The FUN and EFFICIENT note-taking system I use in my PhD

The Zettelkasten method of note-taking and knowledge management changed my life and saved my PhD! Originally used by Niklas Luhmann, a German sociologist who wrote hundreds of articles and over 70 books in his lifetime, "zettelkasten" means "slip box" because Luhmann's system was in a literal slip box filled with note cards. I host mine, though, in a program called Obsidian (link below). If my overview of this method got you intrigued, here are some other resources to check out that go into more detail:

0:00 - Introduction
2:44 - Core Principles of Taking Notes
4:59 - Take Fleeting Notes
6:25 - Make Permanent Notes
7:47 - My Obsidian Folder
8:47 - Bibliographic Notes
9:40 - Transcribing Fleeting Notes
10:50 - Naming my Notes
11:49 - Forming Connections
14:22 - Graph View
15:29 - Conclusion

#gradschool #notetaking

[Mightydoggo]

As someone suffering from severe short term memory issues due to ADHD, systems like that are pure gold for self organization. Thank you for sharing your approach with us!

[andrewpiereder]

After a number of years of answering questions on Quora, I quit for reasons that aren't important, but I downloaded all the answers I had written, which amounted to thousands of pages. As I was reading some of them, I surprised myself. It was like reading something someone else had written. That happened a number of times and I realized I was losing important insights in the disorganized warehouse of my brain. Since then, I've been experimenting with different methods with some success, but I was blown away that there is actually a system that hyperlinks through the brain. It's kind of embarrassing that I've never heard of the Zettelkasten method until I saw your video. Thanks again for sharing...

[IT-Cowboy]

"Everything is Knowledge!"

That is powerful. Regardless of where you are in your brain filling journey, never stop learning and never stop wanting to be proven wrong because at that moment, you are learning something new. And it allows us to open to a conversation of understanding one another rather than wanting to just be right (Winning improperly). Love this content!

[RoomieOfficial]

This is such a succinct and clear overview of this system - thank you! I’ve been wondering if I should try it out, the concept has been very fuzzy to me, but now it’s clear it’s not the right fit for how I think - but obviously amazing for many others! Thanks again.

[mandelkuchen]

- Core Principles of Taking Notes
1. Write all the time
2. Everything is knowlede
3. Notes are irreducible complete thoughts
4. Knowledge is interconnected
- Take fleeting notes
- While reading a book for example: sticky notes
- Make Permanent Notes
- Obsidian Folder:
- Make Bibliographic Notes
- Transcribinc Fleeting Notes
- Naming Notes
- Forming connections
- Graph View
- Conclusion: Trust the system!

[davetaylor]

I am trying to find a way for my daughter (in year 9) to improve her learning process and I was thinking mind maps were the answer - she gets them. This is mind maps on steroids, mirroring the way our brain works holographically to connect ideas into a schema that we can apply to life. Great video, thanks mate and good luck with your PhD - also it looks cold outside your window there!

[DexieNygma]

As a german, it took me half the video and the explanation of how the original worked to notice that zettelkasten is german 😂

[soulomama]

I was hooked when you said "Knowledge Management System." Yes, and thank you for the tutorial.

[ceasec]

This is one of the best, most cogent videos I've ever seen on the topic of creating a Zettelkasten. I finished my MA in literature, and I'm planning on pursuing a PhD—this type of video is so invaluable. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

[MotherMuse]

Fourth year student in psychology PhD program here. A couple thoughts. First, fantastic overview, thank you, this system looks amazing... I'm motivated to learn more! While I wish I knew of this sooner -mostly done with classes at this point- but like you said, may be very helpful for dissertation. Second, I'm wondering about pulling the notes in our own words directly out of the saved notes and connections and dropping them into the paper as you spoke about at the end of video. Love the idea of the writing already done, but I think I will run into the issue of self-plagiarism at some point, since many research topics for papers have overlap across classes. That said, I can see it working best for dissertation, since it's often a giant research paper diving into one specific area. Really appreciate you sharing this!

[trondknudsen]

The best way I've found of organising large amounts of notes, quotes and written thoughts while reading is using qualitative data analysis software such as NVivo or RQDA. Personal wikis with multi-tagged pages such as TiddlyWiki are also very handy.

[radio]

This is the single most helpful video I’ve watched on Obsidian, and I’ve watched hundreds. There is no shortage of intelligent people on YouTube trying to explain how to use Obsidian. You are at the top of the tree. I was trying to find and explanation on how to link references sources and this is the best system I have seen so far. Thank you for sharing your system, and not making it overly complicated. Much appreciated.

[math]

This video has been a real slow burn for me for about 6 months. I completely committed myself to developing my Zettelkasten about a week ago. I'm really pleased with how well it centers my thinking. I'm especially excited because I know I'm only beginning to see the results.

Thanks a lot for posting this video. It's helped me a lot.

[raychiu]

Your video is amazing! I clicked on it out of curiosity, and my mind is blown. You did an excellent job explaining a complex subject in a concise, easy to follow, manner. I’m going to internalize the principles and dive into the rabbit hole. Thank you for sharing!

[charlespaulinus]

I haven't even finished watching this video. I'm just amazed by your communication skills. You're awesome

[alexandrinamehandzhiyska]

I've watched a ton of videos about Obsidian, but this one has undoubtedly been the most useful for me. I love how you walk us through your thought process and show a live example, instead of simply throwing out some random theoretical concepts and tips. Thank you!

[DolbroDan]

really good, very clear and straight forward explanation. I'm glad the system is working for you. I'm not an academic but i'm guilty of having scores of scraps and notebooks littering my home. So I definitely feel the need to use Zettlekasten to connect the dots... :P Good luck with your dissertation! Greetings from Northern Ireland.

[libitum_ad]

Best overview of the concept behind Obsidian I've seen so far. thank you :)

[fadviola]

This is the most simplified and easiest-to-follow tutorial on zettelkasten and obsidian I can find on the internet. Thank you so much!

[trinifernandez]

I love this. Been writing my undergrad thesis for a little over a year now, and by far the most challenging part has been remembering the things I read months ago and using them where I originally planned it. Thank you so much for the video! <3