If you read my last two posts you know I have started reading "A System for Writing" by Bob Doto.
I skimmed through it before reading it proper and at the end theres this appendix about answering some questions.
Here is a question and answer that stood out to me:
Is a zettelkasten a second brain?
No. Second brains are comprehensive. They’re meant to include meeting notes, driving directions, friends’ birthdays, captured thoughts, business ideas, and more. A zettelkasten is comprised solely of ideas. Thus, it is not a second brain.
This reminded me of another quote from an Obsidian video by JayTheDevGuy
"[I]f you have ever Googled "best note-taking app", I'm sorry. The note-taking rabbit hole starts there with an endless stream of suggestions and comparisons between programs and ends with guides on how to build a second brain lifeOS Zettelkasten using the PARA method and kanban task integrations..."
I agree with the general sentiment of the video. Your note taking system should only have added complexity if you need more out of it. You should start small and expand when you want to incorporate more.
So how do we increase complexity correctly? I do not know! But here is my attempt:
Intention begets invention! What is the principle goal of the system you are developing?
The two systems I am interested in right now are Zettelkasten and Getting Things Done.
Zettelkasten is focused on knowledge management. Drawing connections between ideas and storing them so they can be found later.
GTD is focused on task management. Its goal is to keep track of what you need to do.
Both of these systems have some similarities that I can point out even without investigating them too deeply. They both have Inboxes and are both built on the idea that the brain is unreliable and you should externalise things you need to remember.
They also both suggest you store things that are not useful now in its own folder (Zettelkasten calls it a Sleeping Folder while GTD calls it an Incubation folder)
Although these systems are built to manage different things, they are clearly compatible in some sense
Having a seperate inbox for Zettelkasten and GTD is silly if you are doing both. A general inbox that can then be sorted into the two seperate systems would be good I think.
So think about what you actually want your system to do.
In my blog post from a couple days ago I talked about my feelings about those productivity youtubers who talk about these types of systems.
I think there is a type of productivity influencer who shows you their system and how they use it that is good entertainment. I do not like the ones that say "THIS system will change your LIFE" and neglect to provide where they heard about this method, how they developed it and who it is useful for. (This take was cordially taken from jaythedevguys video.)
I think if you are trying to do research on how to build a system like this youtube serves as a good surface level that exposes you do the terms.
Systems found on youtube are often already filtered through multiple lenses. I think its best to find the original text or best resource that the youtubers are pulling from instead.
For Zettelkasten it is A System for Writing by Bob Doto
For GTD it is Getting Things Done by David Allen
Learn from the source and adapt it to your needs instead of learning from someone elses adaptation.
That is pretty much it right?
You need your systems and your tools.
Develop your own system and tweak it to your needs as you go
Dont be afraid to restart!
Last thing is don't be afraid to use multiple tools
For example I used Obsidian for my half-assed GTD implementation but I recognised that Obsidian is not that good for habit tracking (at least without plugins).
So for habit tracking I used a spreadsheet instead.
So I have been keeping up with my reading. I read chapter 1 today.
The book is seperated into 3 parts and part 1 is all about Capture.
It is well organised (so far) and each subchapter is practically bite sized. It kind of reminds me of a more organised Enchiridion if that makes sense?
Obviously Enchiridion was not about note taking but this approach to sharing information is very interesting.
I wonder how far you can push this small-chunk format.
Could you write a book about the human brain where each subchapter is at most 5 pages?
I think after this book I want to read GTD.
I want to read a good book on skill aquisition too.
It's all well and good to store information and data but you can't become a master carpenter if all you do is remember everything about carpentry.
Make it stick covers some of that but I think it is mainly focused on students in a school environment? I haven't finished it.
From what I have read it has a good emphasis on practice.
Managing practice would be the thing I need to learn.
Thanks for reading polyblog!! If you have any suggestions feel free to contact me!
Maybe I should set up an email that people can write to... thatd be so cool...