A System for Writing: How an Unconventional Approach to Note-Making Can Help You Capture Ideas, Think Wildly, and Write Constantly - A Zettelkasten Primer

By regularly coming back to your zettelkasten even at short, inopportune times, you develop a familiarity with its contents and, even while reading, are reminded of ideas stored inside.

Once this initial connection has been established, think of other ideas stored in your zettelkasten to which the new idea might speak, considering the idea outside the context in which it was originally conceived.

If you’ve been taking action on the recommended tasks, here’s what you should be bringing with you: Something to capture fleeting notes. An inbox to stage fleeting notes for processing. A “Sleeping” folder for fleeting notes that resist processing. A physical slip box to hold your index cards, or digital note-taking platform with a folder titled “Z

Whenever an idea you’re attempting to capture in a main note reminds you of another, sift through your notes to find the one that came to mind. Link or otherwise make note of the relationship in the main note you’re creating.

Balancing “In Spite of” with “In Light of” The need to “carve out time,” to “fit it in,” to “make it part of one’s routine” has made dynamic, back-and-forth communication with the slip box a rarity.

3.5 “In Light of...” vs “In Spite of...”

I remembered something my shaykha said: “In Islam, gift-giving is considered a blessing. To refuse a gift is to deny that blessing.”

creating these notes is generally achieved in one of two ways: Developing an idea “in light of” what’s already stored in your zettelkasten Developing an idea “in spite of” what’s already stored in your zettelkasten

If working with a digital zettelkasten, create a “Main Notes” folder within your “Zettelkasten” folder. If you’re using a physical slip box, your main compartment will be used to store main notes. Convert your fleeting notes into main notes using the suggestions and examples in this chapter as a guide. Look through your reference notes for ideas th