Handwritten digital Zettelkasten
Im new to this Forum and i already wrote a new Post, but it somehow does not appear. So sorry if it ends up being posted 2 times.
I want to start a digital Zettelkasten.
But im a lover of handwritten Notes. Im using Notability or Goodnotes 5. I really like the handwriten cards. Somehow visually i can connect better. So converting handwriting into text is not an option for me.
But software like Obsidian, The Archive only work with keyboard input. I tryed to workaround a little bit:
1. exporting my note as a pdf to obsidian
2. at the same time writing the text of the note also into obsidian with keyboard (to be able to search the note later - obsidian is not searching handwritten pdfs)
downside is, i can not update, annotate or work later with the note. annotator in obsidian is pretty bad with pdfs. so the only solution would be to again start the process and update the file in notabillity reupload etc etc etc… terrible workflow.
excalidraw is also pretty bad, compared to notability and goodnotes. not a real option.
is there anyone with the same problem? someone who likes handwritten notes, but dont want to start an analog zettelkasten. the missing search function is real.
i would use notability, but i can not connect and link the notes.
im thankfull for every idea.
aleks
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I tried digital for a year, and it just didn't work out for me. I started my analog version after watching YouTube videos. But there were very few writing instructions except Scott's. I also found the digital versions extremely poor as far as instruction. A month ago I decided that was it and went to analog. I've learned that no matter how much you rely on others to show/teach you, your system is your design. You just need to do it, experiment, and learn for yourself. I threw out quite a few cards and as a teacher for years relearned to just threw them out. Now I use a lot of white out or purposely leave the cross outs (as a part of my growth and learning proess). Hope this helps.
I'm a big fan of handwriting, and I also fall into the trap of "switching systems" a lot, which is such a waste of time.
Lately I've accepted the fact that sometimes I like to type, sometimes Iike to write by hand. A digital system can accommodate both. Oftentimes the handwriting for me is about thinking out ideas. Much of what I write doesn't need to be saved, so I can either type the best points into my digital system OR import image or PDF files of my handwritten notes. That way I can link between ideas, search, etc.
I found when I went all in on a paper ZK, with manila file folders, etc., I always procrastinated on actually making and filing notes. I don't do that with a digital system, and now I feel the freedom to write/sketch on paper, on my Remarkable tablet or whatever, without having to make that medium my entire system.
So for me: use the right medium for the moment. Use images/pdfs to incorporate handwriting into my digital systems.
Joe Gilder
www.youtube.com/homestudiocorner
thanks for all the answers. i think i just found an app that allows me to produce handwritten notes and at the same time its possible to connect the notes with each other. im only a bit concerned about my privacy, its a chinese private developer and the app did not receive an update for a year.
but the concept is great and it works so nice. iwould love to build myself such an app, so that i would allways be safe, that the app exists for a long time. maybe some app developer around here and need a job ?
Do you want to make notes by hand, or is it also important to keep them in handwritten form?
I am a Zettler
@Sascha both. i want to make them by hand and also keep them handwritten. here a small example how it looks like. random card. a7 format
@akiradenko
I am a Zettler
@Sascha i use the zettelkasten for many different topics. the above note is just an example.
it intrigues me to keep it in handwritten form because i have the feeling, that everytime i look at an old note, it is not just the pure information that is important to me, but also my handwriting, how the note looks, the pictures etc etc… it starts some remembering process in my brain, a much deeper connection, as if i would look at only pure keyboard text. every note card tells me a unique „story“, because every card is unique. and becaus its unique i can make easiyer connections and thoughts to other „unique“ cards and topics.. (sounds a bit esotherique i know)
also i like to write down stuff, to escape the danger of copy pasting informations. every card is earned, cause it makes me write down every single word.
i watched also some scientific youtube videos on this topic, and it seems there is neurological proof, that handwritten text i deeper rotted in the brain. dont know for sure about that. but its just my feeling, that a plain text zettelkasten is a bit „soulless“ for me.
sorry my bad english.
and to write cards per hand and then transform them into keyboard text is „cruel“.
Actually, there is research out there in Educational Psychology that backs up this thought. I can't remember the papers, but it compared handwritten notetaking to computer notetaking and handwriters did better.
@akiradenko I am using the Supernote tablet for capturing handwritten notes now:
https://supernote.com/
It saves the note as an image file, but you can also convert part or all of the handwritten material into text, saved in a Word-compatible file. So in some ways, the best of both worlds.
In Supernote, the notes you produce are saved in an hierarchical system of files. And there is the ability to link to different points in your (handwritten) text. I use this a bit, but I use The Archive for a digital ZK. So, I don't practice what you want to do, but this tool (Supernote) might be a useful part of your workflow.
The Supernote tablet is NOT backlit, by the way - it is supposed to have the look and feel of paper, and it does a very good job of that.
Dang. It might be a temperament thing. I know what you mean. I feel what you feel. But, personally, I don't care too much…
There is. I think what people overlook is that the context in which you put yourself writing by hand is vastly different. In the experiment, people are put into an empty room or a lecture hall to compare the keyboard with the pen. In reality, you can buy a very nice pen, have a dedicated place for your work and make it very nice, put effort into each note slip, use colored pencils for drawings, create a radical digital free environment, go outside and work there etc.
I think there are a lot of beneficial side effects of handwriting people don't think about. And the alternative context matter also: The more digitalized our Lebenswelt (Lifeworld) becomes, the more the benefits of writing by hand will shine through.
That is the reason why I will teach my daughter the Zettelkasten Method on paper first. To an old geezer like me, the difference is in mood only. And I am too much of a self-utilizer to care. However, the children's minds are too sensitive and too precious.
(Yes, I have already prepared some material on how to teach children using the ZKM and I will use an updated version of the Luhmannian Method. It needs to be updated because Luhmann did use his ZK most likely as a creative tool and not as the integrated thinking environment I think it is more beneficial)
However, the benefits of handwriting over typing might disappear the more you process the content of the note since the research is based on very basic processing (e.g. extracting the most important points of a text).
It is.
As my admiration for Lord of the Rings grows, the more I share this opinion. 
If I'd be in your position, I'd make a decision. If I'd want handwritten notes, I'd commit to it and develop tools that allow the analog way to shine.
But there is a simple solution that some analog-digital-chimeras employ: They duplicate the handwritten notes in digital form and use the search there. So, the flow of information is just one way: The digital version only will be changed if the analog changes but no editing or adding notes in the digital form will happen on its own.
I am a Zettler
@Sascha thank you for your beautiful message. i can relate to everything you wrote.
i also have a small daughter and i want her to see me reading real books and write on real paper.
so now i know for shure im going to start an analog ZK.
and the thing you mention in the end, scanning the notes for searching is exactly the only alternative i had allready in mind. i think its a good possibility, allthough im also shure, that having it a bit harder to find some notes, can also help you reading other notes while searching and getting some more ideas, that you would not get if u would find your note with one click.
happy i found this forum. u helped me a lot with my choice. just bought a beautiful rotring pen from 1979. ant wait to use him.
wich notes format would you use for analog ZK. A7 or A6 ?
@akiradenko I've written a bit about card sizes before at https://www.reddit.com/r/antinet/comments/xib133/card_sizes/ though that page also has some additional advice and thoughts of others you may find useful.
website | digital slipbox 🗃️🖋️
I'd go with A5. In my opinion, almost all the notes I see are very underdeveloped (similar to Luhmann's, but Luhmann most likely did use his Zettelkasten more as a creative tool within a realm he was very competent in which is quite a different use case than many find themselves in).
Part of this underdevelopment stems, in my opinion, from the limited size, which reinforces an already bad habit of note-taking.
Luckily, you can read German. Just look at the notes that are already transcribed (don't waste your time decoding Luhmann's insanely awful handwriting...). People assume that they were too idiosyncratic. But in reality, they were mostly scribbles that are part of a creative tool. The German sociologist joke that it is "difficult" to retrace the connection between is references and what he wrote. In reality, he often didn't reference properly. Sadly, this is a practice that is reinforced by people who promote just putting your own thoughts on "permanent notes" and other people's thoughts on "literature notes".
The A5 notes will give you way more room to breath.
I don't think that it was a co-incidence that you shared the note on van Gogh. Your writing oozes a high openness to experience. This needs to be taken into account.
To give you me as a point of reference:
I am not exceptionally low in openness to experience but rather low. On the one hand, it means that I don't engage naturally with the experiential aspect of the Zettelkasten Method. On the other hand, it allows me to focus much more on the formalities of knowledge and the overall efficiency of the system without missing anything.
If I am right with my above assessment of your temperament, the experiential aspect of your Zettelkasten should be an important ingredient of your Zettelkasten. Then the Zettelkasten can be integrated nicely into your life as an environment that accommodates to your thinking style.
I am a Zettler