# Introduction to the Zettelkasten Method ## Source Information - Author: [[Sascha]] - Full Title: Introduction to the Zettelkasten Method - Category: #source/articles - URL: https://zettelkasten.de/introduction/ ## Highlights synced on 2024-01-10 > The Zettelkasten Method needs some practice. First, you will have the feeling that you don’t do anything useful. But with a little bit of practice and patience, you will surprise yourself and produce gems of knowledge. > A Zettelkasten is a personal tool for thinking and writing. It has hypertextual features to make a web of thought possible. The difference to other systems is that you create a web of thoughts instead of notes of arbitrary size and form, and emphasize connection, not a collection. > It is possible to produce more in less time, but not with less effort per time. > The Zettelkasten Method allows you to concentrate on a small part of the problem and after that take a step back and look at it with a panorama vision > Normal note-taking will create a bloated mess over time. The Zettelkasten on the other hand will scale itself automatically to the size of the problem you are tackling. > It is not important where you place a new note as long as you can link to it. > If you want to replicate the functionality of Luhmann’s Zettelkasten, you would have to create a hypertext and limit your entry into it via the most central pages on a topic, from which you would continue by following links. > Let us begin with the most important traits of a Zettelkasten: > It’s hyper-textual. > It adheres to the Principle of Atomicity. > It is personal. > First, it is some kind of hypertext, not a single text or just a collection of texts, but texts that refer to each other, explain, expand and use each other’s information. The difference between regular note-taking systems and a Zettelkasten is the emphasis on forming relationships. A Zettelkasten makes connecting and not collecting a priority. > each Zettel only contains one unit of knowledge and one only. > there is one Zettelkasten per person, and one person per Zettelkasten. > There are three components that each Zettel has: > A unique identifier. This gives your Zettel an unambiguous address. > The body of the Zettel. This is where you write down what you want to capture: The piece of knowledge. > 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. > If in doubt, write the note, within the confines of your deadline. If you knew whether or not every piece of knowledge would be relevant to your final product, there would be no reason to take notes, because you would already have the final product in your mind. > Also, Luhmann had hub notes. These are Zettels that list many other places to look at for a continuation of a topic. > To create Zettels about the relationship between other Zettels, is called a Structure Note. The practice of creating Structure Note will further train your ability to deal with general patterns of knowledge. Capturing the results in your Zettelkasten so they will be available for later use.