Zettelkasten Forum


Mind like Coca-cola

Hello,
I'm David, 45, I leave in France and I start my journey with building a second brain and the Zettelkasten method a few weeks ago. My life is balanced between, family (my wife, 2 children's 12 and 14 yo, one dog, a home and a camper van), work as IT integration engineer (I'm going to move to sales in a few months), and personals projects (estate investments, serious DIY on different topics, Virtual tour creation and monitoring information for future work). I'm quite a technical profile. I have expectations from Zettelkasten method:

  • Being able to enjoy reading again: I'm quite curious on various topics but i only read books and do some note-taking. I forget, in my case, about 99% of what i read, loosing notes or not being able to handle them in a good way. This generates frustration and discourage me to read further, avoiding me to develop thinking.
  • I want to be able to manage my thoughts and develop my thinking on specific interests: personal development, transmission to my children's, work efficiency and business success.
  • As i act on several different topics, i want to be able to jump from one subject to another one without rebuilding the whole things. I want to keep, or to easily restore, my knowledge to the highest state it has been, despite unusing them since several month or years.
  • Producing content is part, in my mind, of the ZettelKasten method. I'm not a 'content' producer at all, but i feel seduce by this aspect of the method.
    At the moment, i try to get an overview on how to build and manage a Personal Knowledge Management system. I want to involve myself in a such project. I want to manage thoughts, ideas, arguments not tools. Setting-up them in a good manner is a prerequisite but not the objective.
    I'm interested by the work done by Nick Milo trough LYT channel on youtube, I follow Bryan Jenks too, for the technical side and i want to read the "blog" regarding evergreen notes from Andy Matuschak. I'm divided between, taking sometimes to define and design, a pkm system that fits my expectations, and jumping-in, with the consequence to setup something in the wrong way and stopping using it ( There is an alternative to start with a system then to change it, but I feel I'm not ready at the moment). The potential of PKM appears so big, to me, that i don't want to miss the benefits. I'm ready to change my behaviours. I didn't expect to rise ideas and thoughts on every content i consume. I prefer to select a fraction of them and to work with them on elaborating an enjoyable and efficient pkm.
    Thanks to people who read the whole text ! I introduce this presentation with "Mind like Coca-cola" in opposition to "Mind like water" from David Allen in, Getting Things Done because things aren't clear and well defined at all, in my mind, but ideas and new thoughts are already fuzzing and this state is really enjoyable ! My brain may be at work again soon !
    Merci !
    David

Comments

  • Welcome aboard, @David! :) Keep us posted about the results e.g. with regard to context switching and ZK benefits during your journey!

    Author at Zettelkasten.de • https://christiantietze.de/

  • @David said:
    .... I'm divided between, taking sometimes to define and design, a pkm system that fits my expectations, and jumping-in, with the consequence to setup something in the wrong way and stopping using it ( There is an alternative to start with a system then to change it, but I feel I'm not ready at the moment). The potential of PKM appears so big, to me, that i don't want to miss the benefits.

    Welcome to the forums, @David. Go ahead and jump in. The water is warm, and there is lots of support here and there. You'll never get started till you do. If Gustave Eiffe thought he wasn't ready because his expectations for his tower were so big they paralyzed him from action, Paris would have a different skyline today.

    Will Simpson
    I must keep doing my best even though I'm a failure. My peak cognition is behind me. One day soon I will read my last book, write my last note, eat my last meal, and kiss my sweetie for the last time.
    kestrelcreek.com

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