🌱 A good workflow is carefully balanced between freedom and structure

Zettelkasten and Evergreen notes structure

Structure should enable not hinder – @theresiatansil local copy

Shortcuts, placeholders and templates give structure to (new) notes. It makes them look uniform (Colors and taxonomies, which makes it easier to see in a glance what is what (lowers mental overhead). At the same time, having lots of placeholder text quickly fills up a PKM with useless template-text. consistent naming and colouring taxonomies lowers mental overhead

Making things as simple (to use) as possible makes it easy to serialise work, working in simple steps (incrementally) that help to concentrate on the task at hand, not the procedures to get the task done.

Also the location where and how all information is stored should be always the same. Searching (for where something is) stops flow. Preferably, everything should just be linked. Going from notes, to source, to highlights and comments.

Literature notes

Transclude of ahrens_2022#^hsstructure01

– How to Take Smart Notes - Sönke Ahrens

research needs a both freedom and structure - Research cannot forced into a harness, it needs to be free so it can develop in unexpected directions - Regular advice (self-help guides) is counter-productive. It imposes on the freedom research needs to be successful - The correct workflow gives enough guidance without hindering the free flow of knowledge

Theresia Tanzil on Twitter: “The simplest structures often free people to do the most complex things. - Unhurried at Work by Johnnie Moore Think about your work. Is it the right amount of structure for the amount of complexity? Structure should enable, not hinder. https://t.co/tqWnp5OplP” / Twitter simplicity

Incremental writing is a method of writing in which ideas are written down and assembled incrementally. Incremental writing requires no linearity. It adapts to your way of thinking. ideas are written down and assembled incrementally – Incremental writing - supermemo.guru

Fleeting notes

Unexpected result after research needs a carefully tuned workflow

• difference between a working structure and a rigid framework
  • serializing work is needed for productivity and flow
    • this is at odds with freedom and the unknown
      • we need to serialize the work, not the thinking and discovering
        • These need to be separated, so that both can do what they should
• Research and learning is open ended and thus cannot be planned
  • research can go in any direction
    • it needs freedom to explore
      • the goal of learning is finding the unexpected
        • the unexpected by definition cannot be planned for