work where the combination is on a single topic, but thoughts aren’t always like that.