Principle #1: Hypertextual 🔗

The difference between regular note-taking systems and a Zettelkasten is the emphasis on forming relationships. To become a hypertext, a Zettelkasten requires multiple texts, or notes, that you can connect via hyperlinks. We call an individual note a Zettel. Zettel is the German word for “paper slip”. They are the smallest building blocks of the Zettelkasten.

Principle #2: Atomicity ⚛️

Each Zettel only contains one unit of knowledge (one thought)and one only. These units are the atoms to which the principle of atomicity refers. In contrast:

In contrast, referring to an atomic note is unambiguous: when you reference it, you will know what the ‘thought’ is. There should be no room for guesswork. That is what the rule of atomicity means: Make sure that the layer of content and the boundaries between notes match and are well defined.

Principle #3: Personal 🧑‍🚀

There is one Zettelkasten per person, and one person per Zettelkasten.

Thinking is a different process from communicating with another person. You want your Zettelkasten to be a personal thinking tool. If you don’t keep your diary absolutely private, you wouldn’t write some things down, and you’d filter other things, therefore distorting them. Writing for yourself is and should be different from writing for the public.

Sascha, Zettelkasten Coach

1 . A unique identifier

This gives your Zettel an unambiguous address.

2. The body of the Zettel

This is where you write down what you want to capture: The piece of knowledge.

3. References

At the bottom of each Zettel, you either reference the source of the knowledge you capture or leave it blank if you capture your own thoughts.

Putting the pieces together 🧩

1. Fleeting notes

These are temporary notes made throughout the day, while thinking or reading.

Ideally, collect these notes into one "inbox" so they're easier to process later. When it’s time to process them at the end of the day, you will sort through these notes, pick out useful, interesting, or relevant ideas, and either transform them into permanent notes, or discard/archive them.

You don’t have to make fleeting notes, if you have an idea in mind, simply add directly to your permanent notes.

When taking fleeting notes from a book, start by writing the title of the book at the top of the page. Then for each idea that meets one or more of the criteria described above, write down the page number the idea was inspired by, and a word or a short phrase that will trigger the full idea in your mind when reviewing the notes at the end of the day (quick processing is critical for these reminders to work).

Here’s an example:

Example of fleeting notes in Bear Software.

2. Literature notes

These are created for a specific resource, such as a book, article, web page, etc. Notes are taken specifically on the content. These notes are typically filed separately from your permanent notes.

There are five criteria it would be beneficial for your literature note to meet:

1. Write it in your own words.
2. Write it in such away that if you read it 10 years later it would make complete sense by itself.
3. One idea per note. If you need to define a term for the idea/concept to make sense, create a term definition card and link to it from the concept note.
4. Include the complete reference for the source you got the idea from.
5. Include the relevant citation (lastName, year, pp.22).

Here is an example:

Example of Literature Note in Obsidian Software

3. Permanent notes

Once you have an idea to add to your Zettelkasten, you are ready to create permanent notes (Zettel).

Linking is a key component of creating your Zettelkasten. Every time you add a new Zettel, look through your previous notes and ask yourself: