
Adding an underscore makes it easier to find by moving it to the top. Create an inbox 📥Ĭlick the New folder icon, and name the folder inbox. Left unprocessed, fleeting notes will become useless as their context is lost. Taking them should never distract you from your main work.įleeting notes also need an inbox to be reviewed. Fleeting notes are mere reminders of information and can be written in a variety of ways. Throughout the day capture your fleeting notes in your daily note. (Optional) Toggle on Open daily note on startupĬlick the Open today’s daily note button on the left toolbar. Once enabled, select the Daily notes plugin under PLUGIN OPTIONS.Ĭhange the New file location to your daily notes folder. Under OPTIONS select Core plugins and toggle on the Daily notes plugin. Open the Settings, (the gear ⚙️ icon on the bottom left). Enable and configure the daily notes plugin: Open Obsidian and create a folder named daily notes. You need a place to capture these ideas, and the best place is a daily note.

So, capture as many ideas as possible instead. Unfortunately, you cannot immediately distinguish a good idea from a bad idea.
#Smart notes how to
Project Folders 🗂️: - for project-specific notes such as reminders, to-do lists, outlines, drafts, etc… How to Take Fleeting Notes in Obsidian Slip-box 🗃️: - stores all permanent slip-box notes. Reference System 🗄️: - for literature notes, also called reference or source notes. Inbox 📥: - the temporary location for fleeting notes that are being processed. Kept together in a project-specific folder and are archived or discarded when the project is finished.īoth Obsidian and the Zettelkasten method encourage non-hierarchical structures for note-taking, but it’s critical that these three types of notes are kept isolated from one another in different locations: Project Note 🟨 - Used to capture information pertaining to a particular project. Permanent Note 🟥 - Used to capture ideas from text (literature note) or used to elaborate on and create an atomic note (permanent slip-box note). Taking them should not distract you from your work. They serve as mere reminders of information and can be written in a variety of ways. Zettelkasten provides that and it starts with three different types of notes:įleeting Note 🟩 - Used for capturing ideas quickly. Having a learning system will continuously improve your thinking through the feedback of deliberate practice. Let the Work Carry You Forward : It must have a workflow that generates its own momentum through positive experiences and at the same time improve the learning process. As it’s used, thinking and writing should become easier and more valuable. Nobody Ever Starts from Scratch : The system must build trust by surfacing insight, connecting different lines of thought, and improving one’s thinking. Simplicity is Paramount : To be successful, the system must reduce the number of decisions made by standardized note-taking, having a clear separation between the different types of notes, and designated storage for each type. And so this principle implies you must consume information with the purpose of writing about it. Writing is The Only Thing that Matters : Thinking through the medium of writing will improve your reading, thinking, and other intellectual skills. In order to create a Zettelkasten in Obsidian, you must follow The Four Underlying Principals of How to Take Smart Notes. It is through this connecting of notes that Zettelkasten begins to lay the latticework required to build an external knowledge base. When added to the slip-box, notes get a unique identifier that connects them to an existing thought or starts a new cluster of thought. What makes the Zettelkasten unique is the slip-box. It is through these notes that ideas are captured and elaborated on until the point of understanding. Permanent notes are stored long-term in two different places, a reference system, and a slip-box.

To use the Zettelkasten method you write three different types of notes fleeting, permanent, and project. Luhmann published 58 books and over 600 articles over his lifetime. Zettelkasten was developed and made famous by a German sociologist by the name of Niklas Luhmann (1927-1998) who was most known for his insane level of productivity. "How to Take Smart Notes” written by Sönke Ahrens, resurrected a note-taking philosophy called The Zettelkasten Method.
