Zettelkasten and Evergreen notes workflow
Short self containing note about one idea or concept
- Good (evergreen) notes are atomic, meaning they are about one specific thing, but still try to be as complete as possible
- Too small: loose functionality, always need several notes together for cohesive understanding
- Too large: one note will have more then one idea, this will make it harder to create a good title, and to link to other notes A permanent note should answer one specific question
An atomic note is taken out of it’s original context, so it must be able to stand on its own. It should be true even without its original context.
When creating an atomic note, one has to keep in mind that a note has more then one purpose:
- One idea, compact, but more or less complete A quote is an idea without context. An idea without context is ill-defined, and cannot be used
- A potential card to use with spaced repetition
- A link in a line of thought note sequences are the key to ZK, they create clusters that birth new ideas
(Primary) Sources
If you adhere to the principle of atomicity, you aim to map one idea with one note in your Zettelkasten. –🥫 Why the Single Note Matters • Zettelkasten Method
Transclude of ahrens_2022#^cdde9a–How to Take Smart Notes - Sönke Ahrens on context
The underlying principle I’d call the principle of atomicity: put things which belong together in a Zettel, but try to separate concerns from one another. If you’re a programmer, separation of concerns should ring a familiar bell. I deal with notes in a fashion similar to complex code. Instead of writing classes, I create new note files. Accordingly, patterns emerge: there are argumentative notes; there are notes with term definitions; there are sparks and ideas. Each Zettel pattern fulfils a different purpose.
Atomicity fosters re-use which in turn multiplies the amount of connections in the network of Zettels. – Create Zettel from Reading Notes According to the Principle of Atomicity • Zettelkasten Method