You’re right, save that search is nothing without a great index and it happens I have made one… If you want to know how an analog index works search for more info on what is a Zettelkasten, as my own ‘system’ is very close to that. Using that index I can find any book I’ve read (and my notes about it), any notion I’ve ever written about (be it a book or mere vague ideas),and I can find them in a matter of an instant. No matter how old it is, how short or how… flimsy it can be compared to other and much thicker parts of my notes and research.
At my humble level, my system has become my second brain as well as a precious companion allowing for deeper conversations with… a better/smarter version of myself.
I tried digital mind you, I started using a computer in the very early 80s and must have tried a lot of those digital tools (even contributing money and suggestions to a bunch of of them), but as far as I’m concerned nothing beats pen and index cards and the most essential part linking them all: indexes (plural, as I use two different ones).
That is super cool! I’ve vaguely heard of Zettelkasten, but everything was in a digital context. To use it for pen and paper did not cross my mind till I saw this!
It’s an amazing tool. And I would love to see for much more younger people give it a chance.
If you want to give it a chance, the only things I would advice you to keep in mind are:
be ok with spending enough time using it… in slow motion. New habits take time and practice before they become natural, even more as far as writing goes.
Keep it as simple as you can. You don’t need to make it bulletproof/perfect before you start using it, quite the opposite. It’s an organic system that will grow and change at your pace, don’t force it into any preconceived direction because someone told you you should do it like that, or because it’s trendy. Don’t worry about categories or tags, or even about devising the ultimate numbering and indexing system. It’s wasted time. The system is devised for evolving naturally (one of the reasons I don’t fancy many of the digital apps: too rigid in their way) without ever needing to rebuild everything from scratch. To give you an idea, in my own system co-exist multiple numbering systems that I used and abandoned along the years, without any issue. My index(es) also changed a few times. But I never had to rewrite a single index card. Ever. Really, it’s amazingly efficient provided you don’t try to make it be the ‘ultimate’ and perfect system.
That’s awesome! I’m always looking for tips and tricks, including stop making things too complicated with the tips and tricks (reaching for the ‘ultimate’), and keeping it simple ;-)
You can have all the orgaization methods you want but, imho, notes over an extended period of time are almost worthless without search
You’re right, save that search is nothing without a great index and it happens I have made one… If you want to know how an analog index works search for more info on what is a Zettelkasten, as my own ‘system’ is very close to that. Using that index I can find any book I’ve read (and my notes about it), any notion I’ve ever written about (be it a book or mere vague ideas),and I can find them in a matter of an instant. No matter how old it is, how short or how… flimsy it can be compared to other and much thicker parts of my notes and research.
Edit: https://zettelkasten.de/overview/ (it’s in English). To get a glimpse of a 100% analog version (like mine), check Luhmann’s work (the one who formalized the idea, an idea people had been using centuries before he formalized it): https://niklas-luhmann-archiv.de/nachlass/zettelkasten (this one is in German).
At my humble level, my system has become my second brain as well as a precious companion allowing for deeper conversations with… a better/smarter version of myself.
I tried digital mind you, I started using a computer in the very early 80s and must have tried a lot of those digital tools (even contributing money and suggestions to a bunch of of them), but as far as I’m concerned nothing beats pen and index cards and the most essential part linking them all: indexes (plural, as I use two different ones).
That is super cool! I’ve vaguely heard of Zettelkasten, but everything was in a digital context. To use it for pen and paper did not cross my mind till I saw this!
It’s an amazing tool. And I would love to see for much more younger people give it a chance.
If you want to give it a chance, the only things I would advice you to keep in mind are:
That’s awesome! I’m always looking for tips and tricks, including stop making things too complicated with the tips and tricks (reaching for the ‘ultimate’), and keeping it simple ;-)
(like many communities around here) not the most active one but feel free to post questions/share your experience/doubts over there: the more people will do the more people will be likely to participate.
!pkms@lemmy.blahaj.zone (https://sh.itjust.works/c/pkms@lemmy.blahaj.zone)
Who needs search when you have binders?