1 00:00:00,00 --> 00:00:07,820 What is Zettelkasten?Zettelkasten is a note taking process and a personal knowledge management system rolled into one. 2 00:00:07,830 --> 00:00:12,930 The entire Zettelkasten process is three types of notes -Fleeting Notes,Literature Notes and Permanent Notes. 3 00:00:12,940 --> 00:00:16,890 First,we have the fleeting notes. 4 00:00:16,900 --> 00:00:21,920 When cosuming content,be it a video,podcast,article or books take down fleeting notes. 5 00:00:21,930 --> 00:00:26,190 These are temporary notes that serve as memory reminders when creating the actual notes. 6 00:00:26,200 --> 00:00:27,900 This can be deleted later on. 7 00:00:27,910 --> 00:00:31,560 The next type of Notes is Literature notes. 8 00:00:31,570 --> 00:00:39,500 You can convert the Fleeting Notes into a better formatted version called Literature Notes.This will be a summary of the entire content. 9 00:00:39,510 --> 00:00:46,580 But make sure to keep it short.Be very selective about what you are writing down and use your own words to create this. 10 00:00:46,590 --> 00:00:52,520 Finally,we have the Permanent Notes.This is the main types of Notes in the Zettelkasten system. 11 00:00:52,530 --> 00:01:04,890 when you have finished consuming the content or at a smaller point ,like you are reading a book- go through the Literature Notes and write down all the main concepts that are presented 12 00:01:04,900 --> 00:01:06,650 This will be your Permanent Note. 13 00:01:06,660 --> 00:01:12,920 This process can create more than one Permanent Note for one piece of content.That is absolutely normal. 14 00:01:12,930 --> 00:01:16,590 Make sure the Permanent Notes meet the following criteria. 15 00:01:16,600 --> 00:01:20,680 Write only one idea per Note but be as complete as possible 16 00:01:20,690 --> 00:01:27,240 Write as if you are writing for somebody else.Use full sentences .Show sources. 17 00:01:27,250 --> 00:01:30,620 The Note should be understood even if you don´t know the context it was taken from. 18 00:01:30,630 --> 00:01:37,220 If you are looking at the Note later ,you will have forgotten the original context.The Note should stand by itself. 19 00:01:37,230 --> 00:01:39,950 Be precise ,clear and brief. 20 00:01:39,960 --> 00:01:42,380 There is one more step. 21 00:01:42,390 --> 00:01:47,530 Connecting the newly created Notes to the existing body of content that you already have in the system. 22 00:01:47,540 --> 00:01:51,400 Think of how the new Notes are connected to your earlier Notes. 23 00:01:51,410 --> 00:01:54,650 How does this idea fit into what I already know. 24 00:01:54,660 --> 00:01:58,720 What does this idea mean for some other idea that I already have. 25 00:01:58,730 --> 00:02:03,880 Does this add to, contradict, or explain another idea that I already have. 26 00:02:03,890 --> 00:02:10,600 If the new Note is connected to an existing idea, link out to that idea from the new Note 27 00:02:10,610 --> 00:02:13,320 Let´s look at an example. 28 00:02:13,330 --> 00:02:17,430 I recently encountered the concept of Imposter Syndrome. 29 00:02:17,440 --> 00:02:23,760 It´s a psychological pattern in which somebody who knows a lot thinks that they know very little or not enough. 30 00:02:23,900 --> 00:02:26,100 This is how my Note would look like. 31 00:02:26,210 --> 00:02:37,420 A few days later, I come across another concept called Dunning-Kruger Effect, where somebody who actually knows only a little thinks that they know a lot. 32 00:02:37,430 --> 00:02:40,640 Almost an exact opposite of Imposter Syndrome. 33 00:02:40,650 --> 00:02:45,730 So when I take down the new Note about Dunning-Kruger Effect,I will link out to my earlier Imposter Syndrome Note. 34 00:02:45,740 --> 00:02:53,100 After a while, this will end up being an interconnected web of ideas. 35 00:02:53,110 --> 00:02:54,760 What you see here is a visual representation of my Zettelkasten system. 36 00:02:54,770 --> 00:02:59,070 The orange dots are tags and the grey ones are the actual Notes. 37 00:02:59,080 --> 00:03:02,160 You can see how the concepts link with each other. 38 00:03:02,170 --> 00:03:07,640 Now you know how Zettelkasten works. 39 00:03:07,650 --> 00:03:11,180 If you stop the video right here,you already have all the information you need to create your own Zettelkasten. 40 00:03:11,190 --> 00:03:19,500 But my job does not end here.It is my job to convince you to use the system and that is the ´why´ of Zettelkasten. 41 00:03:19,510 --> 00:03:24,540 The point of this system is not better note-taking.It is better thinking 42 00:03:24,550 --> 00:03:26,710 Real thinking only happens with some type of externalization. 43 00:03:26,720 --> 00:03:33,370 This can be notes on a book,mindmaps,typing into a text editor,anything-as long as it´s outside your brain. 44 00:03:33,380 --> 00:03:40,110 The Zettelkasten process forces you to actually think while creating notes. 45 00:03:40,120 --> 00:03:41,780 The normal note-taking process does not require any thinking. 46 00:03:41,790 --> 00:03:44,070 That´s a major issue with our current learning system 47 00:03:44,080 --> 00:03:47,840 You write down notes as is from the source content. 48 00:03:47,850 --> 00:03:50,330 Zettelkasten process changes that. 49 00:03:50,340 --> 00:03:55,380 You have to take notes in your own words.You are not allowed to copy the content as is. 50 00:03:55,390 --> 00:04:01,030 This forces you to think about the content and distill it down to its core ideas. 51 00:04:01,040 --> 00:04:03,880 Another problem with the current learning system is this. 52 00:04:03,890 --> 00:04:08,670 When you re-read the content or the notes that you have taken,there is no new understanding. 53 00:04:08,680 --> 00:04:12,740 All it does is create the illusion that you have understood what you read. 54 00:04:12,750 --> 00:04:16,120 But more often than not ,that is not actually true. 55 00:04:16,130 --> 00:04:22,020 The only way you can find out how much of the content you actually understood is by testing yourself. 56 00:04:22,030 --> 00:04:24,510 Try explaining the concept to another person. 57 00:04:24,520 --> 00:04:29,520 This will show you how much you have actually understood and where the gaps in your knowledge are. 58 00:04:29,530 --> 00:04:33,270 In Zettelkasten,this is done when you create the Notes. 59 00:04:33,280 --> 00:04:35,750 It´s a smaller version of the self-test. 60 00:04:36,200 --> 00:04:38,810 It will show you how much you actually understood. 61 00:04:38,820 --> 00:04:43,470 Elaboration is one way to make sure you understood what you learnt. 62 00:04:43,480 --> 00:04:45,420 Another way is deliberate practice 63 00:04:45,430 --> 00:04:50,790 Deliberate practice is not a part of Zettelkasten but it is a part of this video. 64 00:04:50,800 --> 00:04:56,730 When the the video moves to the next slide,pause the video and write down the notes of this video in the Zettelkasten format. 65 00:04:56,740 --> 00:04:58,960 You can use whatever medium you wish. 66 00:04:58,970 --> 00:05:03,970 You can write in a book or on your phone or on your laptop- as long as it´s outside your brain. 67 00:05:03,980 --> 00:05:09,090 If you want, you can rewind and see the video again but do not go past the next slide. 68 00:05:09,100 --> 00:05:12,920 Are you done with the notes? If so, go to the next slide. 69 00:05:12,930 --> 00:05:16,210 Please do not continue till you have actually finished your notes. 70 00:05:16,220 --> 00:05:20,690 This is how I would have taken down notes for this session. 71 00:05:20,700 --> 00:05:22,930 If your notes are different, that is fine. 72 00:05:22,940 --> 00:05:28,590 You have to take notes for yourself.I am showing my notes just to illustrate the point better. 73 00:05:28,600 --> 00:05:32,140 Feel free to pause the video and go through these notes before continuing. 74 00:05:32,150 --> 00:05:40,330 This brings us to the end of the session.The next step is actually starting your own Zettelkasten practice. 75 00:05:40,340 --> 00:05:47,160 The easiest and recommended approach is to create a digital Zettelkasten and there are quite a few good tools available to do this. 76 00:05:47,170 --> 00:05:50,590 But that is a subject for another video. 77 00:05:50,600 --> 00:05:54,360 Before you go ,post a comment on this video with the notes you have created about this video. 78 00:05:54,370 --> 00:05:58,960 This will give everybody else an idea of how people take Zettelkasten notes. 79 00:05:58,970 --> 00:06:01,000 Thank you.