New and Need Help

laughingmarbles

Hi all. I'm sure you've heard this before, but I need help understanding how to actually implement the Zettelkasten system I've read Sönke Ahrens book, watched videos, and read numerous articles, but it's not coming to gather for me. Most of what I've read or watched doesn't address the actual "how to" of the system. I need a step-by-step walkthrough (with images if available). The closest I've come to what I'm seeking is this video Does anyone know if what I'm seeking is available? A bonus would be if The Archive was used in the tutorial. Thank you for any help you can give me.

Jvet

That video uses Evernote if I remember correctly.

I suggest you kind of leave aside Sönke’s book and go visit the introductory post.

https://zettelkasten.de/introduction/

And check this other video:

Sascha

"how to"

Are you already proficient in using an app of your choice for your Zettelkasten?

laughingmarbles

Thank you both for responding.

@Jvet said:
That video uses Evernote if I remember correctly.

I suggest you kind of leave aside Sönke’s book and go visit the introductory post.

https://zettelkasten.de/introduction/

And check this other video:

Yes, Evernote is what was used. I will look at your recommendations.

@Sascha said:

"how to"

Are you already proficient in using an app of your choice for your

No. I purchased The Archive, but I am still learning how to use it. Every group has their own language they use to communicate with each other. Since I’m so new to all of this, I’m still learning the language of Zettelkasten and all the computer terms that accompany it. So much of what I’ve read has been aimed at those who are proficient in the language. I (and I’m sure there are many more like me) need something that is designed for those who don’t speak the language, but desperately want to learn it.

GeoEng51

@laughingmarbles

@Jvet made a great recommendation to read through the "Introduction to Zettelkasten" (he gave the link). I totally agree - there is a lot of good information in that post and it warrants careful reading (even several times). That post is part of a greater "Getting Started" section, of which you could profitably read the entirety:

https://zettelkasten.de/posts/overview/

I've been working on a Zettelkasten for 6 months or so. When I first got started, I was similarly awash in new concepts and terminology. I found the following two articles excellent. They are a bit long, but hey - you are trying to learn something, not just scanning the headlines

https://writingcooperative.com/zettelkasten-how-one-german-scholar-was-so-freakishly-productive-997e4e0ca125

https://leananki.com/zettelkasten-method-smart-notes/

Two other related articles that I also liked enough to note down are below. You might save those until you have read and are comfortable with all of the above material.

"Understanding Zettelkasten — What does it mean to communicate with the slip-box", by Eva Thomas, can be found at: https://medium.com/@ethomasv/understanding-zettelkasten-d0ca5bb1f80e

Taking notes as online help for your creative future self: https://blog.joepairman.com/2020/08/03/take-notes-as-online-help-for-your-creative-future-self/

By the way, at the moment you may be wondering "how do I do this?", but the more interesting questions are "why should I do this?" and "what are purposes (of importance to me) of a Zettelkasten, that would cause me to embark and stay on this journey?".