How to force yourself to write a literature note in your own words instead of quoting or paraphrasin

Jackhansonc

I discovered that in a paper-based system, with the size limit in a 4x6in card, I can easily force myself to only write each piece in a literature note as a reminder to an idea captured. But in Obsidian, I could write as many words as I want or even worse directly copy and paste and thus never think more deeply before taking notes

I’d like to know how you guys avoid quoting or simply paraphrasing and put the idea into your own words as a reminder or your own thought on others idea

andang76

In digital systems you need self-discipline and developing an habit if you want to implement constraints that are native in analog world.

You can emulate physical limit using the word count, deciding a limit to a fixed value and imposing yourself to not oltrepass.

Literature note, anyway, don't require to be "short" and written on your own words. These are used more for zettels (considering their use in a strict or loose way, but this is another long story).

andang76

If you are interested on how to implement an "analog mindset" in Obsidian, have a look to the Zettelkasten videos of this channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@ChelleMeadowsConsulting/featured

I met it some weeks ago but I was hesitant to "propose" it.

I don't say that this is the "best method" or the "right method" of making Zettelkasten in Obsidian. There are things that I like, things that I don't like and I wouldn't follow for my own zettelkasten, it is one of the many ways, with its own consistency and some principles from which to take inspiration. The method is clean, tidy, but too rigid and frictioning for my tastes and attitude. I work in a totally different way (no categories, massive use of linking).
It captures what I consider some of the good principles of an analog zettelkasten.
In one of the videos there is the advice on how to limit the size of the notes, precisely

harr

@Jackhansonc said:
I’d like to know how you guys avoid quoting or simply paraphrasing and put the idea into your own words as a reminder or your own thought on others idea

I don't think that extensive literal quotes are bad per se. Keeping extensive quotes of the original source in Obsidian has many benefits:

• They can be found with fulltext search, when searching for an author's original words.
• They are a valuable reference for my future self. When I'm unsure about my own words, I can always compare them with the original.
• I can update my own words, when my understanding of a text changes. My own words are not the reference, the author's words are the reference.
• I find it easier to write own words, when the original is right there for comparison.

When I try to capture the author's thoughts in my own words, I write my own words next to the quote.

And when I have own thoughts about the author's thoughts, I also write them next to the quote. Some of them get refactored in Zettels, some stay there as reminders.