Build a Zettelkasten in 2024 (Productive Thinking Method)

[@ldcross2]

Just wanted to thank you for your body of work. I’ve watched a lot of Zettelkasten, PKM and notes app videos, and read many blogs and books. I have to say your body of work, here on KZbin, has made these concepts accessible and usable. I watched your entire channel over the weekend and within the last 24 hours, I’ve installed Obsidian and started entering notes without intimidation. This video is so timely, as I start to build the backbone of my system. Thank You, again!

[@dsuthapong]

Thank you so much Denise! 🙏🏻 Your comments mean so much to me and it really helps me keep going with this channel despite a pretty busy work life 😂 Please let me know if you have any questions while using this system 😊

[@chiyungwong3774]

It’s obvious this system works because you have provided us with such a valuable resource, this productive thinking system.

[@dsuthapong]

Thank you so much! Hope you find it helpful 😃

[@d120veronicabuenfil4]

This is one of the best explanations about Zettelkasten easy and practical, thank you very much Darin 🙏 Subscribing!

[@dsuthapong]

Thank you so much for your comment 🙏🏻

[@darthcuteius]

Highly underrated. Thank you and Good luck!

[@dsuthapong]

Thank you so much Darth! 🙏🏻

[@maxli9629]

This is really nice. Can't wait to see the following videos!

[@dsuthapong]

Thank you Max!

[@HistoryByTolstoy]

Bro you have started this productive things at early age because of this you are going to be the next generation of Nicholas 😉 trust me

[@dsuthapong]

Thanks so much 🥰 Super glad that this is helpful

[@ruygranja]

Thank you for making it simple to understand and not intimidating to implement!

[@Fakepilot]

Have looked around a lot and I really like this method. Simple does not mean less powerful.

[@dsuthapong]

Thank you so much 🙏🏻❤️

[@jsigncst]

you're The One, Darin. Thnx from Argentina

[@dsuthapong]

Gracias!! Thanks so much!

[@guthrien]

This was a quite good take on what I would say is a pretty common idea. Your version is simple and memorable, I like it.

[@dsuthapong]

Thanks so much Guthrien. Hope it was helpful 🥰

[@wongsimon2387]

That's so informative. Thank you, Darin.

[@dsuthapong]

Thank you :)

[@g7vdm]

I can’t wait to watch your next videos. Thank you so much for sharing ❤

[@dsuthapong]

Thank you! 🙏🏻

[@Mr.clemclem]

Simple. Powerful. Thank you 🙏

[@dsuthapong]

Thank you!! 🙏🏻

[@gioargentati7802]

Awesome video! Thank you for posting, Darin!

[@dsuthapong]

Thanks Gio!

[@YWYCco]

Hello Darin! A question about Reference notes: Let‘s assume you read a long article or watch a long video, how do you organize the reference note? Do you break it down into several reference notes (each having the same author and source) or do you have one single long reference note with all lessons that you learned from that article/video? If the latter, how do you organize key lessons within that long reference note? Or do you have one main-reference note and several „sub-„reference notes within that main-reference note for the key lessons? Getting to know your workflow would be highly appreciated. Thank you again 🙏

[@dsuthapong]

Hi! Great Question :) I always has 1 reference note for 1 source (whether it is a video, a book, or a long article). This way you can go back and see all the raw notes you take from that source. Regarding organization, I create "Sections" using headings. For example, for books, I realized that the best way to organize my reference notes is to break it down into Chapters. So in the reference notes, I have headings for each chapter. FYI, in obsidian, to enter a heading, you need to press # (for a big heading)... ## (for a smaller heading)... ### (for an even smaller heading). For example, to create a heading for "Chapter One," you type " ## Chapter One " and you will get a nice heading to separate long reference note into a manageable chunks. Hope this is helpful :)

[@YWYCco]

@@dsuthapong appreciate, thank you

[@eltonleao3979]

It's so wonderful to watch someone who deeply lives what they teach. We can learn something new in literally every sentence you speak. Really inspiring. Thanks for sharing your knowledge 🙏

[@dsuthapong]

Thank you so much 🙏🏻❤️

[@puntripakwasin9040]

Love your videos. Thanks, Darin! 😊

[@dsuthapong]

Thank you!

[@vintprox]

Thank you, Darin! I just was looking for modernized Zettelkasten and randomly discovered this nice explanation. Never thought about automatic daily notes, it's a game changer!

[@dsuthapong]

Thank you so much 🙏🏻 Yes, the auto daily note is an extremely helpful and crucial part of the modern zettelkasten ^^

[@josevargas686]

You are doing brilliant work here! This is truly a wealth of information too large for some people to gather on their own, and you put it in a short concise and eloquent video. Thanks!

[@dsuthapong]

Thank you so much for your thoughtful comments 🙏🏻 This mean so much to me as I put a lot of effort in each video.

[@TreasureMapsGenealogy]

Fantastic job as usual! You have helped me, an old guy, understand and develop my own modified Zettlekasten workflow. Please continue making videos. You are making a difference! 💛🐭🪕

[@dsuthapong]

Thank you so much for your encouragement 🙏🏻 🥰 Will definitely make more contents this year :)

[@Greg_Wheeler]

This is so helpful. You got me thinking more on how I can structure my notes. Keep posting awesome stuff!

[@dsuthapong]

Thanks so much Greg 😍

[@Mickey-bo6cv]

This is absolutely amazing! Thank you so much!!!

[@dsuthapong]

Thank you Mickey 🙏🏻

[@cossack4930]

This was one of your best…and they are all great. Could you do an in-depth video on tags and metadata please. I never really know for sure when do use a tag and how do use it

[@dsuthapong]

Thanks so much Cossack 🙏🏻 and yes, a video of tag and meta data will be interesting :)

[@username00009]

Think of tags like folders, except a file can have more than one tag, whereas a file can only live in one folder unless you create a copy. Your folder name can easily be converted to a tag.

[@HistoryByTolstoy]

Thank you for your productivity system it very very helps me

[@pilarguerrero3405]

Hi Darin! I really like your Productive Thinking Method, I think I have a similar system also in Obsidian, which I created after watching your video on Zettelkasten using Obsidian. I would really like to see how you use tags as a classification system, so far I am using folders, which work well enough for me. This is a wonderful video, thanks a lot for taking the time to create it.

[@dsuthapong]

Thanks so much Pilar! Actually works as well as tag for classification, but i just usr tag since to allows be to easily do subtag like #reference/people for more precise classification :)

[@pilarguerrero3405]

@@dsuthapong Thanks!

[@vacsa]

Thanks for sharing!

[@LM67286]

That's such an amazing video 😍 I want to become a deep thinker but it was so intimidating to try and digitize the zettlekasten method in a simple, frictionless way. I'm so glad I found you! 🎉❤

[@dsuthapong]

Thank you! I’m still learning myself too! Let’s learn together and become a deeper, sharper thinker day-by-day🤓

[@mustafasaeed4448]

Very good video Darin. I do think evernote has a backlink functionality though it was introduced recently. All you have to do is click on the plus button on the top of the note window and select add note to backlink the current note to another existing note.

[@dsuthapong]

Yes, i just found out and was excited about this!! Thanks for letting me know ☺️

[@raniarav]

Sua explicação é perfeita. Finalmente entendi como implementar o sistema. Muito obrigada!

[@dsuthapong]

You’re welcome 😊🙏🏻

[@hn29723]

Great video and very well explained ... thank you for that. Maybe a tip on how to improve KZbin video's in Obsidian. In KZbin, go to share, embedd and add the link to your reference note. You can play the video directly in the note. This can help to review the video in a smoother way. This way, you also can link to specific time stamps.

[@dsuthapong]

Nice tip! Thank you! Embedding KZbin video is very helpful 🥰

[@m45nu5]

Thank You!

[@dsuthapong]

My pleasure 😇

[@Dr.Kanapon]

alway awesome !

[@dsuthapong]

Thanks krub!

[@iszammajid1800]

I miss Thailand just by listening to you. 😅

[@dsuthapong]

Come by and Say Hi to me sometimes! 😁

[@wiramonol5266]

I could use more information and specific examples on the Connect step in your workflow. Especially connecting your new permanent note with permanent notes from months ago.

[@dsuthapong]

Thanks so much for the suggestions. I’ll make more videos showing that process

[@kettaiyong2959]

Hello Darin. Thank you for your quality explanation. I am trying to start the Zettelkasten system in Electrical Engineering mainly for my own job functions and continuous learning. I have a question. By using the analog index cards method. How is it possible to inter-reference the notes as they get bigger and bigger in quantities ? Hope to hear from you. Thanks.

[@dsuthapong]

Hi there! That’s the main drawback of the analogue system: it is challenging to scale. Niklas Luhmann used the alternating number and letters(a.1.1.a) as cards id and you can keep inter-referencing these numbers.

[@michelmoy5221]

Could you help me clarify when to use properties instead of just tags? Thank you for everything you share.

[@dsuthapong]

Thanks for watching my content! You might want to use “properties” if you intend to use the “data view” feature in Obsidian. If not, simply using a hashtag is more convenient and simpler :)

[@TH-tl8hy]

Hi Darin, your videos have been a huge support and encouragement to me during the slow but rewarding process of setting up my zettelkasten in Obsidian. I have a question for you, in fact it's the most annoying question I can't seem to figure out. How do I take a Reference note and make it into a Permanent note? For example, if I watch three KZbin videos from your channel on the Productive Thinking Method, I would need to make three different reference notes to capture my thoughts, since there were three videos? And then would I create one permanent note linking back to those reference notes? Would that permanent note contain all my insights on the Productive Thinking Method? Or would that be a Hub note instead? I'm confused! If I remember correctly, Luhmann wrote that a permanent note should be "one thought" (or something like that), but that sounds to me more like a daily note or fleeting note. I would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks for the help!!

[@dsuthapong]

Hi there! First of all, sorry it took so long for me to reply! TT And thanks so much for your comments and question! This makes me realized that I would probably need to clarify the process of transitioning from reference notes to Permanent notes more!! First of all, if you haven't watched this video yet, I would highly encourage you watch this! Hub Note Explained (The best way to use Obsidian Canvas!) kzbin.info/www/bejne/f6XHdJ6EoNh_bZo Let me give you an overview and then tackle your question one-by-one

[@dsuthapong]

Overview Reference note: notes about things you want to capture/remember from a media source (book, youtube, class, podcast) Permanent note: a single idea you distilled from reviewing the reference notes

[@dsuthapong]

Example: This is a recent examples from my recent reference notes: kzbin.info/www/bejne/j4iaqoewpsqXq5o Here is what I jotted down in the reference notes: In order to work efficiently .. you need to focus - 3-4 hours of deep work pair with rest seen to be the most optimal state - Eliminate things that you don't enjoy - Focus on high-leverage activities - ==you need to improve other parts of your life to advance yourself to the next level== - You need up your skill all the time - You need to be free to be creative and have good ideas - your brain is more active when resting Here are my permanent notes - [[3-4 hours deep work paired with rest appears to produce the optimal productivity]] - [[You need to focus your time and energy on your business to grow it to the next level]] - [[You need to improve other parts of your life to advance yourself to the next level]] - [[Your brain is more active when resting. Creativity needs a relaxed brain]]

[@dsuthapong]

As you can see, there are a lot of overlap between reference notes and permanent notes.However, I didn't wrote down everything from the reference notes. I also wrote down more ideas and my interpretation regarding each concept in each permanent note. The key decision point that told me whether I should turn what I captured in the reference notes into permanent notes is answering the question "Will this be helpful for me in the future?" Or "Is this something that resonating with me enough?"

[@dsuthapong]

Q&A 3 Videos = 3 Reference notes? A: Yes! One Permanent note pertains to one thought? A: Yes! In fact, some of my permanent notes have very little content in it. How to link Reference notes and Permanent notes? What about Hub notes? A: It's very simple 1. Write things down in reference notes 2. Review those notes, and then create Permanent notes WITHIN the reference notes 3. If the permanent notes are relevant to a Hub note, then link it to a Hub note Through these steps, you can trace the source from Hub note, back to a Permanent note, back to a Reference note.

[@hn29723]

Do you crystalize your captured stuff every day? I often capture things that sound interesting but without a concrete research behind. How to you make permanent notes out of this kind of captured data ?

[@dsuthapong]

I capture stuff everyday, and when I have time, I turn those raw data (daily and reference notes) into permanent notes 1-2 times a week. When I create permanent notes, I ask myself these questions: - What I want to remember? - What are the key learnings from this material? - What would my future self want to know? - What could be useful in the future? You also have to be careful not to write too many/too much on permanent notes, but shouldn’t restrict yourself to the point where you have too few permanent notes 😂 Creating permanent notes is definitely a balancing act. Once you start doing this, you can “feel” whether you are creating too much, or too little. And you can adjust overtime. Good luck !! Hope this is helpful.

[@robertragan-fq6ij]

This is so well explained, and I am a big fan of this methodology. I've been using Scrintal and really like it, can't this be also be done there?

[@dsuthapong]

Thank you! 🙏🏻Yes, definitely you can use Scrintal too, but now that Obsidian has canvas features i need to see what are the differences that Scrintal offers over Obsidian

[@robertragan-fq6ij]

@@dsuthapong I'm a visual learner and Scrintal has really worked for me. I tried very hard to get Obsidian to work for me in my personal flow, but it is a bit too techy for me. But, I know it is about the methodology, and again I appreciate your clear teaching methods and I think that your changes to Zettelkasten to modern-day digital age are very good and on point. Keep doing what you do, Darin. 💛🐭🪕

[@demancey]

I thought Evernote introduced Backlinks earlier this year. Is THAT how it was implemented ( 24:43 ) ???

[@dsuthapong]

Oh man! I just realized they now have backlinks!!! kzbin.info/www/bejne/g53Wmp6siLiVp68 Thanks for letting me know 😁

[@RameshKumar-ng3nf]

Hello, i completely lost in your beautiful video editing ❤👌 Timestamp 03:29 looks so beautiful ♥♥. How did you do that ? Please do share me the plugins etc you using in FCP. 😊

[@dsuthapong]

Thanks Ramesh 😊 I actually use Canva to create the animation in this video.

[@RameshKumar-ng3nf]

@@dsuthapong Thank you so much for sharing 😊🙏

[@ranag2718]

Darin what do you use to create your slides?

[@dsuthapong]

Hi Rana! I use canva.

[@biesseti]

This is great content! One thing I don't understand 100% is: I have a permanent note, how do I decide if that creates a new HUB note or it is a child note of another permanent note in a train of thoughts? (Unless I'm missing something)

[@dsuthapong]

Thanks so much Federico! As the name suggests, a hub note is designed to be a “hub” that many permanent notes can link to. A hub note is created with the intention to understand a certain topic or serve a specific problem. For example, “How to sleep well” is a Hub note… so every time you find any permanent notes that can help supports this, you would like to the hub note. Linking to a Permanent note happens when i found a similar or contrasting ideas.

[@biesseti]

@@dsuthapong got it, this explains it. Supporting concept -> link to hub and similar or contrasting -> link to permanent. Great thanks!

[@tanatosan]

Just curious, how to use Hub Notes? From your explanation, it seems that you will keep on updating Permanent Notes, and build Second Brain from there, but you also mentioned about Hub Notes being summarization of Permanent Notes.

[@dsuthapong]

Thanks for a timely question. This will be covered in the very next video. Please stay tuned 😊

[@tanatosan]

Thank you. Right now I am using both Bullet Journal Method and Zettelkasten for work and second brain purpose. Initially tried to do all in Zettelkasten and suffered from linkage and lack of structure so bad that I gave up so I use both!

[@walterwhite003]

can we do this analog.

[@dsuthapong]

Yes you can. You can check out the process of the original Zettelkasten (which is 100% analog) here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/h2PdimqiZ9mtpbMsi=LUvOkm0wDFHJgDJK

[@ShivamSahu-oi9st]

Sorry mam for asking question again but I follow your work style in zattelkasten so doubts come here and there. My question is how to differentiate permanent notes with same question or topic . If we Research on same topic so many times some questions come with another prospective then we confused how to write both prospective in permanent notes

[@dsuthapong]

Great questions! It’s pretty common to create very similar permanent notes over time. When that happens, you can merge them together or delete the other note :)

[@m.underhill5989]

I actually dont like Obsidians graph view. The placement of notes never stays the same so its more of a floating notes gimmick but it doesnt really help in visualizing connections..to me. I do love Obsidians canvas tho.

[@dsuthapong]

Agree that graph view is a bit hard to use. You might want to check out Scrintal if you like the canvas view

[@HistoryByTolstoy]

And your the interest in the productivity show on your face

[@marvinc.5199]

Hey Darin, Many thanks for another great video and your thoughts on the evolution of the Zettelkasten system 🙏🏽. I really like the simplistic approach and focus of your notes: tag, source, content & related notes - that's all it needs. Have to admit that I tend to "style" my notes templates a little too much. I'm also a huge Notion fan, maybe that's why 😉 Speaking of styling things. You can easily make those links prettier by highlighting the content that should be linked, use the shortcut ⌘+K and paste the URL. Keep up the good work and I'm looking forward to the video on how you use your Hub notes.

[@dsuthapong]

Thanks so much for your comment Marvin 🙏🏻 Yes, my notes are now much simpler. It used to be much more complex than this though, but I recently simplified the format to only what I need ☺️ And thanks for the cmd + k trick! I didn’t know this works in Obsidian too. I’ll definitely try it out 😀