30+ things to make zettelkasten notes about!

The first 500 people to use my link will get a 1 month free trial of Skillshare! skl.sh/morganeua03241
Feel free to keep the list going in the comments section!
✨TIMESTAMPS✨
0:00 - Introduction
1:43 - Notes to Take While Reading
9:38 - Notes to Take in Daily Life
14:42 - Notes on Educational Content
18:00 - Conclusion
✨MEDIA USED✨
Family photos video by cottonbro studio: www.pexels.com/video/a-family...
Running video by cottonbro studio: www.pexels.com/video/woman-ru...
#zettelkasten #notetaking

[@stonethecrows555]

Wonderful content, as always! For those of you thinking "Dang, those were great suggestions! Wish I'd taken notes..." because you now can't remember what all was covered: A. Notes to take while reading - Investigate beautiful phrases - Emotional responses to passages - Apply lessons from the text to your own life - Document perspective shifts - Explanations in your own words - Connections to other texts - Ideas to research further - Meta-analysis of the text’s structure - Meta-analysis of the writing style - Historical context - Biographies - Questions left unanswered - Things you disagree with - Character development - Connections to current events - Connections to other media B. Notes to take during your daily routine - How you overcame a challenge - Decision-making and problem-solving thought processes - Things that made you laugh - Snippets of conversation - Progress on hobbies - Workout progress/routines - Your own past - Travel experiences - People you meet - Dreams - Anything you notice - Recipes - Stress/anxiety reduction techniques - Nature observations C. Notes to take on educational content - Craft improvement strategies - Book recommendations - Motivational or other quotes - Meta-learning reflections

[@morganeua]

One day I'll be more legit and have a printable pdf to go with the videos or something 😝 Thank you for your service!

[@timbushell8640]

Yer... "wow that was fast"... need to rewatch with an expanded spaced-out copy of your list... and fill in the gaps, or actually more likely sit with the list and transcript with an Obsidian split screen. So enhancing the listing with method thoughts and/or examples, etc. Just love the incremental expansion of a note (note cluster)/mini-essay, as time, work and mood allow you to add depth... empty notes driven by wanderings and relistening or rereadings like these things. I work off a daily note anyway, and that model works well with these thoughts.

[@foxgloved8922]

I always struggle with taking too many/too detailed notes and then not having time to get all the key points from material I’m studying. Working on taking down things in smaller chunks. This is helpful for brainstorming when and how to take notes. Thanks :)

[@morganeua]

I also find it helps me to start my notetaking with a straight up synopsis of the whole text! Then I've got those key points in my head while I'm making all the other little notes.

[@edwarr2]

Thank you for this list. It is a gift. I think sometimes we just assume that one will effortlessly fill their Zettelkasten with wonderful, thoughtful notes. However when you're just getting started it can be difficult to get inspired about what to write about. I think we probably also tend to out-think ourselves and feel that perhaps such-and-such isn't important or useful or not worth the time to note. For me your list is a treasure. You've provided many wonderful, inspiring ideas.

[@morganeua]

I'm so glad! Yes, sometimes it seems that people are afraid to take notes because the notes don't feel important enough. But that's why we have the zettelkasten! We can take notes on everything and still find them again!

[@kerropioff-brand8991]

These days I've been mostly reading via audiobooks, but all your note ideas inspire me to manage my time better so I can physically read and engage with books on a deeper level. Great ideas as always Morgan, thanks and have a good day!

[@morganeua]

I take some notes while listening to audiobooks, too! Oftentimes I'll pause the video and take a quick note on my phone in Google Keep. It's not super easy, but I love audiobooks, too!

[@katiemarshall8033]

I’ll be starting my phd in October and I’m excited to go back and look at your zettelkasten/obsidian note videos for how I can take notes on the papers I read!

[@morganeua]

Awesome! What will your PhD be in??

[@katiemarshall8033]

@@morganeuaimmunology! More specifically, the underlying way the mechanosensor PIEZO1 is regulated to kickstart inflammation and the innate immune response when intestinal cells are infected with gram negative bacteria. The mechanosensor bit is really important because rather than chemically sensing the bacteria which is what happens almost all of the time, it is the physical ruffling or distortion of the cell membrane itself that starts the signalling process really, really quickly

[@walkingexercise5375]

Great ideas!

[@flowingblaze]

Thank you for this lovely video! I would be very interested in your deeper thoughts on topics you mentioned in "notes to take in daily life" section. Particularly the topics that are about writing about memories as memories are interesting to me. Great video as always Morgan, have a lovely day!

[@user-cx9qs3sc5x]

Thanks Morgan for these tips. I started this system because of you and it has been a life saver in terms of note taking. I'm being to write an journal but that is now the challenge. Finding the notes of the things I want to include. I do find that as I write, I need to re name many of my notes that are so generic in naming. Hahaha.

[@morganeua]

Yeah, I've been very happy with my choice to give notes very specific, descriptive names! I'd don't know where I'd be without that!

[@ProductivePM]

Thank you Morgan, I really appreciate your presentation style and the knowledge you are presenting is AWESOME!

[@lajourdanne]

10/10 fantastic video! Would love to see a video or two on some of the less traditional examples you gave 🤍

[@brunobondarovsky2247]

Another great video!! Thank you! I'm struggling with managing the time I spend to write the notes. Whenever I read books, articles, or watch classes, I end up with tons of new information in my mind. I typically write down bullet points or brief paragraphs on paper, in a document, or in Obsidian, my new tool. I'm also experimenting with the Zettelkasten method. However, after creating one or two notes, I feel overwhelmed by the thought of turning all the info into individual entries. It feels like I'm faced with a never-ending to-do list to organize my thoughts. I am not doubting the process, but I'm struggling to adhere to it! How can overcome this state? I think I am looking for a way to strengthen my skills on the building blocks. I'm considering exploring Skillshare you suggested for guidance, but I'd appreciate direct advice on that. I also would like to know if you have an online 1to1 or student groups mentoring. 🙏

[@gregggullickson]

Lovely video. Here’s one I’m trying. I look for complex ideas and try and abstract them to simple ideas. For example, I’ve been hearing the word substrate used on podcasts and knew I did not know what it meant. I asked Perplexity for a definition and some examples and then teased out of the provided material the following: Thing 1 :affects/catalyzes: Thing 2 :which sometimes produces: Thing 3. I then asked Perplexity if DNA and Environment are the substrate of a human’s attributes, and AI said that was close. I especially enjoy your pace and energy level in your videos.

[@shinkuro6331]

could you please make a video on how to annotate research papers? i get overwhelmed when every other line has a citation and is so much more information dense than books. and i don't know whether to annotate those differently or to look into those first and it just gets so hard to keep reading with all those uncertainties.

[@rubenromeroruiz]

Greetings from México!!

[@mikequist1]

This was really helpful. Please make another video when you have a list of 30 more note suggestions.

[@morganeua]

I can definitely do that!

[@savoirculture]

Thank you Morgan, your channel has really been a game changer for my own PhD. I was wondering: do you have a system in place for regularly reviewing your notes on Obsidian? Notes on my PhD can be "naturally" remembered because I often use them to write documents, therefore I find myself "exposed" to them. But what about the notes from side readings or daily life? How do you manage to remember them and not just let them fall into oblivion?

[@morganeua]

I'm the same right now where most of my work in Obsidian serves my PhD, so I'm regularly looking at most of my notes already. So, no, I don't right now have a system to review notes. But it's a really good idea and I honestly should 😛 It is always fun running into notes I'd forgotten about! I have this future video idea where I get a note randomizer plug in that surfaces a random note and then I HAVE to build connections to it/start note-taking from there. Or write a blog post using it, or something. I should do that soon...

[@savoirculture]

@@morganeua I think that's a super intereseting idea, looking forward to this future new video (and all the other as much interesting ones that will probably come out before then)! Good luck for your work and please keep giving us your valuable advice and feedback!

[@michaelvantil495]

Thank you for your great suggestions and inspiring videos. Nice to see a fellow bare foot running learner 😉. Good luck on finishing your PHD.

[@morganeua]

Are you planning to go full barefoot or stick with the barefoot shoes? I'm using the Xero Prios right now. I'm hoping my next marathon could be in them!

[@michaelvantil495]

@@morganeua cool! currently I am sticking to barefoot shoes. Got two pairs of Vivobarefoot (one for daily workouts and running on urban terrain and one for trails) but only started approx 1 year ago. But so far it works out well, although my calves are killing me after a longer run (5+km) Hope the Xeros are good? For me a marathon is not in the planning but a half one on barefoot would be a great goal for me. Have to say I love your suggestion to write down the experience and progress documentation on that. Thank you again 🙏🏻. You do great things 👍🏻

[@VoilaAmanda]

Hi! i've just discoverd your channel while searching for infos on Obsidian and i have to say that your videos are the most helpfull for the beginer I am! I have a question about how to make note on a big subject: i'm currently learning a 4th language and i want to write about my learning in obsidian with the zettelkasten method (verry fitting, i'm learnng german XD) but i find it difficult to apprehend for exemple i'm writing about prononciation and more specificaly digrammes so i write in my german leraning page about it and then create a note for digrammes and then I write about german digrammes in it... but when i'm going to do the same with english and spanish and french they all are going in the same digramme note and it's going to be a mess... I don't know if it's very clear ^^' Any advices? how would you do it?

[@kamalahasanmoorthy2066]

"*God Bless Everyone Take Care All Long Lives 100 years and above all*"

[@josebolivar4364]

Curious to know how many notes you have written using the Zettelkasten method.

[@morganeua]

My file explorer says I have 1,524 Files in my vault, but not all of those are atomic, permanent notes. And at least 165 of those are source/literature notes!

[@Tewahedo]

Hi, I recently came across zettelkasten system. But it is overwhelming for a new person, do you have any step by step videos how a new starter build this system and start using it? My main focus is to use it for reading a book and taking note from that book. Thank you.

[@morganeua]

Yes! The first video I made on the zettelkasten has helped some people learn the system. If you go to my channel it should be one of the first ones you see because it's my most popular video!

[@Tewahedo]

@@morganeua Okay, thank you!

[@thewicked8040]

Nice video! Can i ask you how many notes you create from a book on average?

[@morganeua]

It's really hard to say. I might write zero notes on a novel and just give it a literature note with a summary. And I might write like 20+ initial notes on an academic book that is super useful to me. But over time that number keeps increasing as I work on other projects that are relevant to other aspects of the book! I think the most backlinks I have on a book right now is 24. But I'm not done taking notes on that book, so the number is going to grow :P The average for academic books right now is probably closer to 5-7 backlinks. But again, that'll increase slowly over time!

[@zalibecquerel3463]

Heck yeah! I've personally got a lot of benefits from using a personal ZettelKasten, as well as one for study. This begs the question "How many obsidian vaults do I need". There is obviously lots of debate on this, and different approaches work for different people. I have three: A "personal/daily" one, a "study" one and a "my big hobby" one. Not just to keep the information separate, but because the workflow and templates are different. E.g my recipe for stew doesn't need an ISBN number or an academic reference :). Any opinion on keeping multiple obsidian vaults?

[@morganeua]

I'm a single vault girlie! 😛 But I was going to have two vaults, it would be for exactly the reason you mentioned. Right now, though, I actually use Notion for more project-based activities. So I store my knowledge in obsidian, but I store my like, life-organization and temporary stuff in Notion. Like, I might have ideas in obsidian that I use to write a video script in Notion. So I don't know if I'll need more vaults. I do use folders to keep things separate, though, like PhD specific notes. If I was a dungeon master or I was collaborating on a project that required a lot of knowledge exchange, I'd probably open a new vault for those things

[@zalibecquerel3463]

@@morganeua LOL Re: Dungeon Masters. I've seen Obsidian vaults of people who've done their entire PhD in Obsidian.... they're tiny compared to some of the multi-campaign, multi-year world-building dungeons. I imagine possibly the only thing that would top that would be Dwarf Fortress or NetHack... but then I'd never get any work done!

[@timbushell8640]

Possibly the best use case of a second vault is from Nicole van der Hoeven, her primary vault is where much of the work gets done, but then much of the 'mostly complete' notes then get shuffled over to her 'public' vault which she publishes via the Obsidian and other plugins, even with her modified change log... It is worth dipping into if there is any part you feel you want to share formally. Otherwise, most of her notes have some open access, but they are 'pure' notes not 'published into more like Wiki page' on a topic.

[@mrd6869]

I am using these notes but in a different way. Im building an AI application that learns to think,reason and do its own research by looking up things & integrating it. Was thinking perhaps applying this note taking approach and see if the agent software can use it to help organize its thoughts. Yes i said thoughts🤣

[@maxtized5422]

i really dislike to atomize my reading into different notes but because you can link to headings with obsidian i structure the ideas of a text that way

[@studyinginthedesert7690]

I do the same thing! I 'atomize' per heading and link to other headings in other files.

[@morganeua]

Ah, that's awesome. Yeah, my workflow is totally different, I'd be so interested to see your notes!

[@ChrisAldrich1]

Perhaps it's something buzzing in the air, but as I watch this I can't help but wonder what your entry to "Dance Your Ph.D. Contest" will look like when you're done...

[@morganeua]

Oh, I really hope I get to juggle at my PhD thesis defense at least! I'm not a dancer, though, so I don't know how that would go... :P

[@gregggullickson]

Phrases Emotions Lessons Shifters Explanations Connections Research Structure Style Context Author Questions Disagreements Character Events Media Challenges Decisions Humor Snippets Hobbies Reflections Memories Dreams Attention Recipes Destressors Nature Books Quotes Metalearning

[@morganeua]

It's like a found poem :)

[@All5Horizons]

I think I might be in love