Zettelkasten Smart Notes: Step by Step with Obsidian

Summary

This video tutorial demonstrates the application of the Zettelkasten method in Obsidian, a markdown editor for note-taking and idea organization. It guides viewers through creating folders for different note types, setting up templates for quick note creation, and linking notes to form a knowledge base. The process involves capturing fleeting notes, transforming them into literature notes, and then into permanent notes that can be used to generate new insights and creative projects like blog posts or YouTube videos. The video also introduces Flowtelic, a note-taking app designed to enhance study, learning, and publishing efficiency.

Takeaways

• 📝 The video provides a tutorial on applying the Zettelkasten method in Obsidian, a markdown editor that facilitates note-taking and linking ideas.
• 🗂️ It introduces the concept of organizing notes into different folders for fleeting notes, literature notes, and permanent notes to structure the Zettelkasten system.
• 🔗 The video demonstrates how to use the Templates core plugin in Obsidian to create templates for different types of notes, streamlining the note-taking process.
• 💡 The process starts with capturing quick ideas in fleeting notes, which are then expanded upon in literature notes, reflecting deeper thoughts and insights.
• 📚 Permanent notes are created to store and interlink knowledge gained from literature notes, forming the backbone of the Zettelkasten system for future reference and new connections.
• 📑 The video shows how to create a 'Map of Content' (MOC) to outline various topics related to a theme, serving as an entry point for exploring and expanding knowledge areas.
• 🔗 It explains the importance of linking notes to establish connections and trace the origin of ideas, enhancing the understanding and recall of information.
• 📝 The tutorial includes a practical example of creating a literature note from an article about bootstrapping a startup, illustrating the process of distilling and reflecting on information.
• 🎯 The video emphasizes the use of permanent notes as a source of inspiration for creating projects, such as blog posts or YouTube videos, based on accumulated knowledge.
• 🔍 Obsidian's graph view is highlighted as a tool for visualizing the relationships between topics and identifying gaps or areas that require further exploration.
• 💻 The presenter shares their own note-taking app, Flowtelic, which aims to improve the workflow of studying, learning, thinking, writing, and publishing with consistency and efficiency.

Q & A

What is the Zettelkasten method and how does it relate to note-taking in Obsidian?

The Zettelkasten method is a note-taking system that involves creating fleeting notes, literature notes, and permanent notes, which are then linked together to form a knowledge base. In Obsidian, this method is applied by organizing notes into folders, using templates for consistency, and leveraging Obsidian's linking capabilities to connect ideas and create a network of knowledge.

What is the purpose of creating different types of notes in the Zettelkasten method?

Different types of notes serve distinct purposes: fleeting notes capture quick ideas and observations, literature notes are for deeper reflections on the material read, and permanent notes are the synthesized, linked knowledge that forms the backbone of the Zettelkasten, used for creating new insights and connections.

How does Obsidian's file system-based approach benefit the Zettelkasten method?

Obsidian's file system-based approach allows users to store notes in markdown format, organize them in a structured manner, and utilize tags and links to connect ideas. This setup is conducive to the Zettelkasten method as it facilitates the creation of a linked network of notes that can be easily navigated and expanded.

Outlines

00:00

📓 Introduction to Zettelkasten in Obsidian

The video begins with an introduction to the Zettelkasten method, a note-taking system that involves creating fleeting notes, literature notes, and permanent notes. The presenter explains how these notes are linked together in Obsidian, a markdown editor that allows for the organization and connection of notes. The process involves creating folders for each type of note and setting up templates for quick note creation. The aim is to use the Zettelkasten method to generate new ideas, thoughts, and connections, and to pose questions against a 'slip box' of knowledge.

05:00

📘 Creating Literature and Permanent Notes

In this section, the presenter demonstrates how to convert fleeting notes into literature notes, which involve a deeper reflection on the content, and then into permanent notes. These permanent notes are stored in a 'slip box' and linked together to form a network of interconnected ideas. The process includes creating a 'Map of Content' (MOC) to outline topics and themes, and using templates to standardize the note creation process. The presenter also discusses how to use the Obsidian core plugin to enable templates and create a folder for them.

10:03

🔗 Linking Notes and Building a Knowledge Base

The video continues with a detailed explanation of how to link notes within Obsidian to build a comprehensive knowledge base. The presenter creates a 'Map of Content' for bootstrapping a startup, outlining key areas such as the definition, benefits, and skills required for bootstrapping. Each permanent note is linked back to its originating literature and fleeting notes, ensuring traceability of ideas. The presenter also explains how to adjust Obsidian settings to facilitate the creation of sibling links and how to use backlinks to navigate the interconnected notes.

15:03

📝 Applying Zettelkasten for Creative Outputs

The final part of the video focuses on applying the Zettelkasten method to create creative outputs such as blog posts and YouTube videos. The presenter outlines a process for drafting a blog post on bootstrapping a startup, using the linked notes as a source of inspiration and information. The video concludes with a discussion on the benefits of the Zettelkasten method for testing understanding and identifying gaps in knowledge, as well as a promotion of the presenter's own note-taking app, Flowtelic, which aims to streamline the study, learning, and publishing process.

Keywords

💡Zettelkasten

Zettelkasten is a German term that refers to a system of knowledge management that involves taking notes and then linking them together to form a network of interconnected ideas. In the context of the video, the Zettelkasten method is applied in Obsidian, a markdown editor, to organize thoughts and create new insights. The script mentions different types of notes, such as fleeting notes, literature notes, and permanent notes, which are all integral to the Zettelkasten system.

💡Obsidian

Obsidian is a markdown editor that allows users to create and connect notes in a non-linear, linked manner. It is file system-based, meaning notes are stored as markdown files. The video script describes how to use Obsidian to implement the Zettelkasten method, emphasizing its features like linking, tagging, and embedding notes within others to facilitate the creation of a knowledge base.

💡Fleeting Notes

Fleeting notes are temporary notes that capture quick ideas, observations, or thoughts that come to mind. In the video, the concept is used to describe the initial stage of note-taking in the Zettelkasten method, where ideas are quickly jotted down from various sources like web articles or books, serving as a raw material for later reflection and deeper analysis.

💡Literature Notes

Literature notes are a type of note in the Zettelkasten method that contain more in-depth thoughts and reflections on the material read or consumed. The script mentions creating literature notes from fleeting notes, where the creator engages with the material more critically, adding their own insights and interpretations, which are then used to form permanent notes.

💡Permanent Notes

Permanent notes are the distilled essence of an idea, formed after processing literature notes. They are meant to be a part of the creator's long-term memory and are stored in a 'slip box' or, in the context of the video, within Obsidian. These notes are linked together to form a network of knowledge that can be referred back to and built upon, as demonstrated when creating a map of content for 'bootstrapping a startup'.

💡Templates

In the video, templates are used in Obsidian to streamline the process of creating new notes. They provide a consistent structure for different types of notes, such as fleeting notes, literature notes, and permanent notes. The script describes setting up templates for quick note creation, including metadata like the creation date and a section for references, which helps maintain consistency and organization in the Zettelkasten system.

💡Map of Content (MOC)

The Map of Content, or MOC, is a tool used to outline various topics for a given theme within the notes. It serves as an entry point to the topics and helps in organizing the knowledge in a structured manner. In the script, the MOC is used to create an outline for 'bootstrapping a startup,' which includes subtopics like what is bootstrapping, benefits, skills required, and goals for bootstrapping.

💡Backlinks

Backlinks in Obsidian are links that point from one note to another, creating a network of interconnected ideas. The script discusses using backlinks to establish traceability of ideas, showing the connections between fleeting notes, literature notes, and permanent notes. This feature is crucial for the Zettelkasten method, as it allows for the exploration of relationships between different pieces of knowledge.

💡Bootstrapping

Bootstrapping, in the context of the video, refers to the process of starting and growing a business with minimal external funding, often by the founders themselves. The script uses bootstrapping as a theme to demonstrate the application of the Zettelkasten method, showing how to extract insights from various sources, reflect on them, and link them to form a comprehensive understanding of the topic.

💡Projects

Projects, as mentioned in the script, are creative outputs or tasks that utilize the knowledge compiled within the Zettelkasten system. The video describes using the insights gained from the permanent notes to create blog posts or YouTube video scripts. This demonstrates how the Zettelkasten method not only aids in knowledge organization but also in the practical application of that knowledge to achieve specific goals.

Highlights

Introduction to applying the Zettelkasten method in Obsidian for knowledge management.

Explanation of the different components of Zettelkasten: fleeting notes, literature notes, and permanent notes.

Demonstration of how to use Obsidian as a markdown editor for note-linking.

Creating folders for different types of notes in Obsidian for organization.

Enabling the Templates core plugin in Obsidian for note creation efficiency.

Creating a 'note template' for consistent note formatting.

Utilizing a 'map of content' template for outlining topics in notes.

Creating a fleeting note from an article with a focus on capturing quick ideas.

Transforming fleeting notes into literature notes for deeper reflection and analysis.

Developing permanent notes for long-term storage and linking within the Zettelkasten system.

Building a map of content for 'bootstrapping a startup' as an entry point for related topics.

Adjusting Obsidian settings for creating notes in the same folder for consistent linking.

Creating individual permanent notes on specific aspects like 'what is bootstrapping' and linking them.

Using backlinks in Obsidian to trace the origin of ideas and concepts.

Visualizing the knowledge graph in Obsidian to identify relationships and gaps in topics.

Applying the Zettelkasten method to create projects like blog posts or YouTube scripts.

Integrating permanent notes into a draft for a comprehensive understanding and writing process.

Introduction of the note-taking app 'Flowtelic' aimed at improving study, learning, and publishing efficiency.

Emphasis on consistency in the knowledge management process for effective learning and understanding.

Transcripts

welcome back to another video in this

video i'm going to be

showing how to apply the zettelkaster

method in obsidian

in my previous video i covered an

overview of the different components of

the zettelkassen where you've got the

fleeting notes

the literature notes the permanent notes

how you link those together

so that you can use it to create new

ideas

new thoughts new connections and ask

questions against your slip box

in this video i'm going to show how to

assemble that using obsidian

so here i have a brand new obsidian

vault and if you're not familiar with

obsidian it's basically a markdown

editor that allows you to connect notes

together

in what we call linked thoughts and it's

a file system based

application where your notes are stored

in markdown

and you can organize them in a structure

and use tags and links

and embed notes in others so let's get

started the approach we're going to take

is to create folders for the different

types of notes

so for example we have fleeting notes

we have literature notes

and we have permanent notes so in the

fleeting notes we're going to store our

ideas

capture things that we've seen on the

web that are of interest

and generally record quick ideas about

things

in our literature notes these will be

our

thoughts out of stuff we've read

consumed such as videos

where we're thinking more creatively

about what it means

to us and getting a bit more deep

thinking

and then our permanent notes is where we

store those permanently in our slip box

and link everything together and it's

our permanent notes that we will ask

questions against so that we can gain

better understanding

whether that's if we're creating a blog

post and we want to pose a new

insight or a new question will we use

our permanent notes as a source of

information

for that so before we get started we're

going to go into the settings

and enable the templates core plugin

so this plugin here allows us to create

a template of which we're going to

nominate a folder

for our templates now i don't have a

folder created here i'm just going to

create that quickly

we'll call this templates

and in the settings i will select

templates as my folder

what this allows us to do is to set up a

quick way of creating

a fleeting note eligino to a permanent

note in our templates folder we will

store a template that we're going to use

as the basis for all our note types

so we'll create the first note as

a note template

i'll call it that and we're going to

create a title using the hash for the

markdown title

and we're going to use the template

notation called title

we'll just put some metadata to say when

we created it

and we'll add a section called

references

and start a bullet point list which we

can then fill out

and we'll put some space where our note

details will go

so with that saved it's now called note

template when we create a new note we

can use that template

to insert that and it will fill out the

title the date and the time

based on the file name of the note that

we've just created

i'm just going to create one second

template called

map of content or moc for short

i'm going to give it a title and i'm

going to start a numbered list

and this i will use to outline various

topics for a given

theme into my notes so let's say i want

to create

a new fleeting note an example would be

i'm reading an

article i love this article my product

is my garden

where it talks about how creating a

product doesn't need to be a

huge endeavor it doesn't need to be a

massive investment

you don't need to raise money for it but

actually sometimes it's good

to have a project or product that is

almost like gardening where you just

want to pot it around in the garden

and work on it over time as something

that kind of fulfills yourself as

a bootstrapped founder so we're going to

use this as an example of where we're

going to create

our fleeting notes so the first thing

i'm going to do i'm going to copy

the url for this and we'll create a

fleeting note

in here called my product is my garden

and i'm going to insert the template

called note template now we've filled in

the details

that we created here and i'm going to

create a reference here just put the

link in so i know where it came from

and this is where i would now read the

article and just create very quick

kind of snippets out of it i would

highlight things

and we'll do that very quickly and then

we'll take that through into

literature notes

okay what i've done here is i've just

captured some highlights from this

article and i've put them into this

fleeting note

so now i don't need to reference the

original article

in its entirety i can just look at this

note and get a summary of the bits that

were relevant to myself

so next we want to create the literature

note that goes with this

and i'm going to call it my product as

my garden again

i'm going to insert the template note

template

and i'm going to split my view

vertically

so that i can have my original version

here

and i can now put my individual thinking

around these points that i've

highlighted

so i'm going to do that now and then

we'll take that through two permanent

notes

okay i've finished creating my

literature notes based on this

it encompasses things like you know

entrepreneurs are faced with the

challenge of building a business

that is fast growing and hiring lots of

people or bootstrapping

and going at a more slower pace things

like there's a pressure to do

things fast and to break things but it

is that

uh but is that always the right approach

so it's posing a question now

about challenging the status quo taking

the

my product is my garden approach it

actually gives you permission to think

more slowly about the creation of your

startup we cover things like doing it in

small parts

over time and enjoying the process we

also cover things like

doing the research exploring practicing

mastering the smaller details needed to

move the project forward

with our literature note complete i'm

now going to create a collection of

permanent notes

that will embody the knowledge that

we've gained from this and we'll start

linking these together

now you won't always be starting from an

empty collection of permanent notes

you will normally build on this over

time and add things

insert things update things as you go

to start with i'm going to create a map

of content just to outline

the areas of the content based on what

we've just learned that i want to

include

if i already had a map of content of a

subject i would probably

add items to that so i know where i'm

adding information or i'm updating

information

so within my permanent notes let's

create a map of content

and i'm going to call this bootstrapping

a startup

so this now is an entry point to the

topics around bootstrapping a startup

i'm going to use the new template called

map of content

and i'm going to start outlining the

areas that i want to encapsulate now in

my permanent notes

the first one i'm going to do is what is

bootstrapping

one thing i want to do next is to be

able to just create these

notes directly by either control or

command clicking

but before i do that because this is a

new vault in

obsidian i need to go to the settings

i need to go to files and links

and i want to change the default

location for new notes

at the moment is the vault folder but i

want to do the same folder as the

current

file so that means if i'm creating links

whether i'm in my literature notes my

fleeting notes my permanent notes

i'll be creating sibling links in the

same folder

so with this now selected i can command

or control click and create that note

so i've got what is bootstrapping i can

then go insert template

note template and now i've got this one

ready to fill out

on the left hand side here i'm just

going to switch to my literature note

so that i know what i'm referencing and

now i'm going to use my literature note

as a reference and start completing

information about the various things in

my permanent notes

here i will have something like what is

bootstrapping and then i'll create

another note

what are the benefits of bootstrapping

and i'm going to use something in my

article here

to add to what i would have as a

collection of benefits

because i'm going to be using it as a

source i'm going to add it as my

references

so i'm going to use the double brackets

and i'm going to use my

product is my garden literature note so

now i've got

traceability of where this idea came

from back to my original note here

and in fact i'm also going to add a

reference here

to the fleeting note my product is my

garden

so i've now got full traceability of

where those ideas came from

okay so now i have

this note here and i've got to this note

by linking

from my what is bootstrapping and the

benefits

so i'm going to click the backlinks and

this brings up the backlinks folder here

and now i can see

how i got to here so i'm going to go

back to what is

bootstrapping where i've got this and

i'm going to go back

up to bootstrapping a startup in my

map of content here i'm going to add

number two and i go benefits

benefits of bootstrapping i'm going to

add some other things

now from this article that allows me to

build up my map of content around

bootstrapping a startup

okay i'm just going to add two more

notes into my collection here

so the first one is skills required to

bootstrap a startup

and again using my literature note i'm

going to

fill out the information that i've

gained from here into

my permanent note

so i've encapsulated a few points here

around

bootstrapping and the skills required

and i'm going to create a reference

to this literature note so that i've got

full traceability back to

where the ideas originated now that i've

completed this note

i can go through and complete the final

one which i've got goals for

bootstrapping and startup

and my final thoughts here are just two

points

the goals are to become profitable so

you can support the business full-time

and to deliver incremental value so that

you gain new users

so the point of a bootstrapping business

is that you are

growing slowly but consistently so here

we have completed a map of content

around bootstrapping a startup we have a

fleeting note

where we took extracts from an article

it may be quotes from a youtube video it

may be highlights from a book the

fleeting notes can come from any source

then we take those into literature notes

where we start thinking

more holistically about those highlights

that information

so that we can add our insight into it

in a very quick way then we take those

literature notes and we bring them into

permanent notes

where we start layering them into the

relevant places within our slip box

so that we can then start linking them

together

within obsidian we can now see an open

graph view of what we've created

this is a great way for us to see how

different topics

relate to other topics and whether we

may have gaps or we may have

too many links coming from a particular

area that sort of dilutes

the ability to get meaning out of those

links

so the final part of this video is now

thinking about what you can do

with this knowledge now that you've got

it so

let's create a new folder and we'll call

this projects

within the projects we may want to

create a blog post that we want to

publish

or it could be the script for a youtube

video and we want to use our permanent

notes as a source of inspiration

so that when we start writing we're not

doing it completely from scratch

so in this case i might want to create a

new blog post and i'm going to call this

bootstrapping a startup

and here i would start outlining the

various parts

of the blog post that i want

so thinking about this i would say what

does it mean to bootstrap

who can bootstrap a startup the benefits

the drawbacks any tips and a conclusion

this would be a rough outline of how we

want to structure things

and with the zettelkasten slip box you

can now start decorating

what you want to talk about in here so

for example

what does it mean to bootstrap so i've

got an article

called what is bootstrapping so i'm just

going to link this in here

i haven't really covered much on who can

bootstrap

maybe that's an area that i can add into

my permanent notes

to look at the types of people who do

bootstrapping the types of people who go

for

venture capital funding uh and types of

people who

probably wouldn't create a a business in

this way

we also have an article about the

benefits so we can link that in

i haven't really covered the drawbacks

of this so that's another area where i

probably want to

spend a bit more time in my research

we've got some tips that we can cover

with the skills required

and then the conclusion we would

summarize this article

in a conclusion once we've pretty much

written

the main body of content now one thing

that you can do with obsidian is that

you can

add an exclamation mark in front of

your links so when you're in a preview

mode you get to see

exactly what you've pulled in there

so this is a good way to reference your

notes so that as you start building out

your your main article you get an idea

and again what i can do here is i can

split my view

so i have my preview so i can re view

those inline

and then over on the left side i can

edit this so an example

of this would be where i now start

writing

a first draft about bootstrapping

in the way that i'm talking to an

audience member for my blog

so here's an example of where i may

introduce the topic of bootstrapping as

a start

startup where you create a business that

is fully self-funded often

founders will do this in their spare

time while they're working for another

company

now we won't go into too much detail

about the copywriting of writing an

article in here

but as you can see you can create your

drafts here and when you want to clean

it up you can just remove the

exclamation marks

and now you you can see the individual

sections of what you are

writing so in conclusion i hope this has

been a great overview of how you can

take the zettelkaster method

where you can take fleeting notes

literature notes link them together with

permanent notes

and then create projects from them where

you get to ask questions about your slip

box

about an insight that you have and then

you can use it to create blog posts

youtube videos and

various other kind of creative outputs

where writing is predominantly the main

output of what you do

one of the main benefits of this is that

you get to really

test your understanding by writing it

allows you to see the links and the gaps

in your understanding and essentially

find the places where you need to create

more insight

more understanding bringing more

articles and research and books

into your fleeting notes and literature

notes and start building up your

permanent notes

over time now as i finish up this video

i would just like to share with you what

i'm working on

it's my own note-taking app called

flowtelic and the idea here is that it

helps you study

learn think write and publish with

maximum efficiency

and consistency so as i explore this

whole zettlecaster method

and note taking in general there's a lot

of ideas that i've got around the

workflow that i want to improve on

most notably around doing things

consistently and building up your slip

box

over time so this is the app

where i would create study notes ideas i

can organize those into what we call the

archive create projects

and track other things like books that

i'm reading and people

the idea here is that the workflow is

going to be completely configurable

but the most important thing that i'm

very excited with this product

is the focus mode where you get to do

small amounts

every day and compound it over time so

the knowledge that you put into your

slip box the books that you read the

articles you read

they're only as useful as how consistent

you are at doing it

and this is where i want flotellic to

really shine where

daily you create study sessions organize

your ideas and notes

and work on your projects and you'll be

doing different things at different

times so projects you work on

in one day maybe from notes that you've

created two or three or four

weeks ago and then the idea is that you

get to create work outfit you get to

blog from it

and you get to publish that work and

that's a really great way to build your

own audience around the topics that you

love

find your tribe and really improve your

note-taking and your understanding

so if this is of interest to you uh

please go to join.flowtelect.com where

you can join the waitlist

and you get to try out the app

immediately while it's in sort of an

open beta

and the idea here is that it's a

bootstrap business much like the topic

we've covered in this video

and that over time it's just going to

get better and better

so thank you very much and see you in

the next one