# Three reflections on note-taking


For the past one and a half years, I have been using the Zettelkasten method for note-taking. For those of you who are unaware, Zettelkasten is a note-taking method popularized by German sociologist Niklas Luhmann. It promises to help you learn, study, research, and think better. This note-taking method will efficiently turn your thoughts and discoveries into convincing written pieces.

![Maksym Kaharlytskyi via Unsplash](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1641702057611/ZcDClsMEwM.jpg)

I learned about this method from various blog posts back in 2018. I thought that the technique was terrific and started using it immediately. At that time, I was using Bear App. Bear supported markdown editing and linking from one note to another, which is one of the critical points of the whole methodology. When I started learning, the advice was to start making notes and making connections among them. So admittedly, my knowledge of the method is quite shaky. It was a lot of trial and error.

I found out, later on, that there was a book titled "How to take smart notes" written by Sönke Ahrens that explained this note-taking method in depth. I read this book in 2019. I really should have read this book earlier. This book gives me lots of good advice on properly setting up and using the Zettelkasten method for note-taking.

Here are the three important lessons I have learned while using this note-taking method over the years.

## Do not put everything in a single system

![](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1641702057648/HiozqCtvem.jpg)

In the beginning, I put everything in one single app. At the time, I was using Bear App. And I use tags to differentiate between my ordinary notes and slip-box notes. This was fine for a while. At some point, I even added my productivity system (to-do list, plan, etc.) into this one application. 

But then I notice that I don't actually get more value from this note-taking system. When I need to search for something, there will be way too many results coming back at me. And some of them are highly irrelevant, a to-do task, a web clip reference, a highlight from a book, and so on.

I felt that I needed to put my slip-box into its own system. Making a clear line between my own thoughts and ideas from the rest of the world. And having everything in a single system prevents me from achieving that. I mean, do I know about something, or do I know something? Is my knowledge fake knowledge? Have I fallen into the collector's fallacy? I always have these questions. So this is why I no longer put everything in a single app. 

Ahrens warns explicitly that the slip box should not be about collecting. 

> The idea is not to collect, but to develop ideas, arguments and discussions.

According to Sönke Ahrens, the setup of Zettelkasten is divided into four components. The slip-box where you put what he calls permanent notes and an editor. Something to capture ideas (fleeting notes) with. A reference management system to collect the references and your notes during your reading (literature notes). 

In other words, he suggests that you use different tools for these functions. A pen and paper for fleeting notes. A reference manager to store literature notes. A slip-box to keep permanent notes after processing the fleeting and the literature notes.

## Rely on index

![Eran Menashri  via unsplash](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1641702057638/66JDWvuVYx.jpg)

Once I get to a certain number of notes (600-700 notes),  I feel I can't keep up with my slip box. Searching for tags or keywords returns too many results. At this point, to help me organize my slip box, I used the index. This comes out naturally, but as I later learn, I am not the only one struggling to keep up with all the notes I have taken. In the book "How to take a smart note," Ahrens, when describing the elements of the Luhmann system, said:

> The last element in his file system was an index, from which he would refer to one or two notes that would serve as a kind of entry point into a line of thought or topic. Notes with a sorted collection of links are, of course, good entry points.

And further, when adding notes to the slip-box, he said:

> 4. Now add your new permanent notes to the slip-box by:
> ....
> c). Making sure you will be able to find this note later by either linking to it from your index or by making a link to it on a note that you use as an entry point to a discussion or topic and is itself linked to the index.

![](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1641702057553/HLKt1RPd0.png)

This might remind you of a table of contents because it is a table of contents.

Soon after, I organized this further into topic and sub-topic, which is just an index of indexes. Later, I learned about the term "map of concepts," which is way cooler than topic and sub-topic.

I rely heavily on this topic, sub-topic, and index set up to help me find, connect and make sense of the notes. Every time I add a new note, I put a link from the index to the new note. 

## Use pen and paper for capturing ideas

![Luke Southern via unsplash](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1641702057596/njYHajqFeE.jpg)

There are many known benefits of note-taking with pen and paper. It helps you remember things. It makes you more active and creative. It helps you focus and avoid distractions. In fact, in a paper published in the journal Psychological Science, two US researchers claim that note-taking with a pen gives students a better grasp of the subject. 

> For the scientists, the reason is clear: those working on paper rephrased information as they took notes, which required them to carry out a preliminary process of summarising and comprehension; in contrast, those working on a keyboard tended to take a lot of notes, sometimes even making a literal transcript, but avoided what is known as "desirable difficulty. [1]

More and more, I rely on pen and paper to capture ideas. Every time I learn or read about a subject, I write them down in my A5 notebook. I utilized several note formats according to the content. Note-taking with a pen and paper has helped me ensure that I understand the topic, use my own words, and see the relationship between ideas before I put it in my slip-box. I find out the quality of my slip-box content is better when I do this.

![My personal notebook](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1641702057583/GJdF8sDts9.gif)

## Reference
1. [Handwriting vs. typing: is the pen still mightier than the keyboard?](https://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/dec/16/cognitive-benefits-handwriting-decline-typing)