Principles to improve your Zettelkasten

Edmund · February 18

One of my favorite questions: How can I improve my Zettelkasten?

As an expert in our field, we are likely to find an answer. However, why not consider a different perspective on potential solutions? Here's a concept for thinking outside the box, beyond the confines of one's own thoughts. The key to a wide array of solutions lies in adapting well-known principles or frameworks from established sciences or schools of thought.

Can you re-find your own solutions to improve your Zettelkasten?

Reference

SimpleMind. Cross-platform Mind Mapping tools. 2024. https://simplemind.eu/.
Zhao, Vicky. Getting Started with Framework Thinking. YouTube, 2022.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5xskQVA-2c

p.s.
I would like to share a PDF version. Unfortunately it‘s not allowed in this forum. :-(

JasperMcFly · February 19

Very cool. Thank you for sharing. I like the interdisciplinary nature of the first level hubs.

ctietze · February 19

This ties in nicely with your recent post on housekeeping tasks based on word count:
https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/comment/19631/#Comment_19631

These two stand out to me;

Homeostasis: Implement periodic audits or cleanup sessions to maintain homeostasis within the Zettelkasten by removing outdated or redundant content and optimizing organization.

and

Data cleaning: Regularly review and update outdated or inaccurate information, remove duplicates, and standardize formatting.

They sound like a sensible thing to do at times, but hard to execute: how do you approach this? What could a homeostasis-ensuring cleanup session entail, for example?

Edmund · February 19

@ctietze said:

Homeostasis: Implement periodic audits or cleanup sessions to maintain homeostasis within the Zettelkasten by removing outdated or redundant content and optimizing organization.

What could a homeostasis-ensuring cleanup session entail, for example?

I've started with a simple concept:

But there is always room for improvement ;-)

Will · February 19

@Edmund said:
One of my favorite questions: How can I improve my Zettelkasten?

This is why I continue to hang around. My ZK is my thinking machine. Anything that improves my Zk improve my thinking.

Thank Edmund!

p.s.
I would like to share a PDF version. Unfortunately, it‘s not allowed in this forum. :-(

What I'd like you to share is the .smmx file. This would allow collaboration and expansion of these comet-like, mind-fracturing ideas. You can do this by putting it on DropBox or Google Drive and sharing a public link to the file.

Edmund · February 20

@Will said:
What I'd like you to share is the .smmx file. This would allow collaboration and expansion of these comet-like, mind-fracturing ideas.

Here are my links:

andang76 · February 20

OMG, I need to read carefully here :-)

I'm considering to integrate in my model something about systems theory/systems thinking. But I need to learn about them a bit, first.

I've taken something from my recent study for passing ITIL exam. I see that you are already placed one of its principle, continual improvement, under agile.

Edmund · February 20

@ctietze said:

Homeostasis: Implement periodic audits or cleanup sessions to maintain homeostasis within the Zettelkasten by removing outdated or redundant content and optimizing organization.

What could a homeostasis-ensuring cleanup session entail, for example?

Your question leads me to a connected question:

What does it mean to maintain homeostasis within the Zettelkasten?

I've found several balancing loops we are dealing with. You can find them in a Causal Loop Diagram:

If you do not spend time to "Review & Revise" your notes, one important loop is missing. The Zettelkasten then will react by using the two balancing loops which are closed by "Time needed to create output" and "Time needed to search & retrieve notes". But that's not the best option.

Sascha · February 21

@Edmund This is 100% the style how I try to improve my Zettelkasten and the method in general. So, powered by my confirmation bias, I think this is awesome.

ctietze · February 21

I've split off the ChatGPT feedback usage that spawned because it sounds like that can be discussed in more detail:
https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/2837/gpt4-dialectic-critique-assistant-robo-zettel-feedback

ZettelDistraction · February 21

@ctietze Many thanks for doing this. I renamed the GPT to "Zettel Critique Assistant," which is more specific, and worked with ChatGPT4 to refine the instructions. ChatGPT made suggestions to improve the GPT instructions, which I added. We went through a few iterations.

Edmund · February 21

@andang76 said:

I've taken something from my recent study for passing ITIL exam. I see that you are already placed one of its principle, continual improvement, under agile.

And here is another principle from ITIL Service Design applied to Zettelkasten:

Design the structure and processes of the Zettelkasten to optimize usability, accessibility, and efficiency which is essential for effective knowledge management.
This could involve designing intuitive navigation pathways, implementing a consistent tagging system, and establishing clear guidelines for note creation and maintenance to streamline information retrieval and usage.

Edmund · February 22

@Sascha said:
@Edmund This is 100% the style how I try to improve my Zettelkasten and the method in general. So, powered by my confirmation bias, I think this is awesome.

Thank you for your motivational feedback. Dopamin welcome. :-)

And thank you for your warning: Confirmation bias! I'll first read your new book to proof if it's true. ;-)

Edmund · February 26

Balanced Feedback Loop

Our discussion leads me to some more basic insights about Zettelkasten by using causal loop diagrams [1]. Let me start with a simple diagram about quality improvement:

Reading the diagram:

An increase in 'Input Quality' (1) leads to an increase of 'Note Quality' (2) and also to an increase of 'Output Quality' (3).
The 'Note Quality' (2) remains stable by the balancing feedback loop of ‘Note improvement (B2)’ .
A lower 'Input Quality' (1) could be compensated by appropriate 'Quality Improvement Measures'.

Triple Loop Model: Input-Notes-Output

Understanding the use of feedback loops helped me to see the missing loops for input and output. When I was working with Zettelkasten on the lower note level, this loops were not visible for me.

The new triple loop model from bird's eye view now is a good starting point for further exploration.

Note Quality also depends on Process Quality

In this extended model:

The 'Note Quality Improvement Loop (B2)' focuses on enhancing the quality of notes through targeted 'Note Quality Improvement Measures'.
The 'Process Improvement Loop (B3)' addresses the challenge of managing the quality of the Zettelkasten process to maintain a balance between spending time for notes and spending time for process.

Both loops interact to ensure that the Zettelkasten maintains high-quality content while avoiding oversimplified or overcomplicated tasks or workflows that could dilute the overall quality and utility of the knowledge repository.

Reference:
[1] Barbrook-Johnson, Pete, und Alexandra S. Penn. Systems Mapping: How to Build and Use Causal Models of Systems. Springer International Publishing, 2022. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-01919-7.

Andy · February 27

@Edmund, I love the first graphic above that shows the wide variety of fields from which Zettelkasten or personal-knowledge-base principles can be adapted. The economics branch reminds me of Nicholas Rescher's book Cognitive Economy: The Economic Dimension of the Theory of Knowledge (University of Pittsburgh Press, 1989) and related publications.

The most recent causal loop diagram does not speak to me as much, because I don't do much revision of notes, so the note quality improvement loop doesn't seem so relevant to me. For me, the process improvement loop has been much more important, but I wouldn't describe it as you do as "a balance between spending time for notes and spending time for process"; instead, for me it's just the long-term process of learning about, experimenting with, and implementing new methods. Such process improvement doesn't take much time in a typical week. Still, it's a helpful conceptual distinction.

Perhaps it would be good to indicate that note quality improvement measures include link quality improvement measures, perhaps by changing the name to note/link quality instead of only note quality?

Edmund · February 28

@Andy said:
@Edmund, I love the first graphic above that shows the wide variety of fields from which Zettelkasten or personal-knowledge-base principles can be adapted. The economics branch reminds me of Nicholas Rescher's book Cognitive Economy: The Economic Dimension of the Theory of Knowledge (University of Pittsburgh Press, 1989) and related publications.

Thank you for this positive feedback and your link to a related source of value.

The most recent causal loop diagram does not speak to me as much, because I don't do much revision of notes, so the note quality improvement loop doesn't seem so relevant to me.

My question of understanding: Without revision of your notes you mostly focus on quality of your input and improved quality of your process? Is it there a rule like: “Never change an existing note”?

… long-term process of learning about, experimenting with, and implementing new methods. …

Good description for a complex process.

… link quality improvement measures, perhaps by changing the name to note/link quality instead of only note quality …

Yes, link quality is an important quality dimension. My goal is to define “Note Quality” including “Link Quality” and others. I got a perfect description for that from @Sascha: https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/comment/18998/#Comment_18998

A high number of cognitive actions were invested into the note (leading indicator)

The idea itself is of a high quality

The proper amount of value-adding has taken place (instead of just extracting the evidence from the source)

The proper relationship of the embedded idea(s) is established.

As you can see, the link quality is included.

Andy · February 28

@Edmund said:

My question of understanding: Without revision of your notes you mostly focus on quality of your input and improved quality of your process? Is it there a rule like: “Never change an existing note”?

Yes. I don't change a note after I have finished drafting it, although I may add to it later. I don't think of "adding to a note" as revision (because often the addition is just to link to another note), but if that is revision, then you could say I do revise notes. My notes that are still "in draft" do not have titles. But after I have given titles to the notes, I do not change what I have already written except to add to the end of them.

As you can see, the link quality is included.

That's great, thanks.

JasperMcFly · February 28

Soooo, apropos note changes @Andy, does your notion of "evergreen" notes apply to more than just the attributes you have enumerated for a single evergreen note? Does the notion of evergreen also apply to the collective batch of notes and the overall workflow of writing notes as also an evergreen process (note collection being added to with new notes, new links and associations forged, yada, yada)?

Andy · February 28

@JasperMcFly, I don't use the term "evergreen", and I would say my system is very different from the systems of people who use that term. My system is organized by a discourse schema: it is basically a conversation. The different notes represent various questions, positions/claims, arguments/reasons, evidence, etc. advanced in the conversation. As in a conversation, one can't change what one has said once one has said it. One can mark a discourse unit/note as deprecated later, as in: I retract that statement; this other statement is a better answer to the question or a better argument. But in a conversation one can't undo the fact that one has said something. Likewise, in my note system, I don't like to delete anything except perhaps in rare circumstances: deletion or rewriting destroys information about the conversation.

EDIT: Oh, @JasperMcFly, it just occurred to me that you might have thought that I'm Andy Matuschak—I'm not him!

JasperMcFly · February 28

Ok, thank you for the detailed response. Very interesting to see the holistic description of your system as conversation. I also like the use of the term deprecation; archived and replaced, but not deleted. Thank you.

JasperMcFly · February 28

Ha, Yes @Andy I did mistake you for Evergreen Andy. Honest mistake tho. I mean the number of smart guys named Andy doing Zettelkasten-ish work has to be a small pool. lol. apologies.

Edmund · March 1

@Andy said:
My system is organized by a discourse schema: it is basically a conversation.

So different to my own approach. - I didn't expect so many and so great and usefull differences in all these Zettelkasten implementations. :-)

Today I refined my own causal loop for notes:

It uses three different paths to improve note quality:

Content Quality

Relevance: Focus on relevant information that directly contribute to your research objectives. Avoid details that may clutter your Zettelkasten.
Accuracy: Verify sources and cross-reference information.
Completeness: Include predefined sections for various types of information to ensure that all relevant aspects of the topic are covered.

Structural Quality

Organization: Ensure that notes are easily navigable and interconnected for efficient retrieval and exploration.
Consistency: Use standardized conventions for labeling, tagging, and organizing your notes.
Usability: Use intuitive organization schemes, clear headings, and effective metadata to facilitate ease of use and retrieval.

Communication Quality

Clarity: Use clear and concise language, organizing information logically, and providing sufficient context.
Conciseness: Condense information to its essential components while retaining clarity and coherence.
Contextualization: Situate notes within broader conceptual frameworks or historical contexts to enhance understanding and relevance.

How does your personal strategy looks like, to improve all your incredible notes in your Zettelkasten in the long run?

Edmund · March 22

One of my favorite questions: How can I improve my Zettelkasten?
One of my favorite answers: Simplify Zettelkasten.

Reference:

Maeda, John. The laws of simplicity: design, technology, business, life. First MIT Press paperback edition, The MIT Press, 2020.

Edmund · March 23

Today I updated the “12 Principles for Using Zettelkasten”. Here’s the reason why:

8 books - 8 thinking tools

References:

Ahrens, Sönke. How to Take Smart Notes: One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning and Thinking, 2022.
Chou, Yu-Kai. Actionable Gamification: Beyond Points, Badges, and Leaderboards. Packt Publishing, 2019.
Deming, W. Edwards. The essential Deming: leadership principles from the father of quality. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2013.
Doerr, John. Measure What Matters: OKRs: The Simple Idea That Drives 10x Growth. Portfolio Penguin, 2018.
Maeda, John. The laws of simplicity: design, technology, business, life. First MIT Press paperback edition, The MIT Press, 2020.
Phoenix, James. Prompt Engineering for Generative AI: Future-Proof Inputs for Reliable AI Outputs. [S.l.]: O’Reilly Media, 2024.
Rohde, Mike. Sketchnote Handbook: The Illustrated Guide to Visual Note Taking. Milwaukee: Peachpit Press, 2012.
Schwaber, Ken. Agile Project Management with Scrum. Microsoft Press, 2004.

Edmund · March 24

If you want to simplify the model choose 3 principles (yellow lines):

Start with Clear Goals
Make Good Notes
Have Fun

Or as I started some years ago with 2 principles:

Make Good Notes
Have Fun

How does your model of principles look like?

Edmund · March 24

@Edmund said:

One of my favorite questions: How can I improve my Zettelkasten?
One of my favorite answers: Simplify Zettelkasten.

@Will: Here are my links:

.pdf: https://github.com/groepl/Take-Useful-Notes/blob/main/Visuals/Simplifiy_Zettelkasten.pdf
.opml: https://github.com/groepl/Take-Useful-Notes/blob/main/Visuals/Simplifiy_Zettelkasten.opml
.smmx: https://github.com/groepl/Take-Useful-Notes/blob/main/Visuals/Simplifiy_Zettelkasten.smmx

Edmund · April 4

Fascinated from @Sascha 's "Zettelkasten Iceberg Model" I've played arround with this tool for Systems Thinking. Here is my first result:

Surprisingly (or not?) the Zettelkasten is largely invisible. Outside "Zettelkasten.de" people are discussing about note-taking or about using various note-taking tools. They talk about feature requests or ask for help for using a specific tool or feature. The methods of note-taking (patterns, structures and mental models) are almost invisible or hidden in the discussion.

References

‘Iceberg Model - Learn about the theory and practice of Systems Thinking.’. Accessed 4 April 2024. https://ecochallenge.org/iceberg-model/.
Durmonski, Ivaylo. ‘How The Iceberg Model of Systems Thinking Can Help You Solve Problems?’ Durmonski.Com (blog), 23 August 2021. https://durmonski.com/self-improvement/iceberg-model-systems-thinking/.
Fast, Sascha. ‘The Iceberg Theory of the Zettelkasten Method — Exploring the Depths’. Zettelkasten Method. https://zettelkasten.de/posts/zettelkasten-iceberg/.

Edmund · April 16

Today's update.

ctietze · April 17

Can you elucidate¹ the "Events" part a bit more? I expected more observations (in the sense of a lab notebook) but it's actually something else entirely.

I recently learned that usage of this term is paramount to signal big brain power. ↩︎

Will · April 17

@ctietze, so sophisticated!

I, too, found this graphic elucidating, but I would like more. This is a great example of using the "Iceberg Method" from systems thinking to delve into a clearer understanding of an idea (or elucidate the idea).

The mindset node is incomplete without a "Mental Mindset" to counterbalance the "Visual Mindset." @Edmund, your bias towards the visual is showing. I'd like to see more on the "Growth Mindset."

In the Mindset node, you have a set of beliefs that are really traits of a mental mindset.

Thanks for the references. I have them captured in Zotero and plan on delving more into "How The Iceberg Model of Systems Thinking Can Help You Solve Problems?"

I love this wordplay.

Edmund · April 18

@ctietze said:
Can you elucidate[^elu] the "Events" part a bit more? I expected more observations (in the sense of a lab notebook) but it's actually something else entirely.

[^elu]: I recently learned that usage of this term is paramount to signal big brain power.

An amazing verb: "elucidate" How do you tag such words in your Zettelkasten?
Let me zoom in the "Events" part a bit more:

But I'm not sure if the "Tools" are visible for others. I'd better put them on a lower level beneath the surface.

How does your iceberg looks like?

Zettelkasten Forum

Principles to improve your Zettelkasten

Comments

Balanced Feedback Loop

Triple Loop Model: Input-Notes-Output

Note Quality also depends on Process Quality

Howdy, Stranger!

Quick Links

Categories

In this Discussion