From the early modern slip box, made a numbered and linked system by Niklas Luhmann (Kommunikation mit Zettelkästen, 1981) and popularized by Sönke Ahrens (How to Take Smart Notes, 2017).
A note system of one idea per note, each with an ID and dense links to related notes, so a network of ideas grows over time and feeds writing.
When to reach for it
When long-running knowledge work, such as research, writing, or advising, needs ideas that connect across years instead of sitting in folders.
How it runs
- Capture notes while reading or thinking.
- Rewrite each capture as one idea in plain words.
- Give each note an ID and a descriptive title.
- Link every new note to the notes it relates to.
- Revisit and refine notes as understanding grows.
Where it sits in SOLVE eX
- Any step: Tools that serve every step: habits of thought and checks on the thinking itself.
Go to the source
- Kommunikation mit Zettelkästen: Ein Erfahrungsbericht, Westdeutscher Verlag, 1981
- How to Take Smart Notes, 2017