The FUN and EFFICIENT note-taking system I use in my PhD

An overview of Sonke Ahrens' "How to Take Smart Notes" is available on the book summary app Shortform! Sign up with my affiliate link to get a 20% discount on an annual subscription 🎉 ➡ www.shortform.com/morganeua
The Zettelkasten method of note-taking and knowledge management changed my life and saved my PhD! Originally used by Niklas Luhmann, a German sociologist who wrote hundreds of articles and over 70 books in his lifetime, "zettelkasten" means "slip box" because Luhmann's system was in a literal slip box filled with note cards. I host mine, though, in a program called Obsidian (link below). If my overview of this method got you intrigued, here are some other resources to check out that go into more detail:
The best book length overview of the zettelkasten system is "How to Take Smart Notes" by Sonke Ahrens. I find it useful for getting inspiration and there's an audiobook, too, if you just need a refresher/some motivation: takesmartnotes.com/
By far the resource I return to the most is a post by Sascha on the Zettelkasten website called "Introduction to the Zettelkasten Method." I also just surf that website whenever I run into an issue with my own zettelkasten, because 100% someone has answered my question there: zettelkasten.de/introduction/
Obsidian has a VERY useful "help" section once you download it. It's definitely worth checking out: obsidian.md/
Other software people use for a zettelkastem, other than Obsidian or a literal slipbox, are Notion (www.notion.so/desktop), Foam (foambubble.github.io/foam/), and Roam (roamresearch.com/).
There are so many KZbinrs talking about zettelkasten and Obsidian!! Including Bryan Jenks ( • 👑️ My 2021 Comprehensi... ), John Mavrick ( • How I Take SMART Notes... ), Martin Adams ( • Zettelkasten Smart Not... ), and Artem Kirsanov ( • My simple note-taking ... ).
0:00 - Introduction
2:44 - Core Principles of Taking Notes
4:59 - Take Fleeting Notes
6:25 - Make Permanent Notes
7:47 - My Obsidian Folder
8:47 - Bibliographic Notes
9:40 - Transcribing Fleeting Notes
10:50 - Naming my Notes
11:49 - Forming Connections
14:22 - Graph View
15:29 - Conclusion
#gradschool #notetaking

[@bellhammer]

No joke. There was my life before this video and now my life afterwards. This video led me down a path that has transformed my study habits. I used to have to set an alarm so I could regularly take breaks from studying. Now I find it gains a momentum of its own and I continue to study well past my alloted time. Thank you so much for putting this together for me!

[@Sir_Runz_alot]

EXACT the same here!

[@hzwanepol6947]

LOL. Obsidian has a Pomodoro plug-in

[@kathykraut4491]

I can see my grades improving a lot! Thanks for taking the stress out of note taking! 😌😊

[@mk12pickle]

I am NOT an academic by any means, but I am researching ways to embark on the journey of going to university. that means I need to know how to learn, take notes and be an academic. I read the comments so I know if im getting close, so thanks!

[@superrainman]

What a great update. It's fantastic to read your post and read the positive change this video made in your life. I'm going down this road myself and I'm grateful to see how uplifting this whole "knowledge managment" community is.

[@mandelkuchen2288]

- Core Principles of Taking Notes 1. Write all the time 2. Everything is knowlede 3. Notes are irreducible complete thoughts 4. Knowledge is interconnected - Take fleeting notes - While reading a book for example: sticky notes - Make Permanent Notes - Obsidian Folder: - Make Bibliographic Notes - Transcribinc Fleeting Notes - Naming Notes - Forming connections - Graph View - Conclusion: Trust the system!

[@JessiDenver]

Great note taking 😉

[@tacitus5665]

that sounds a lot like word salad

[@mandelkuchen2288]

@@tacitus5665 it is

[@XeL__]

- save 17 minutes reading key points timestamp

[@edswitzmaking9986]

Thank for a concise and informative video. your summary and links will be very useful in my note taking.

[@justinramos3881]

This is probably the most concise and effective video on how to create a zettelkasten without overcomplicating the process. Well done!

[@ellenmarch3095]

I love German. I only speak about 10 words, but the ones I know always describe aspects of human experience that no other language even touches.

[@Mightydoggo]

As someone suffering from severe short term memory issues due to ADHD, systems like that are pure gold for self organization. Thank you for sharing your approach with us!

[@morganeua]

Honestly, we all have fallible memories! But this system has helped me so much, especially when I'm literally sitting at my computer and I can just search something in my personal system!

[@Mightydoggo]

@@morganeua True, though I bet most people don´t get up in the morning and find their phone in the refrigerator. 😅 The search function is so super powerful, I´m writing a book right now, the fact alone you can just type the name of a character and see *all* interactions within the chapter is insane. Put a character development flow chart on it and you´ll never lose track again of who did what and why!

[@ahriman1608]

@@Mightydoggo "get up in the morning and find their phone in the refrigerator" i've got that problem with my Coffee all day ^^

[@thepicturesband]

@@morganeua Your clarity is awesome and I cant wait to implement these principles

[@katec561]

Me too @Mightydoggo. I think this system would be amazing for my ADHD. I hope I’d be disciplined enough to make notes! But considering I have a whole lot of disorganised notebooks - I’m curious to learn more to see if it works with the way my brain naturally functions & helps my short-term memory.

[@betofc89]

4:33 "Your knowledge is just a network of interconnected thoughts." Nice.

[@andrewpiereder2768]

After a number of years of answering questions on Quora, I quit for reasons that aren't important, but I downloaded all the answers I had written, which amounted to thousands of pages. As I was reading some of them, I surprised myself. It was like reading something someone else had written. That happened a number of times and I realized I was losing important insights in the disorganized warehouse of my brain. Since then, I've been experimenting with different methods with some success, but I was blown away that there is actually a system that hyperlinks through the brain. It's kind of embarrassing that I've never heard of the Zettelkasten method until I saw your video. Thanks again for sharing...

[@itellyouforfree7238]

The same happened to me while revising some answers I gave on Stack Exchange. Apparently I was a smart fella some time ago...

[@Damngoodcoffee_n_cherrypie]

Thank you so much for making this video!! I have ADHD. When writing a paper, I tend to get bogged down by the sheer number of ideas that pop into my head. I’ve tried many other note taking techniques but this is the only method that brings to light how ideas are interconnected, an important stepping stone towards achieving a coherently organised essay.

[@HiiImChris]

do you take Adderall ? I had the SAME issue as you, it's hard to describe what actually have bad adult adhd is like, but it can be debilitating and a detriment to your efficiency and even your direct mood & motivation. I started Adderall xr, you just take it in the morning, and it can really assist with getting back to that 'normal' level of motivation and focus. additionally if you have adhd, I found that the stimulants actually have no 'euphoric' effect and primarily integrate to change your flow and has virtually no direct affect on anything else (other than if you have pre-existing severe heart problems)

[@Damngoodcoffee_n_cherrypie]

@@HiiImChris I have tried Adderall but found better results with Ritalin. As I’ve grown older (in my mid 30s now) I’ve become a lot better at managing myself and also standing up for myself. So I have been able to go med free :)

[@flora_fitrapy]

I relate with you. I have ADHD

[@BrianHallmond]

I wasn't going to watch this video but because of this comment I will now.

[@Nanakai]

OMG. I totally relate to it.

[@azmyrax]

THANK YOU. I was overwhelmed with my PhD lit review and I thought I couldn't do it anymore. So I stopped studying for half a year. After watching your video, I have restarted my PhD journey today. I can't thank you enough. I feel like I can do this. Thank you thank you thank you.

[@morganeua]

That is wonderful. I've totally been there. There have been months and months where I have made no progress on my PhD because it's intimidating or I don't know how to move forward or whatever. But the zettelkasten has totally helped me, too! It does a lot of the work that our brains were never meant to be able to do alone :)

[@summergautier5608]

I am absolutely floored by the usefulness of this video. This is so beyond brilliant, I REALLY wish it had been advised to me earlier in my academic career. Wow.

[@morganeua]

Right? Me too! I wish I had gotten ANY advising about knowledge management prior to starting my PhD!

[@bengrimes8542]

This is the *best* introduction to Zettelkasten I've seen. The short practical example makes all the difference. Thanks for sharing!

[@DiaryofNomad]

I cannot express to what extent you have simplified my academic life just now. I have been taking handwritten and digital notes, and either find myself re-writing thoughts or just having pretty useless organization tactics. I love this. A million thanks!

[@JoshWaites]

I'd like to say a massive thank you for making this video. I am a final year plant science PhD student, and I have come to the point where I can see the thesis on my horizon. I have been completely freaking out about coming to writing and the fact that most of the things I've read throughout the PhD have slid out of my brain as I've gone along... I also spend the majority of my time in a lab, so reading papers is not something I have masses of time to do. I am now coming to look deeply at the literature surrounding my project again (after my first-year literature review), and I was searching for a method to store the things I read and notes I take on the literature better. This video is the one that pointed me towards the Zettelkasten system and Obsidian, and it has been so wonderful to bring this into my workflow. It feels like my time reading is now no longer pointless because I can actually capture the knowledge and not lose it in old notebooks/paper highlights/the leaky corners of my brain. Thank you so much for taking the time to make this video; you have genuinely helped a lot of people relieve stress in their life as well as do better research and science (which is hopefully good for everyone).

[@morganeua]

Yeah, I am so grateful that information no longer slides out of my brain into nothing. Now I have somewhere for it to slide into! It's great! I always feel like the most knowledgeable person in a zoom call because I just do a quick search in my Zettelkasten for bits of information! 😂 I'm glad I've been able to introduce zettelkasten to so many people!

[@tonytor9612]

Not if it’s intellectual property

[@3dogsgaming]

"Everything is Knowledge!" That is powerful. Regardless of where you are in your brain filling journey, never stop learning and never stop wanting to be proven wrong because at that moment, you are learning something new. And it allows us to open to a conversation of understanding one another rather than wanting to just be right (Winning improperly). Love this content!

[@tonytor9612]

Your a cyber criminal

[@johncrwarner]

Living in Bielefeld, Germany where Niklas Luhmann was the founding Professor of Sociology from 1969 to 1993 We had an exhibition of his Zettelkasten (slip boxes) at our Museum of Modern Art it was part of an exhibition entitled "Serendipity" It was interesting to see a selection of his hand written notes and the links he made with his index cards. I would call it his "external brain" We are also going to have one of our new trams named after him too.

[@zedbody]

Bielefeld? huh i thought that wasn't real

[@johncrwarner]

@@zedbody So perhaps the Zettelkasten method is just a psy-op by them LOL

[@v0id_d3m0n]

Cool! Yeah I've heard "second brain" a lot!

[@johncrwarner]

@@v0id_d3m0n I believe that Tiago Forte wrote a book entitled "Building a Second Brain" (the correct name of which I checked on my own Zettelkasten!) which is where the modern use of the term 'second brain' is derived from.

[@soulomama]

I was hooked when you said "Knowledge Management System." Yes, and thank you for the tutorial.

[@maverickbonato8164]

I really like the idea of a system that instead of becoming more chaotic the more you put into it it becomes more powerful, more useful. Maybe a bit of a pain to actually put in all the connections, I think an AI powered feature to "Suggest" what you may want to connect with what would be super cool.

[@morganeua]

That would be suuuper cool!

[@ClaudiuC]

Definitely a very useful feature and I can see that as a future monrtization feature for Obsidian, since they will need to add more premium features to be able to keep funding development in the long run.

[@johnmickey5017]

The Mac program DevonThink does exactly this - it was an awesome feature when I completed my dissertation.

[@kendensetsu1604]

@@johnmickey5017 that looks really interesting, thanks!

[@AryaPhoenix]

I am in my 2nd year of my 2nd bachelor degree and am full of regrets because I wish I'd found out about Obsidian and the Zettelkasten method earlier. So many books, papers and ideas that I could have efficiently pinpointed down in the past years.. but better late than never. Ever since I switched some time ago, I have been loving the mix of efficiency and creativity that comes with the process so much so that I now actually enjoy taking notes instead of experiencing it as a forceful and constrictive activity.

[@alfonsomrodriguezh4304]

Umberto Eco in "How to Write a Thesis" recommends starting a paper with what is usually done last, that is an outline with the names of all the chapters and subchapters as well as the paper's title. This is meant to be flexible and tentative in nature. Chapter order might change, some chapters renamed or disappear altogether, while in the paper's development the need for new chapters and subchapters become evident. Eco emphasized the importance of having a clear idea at all times of the paper's structure. I believe that using the Zettelkasten method for each subchapter rather than for the whole paper would make the whole process more efficient - cutting a steak into bite-size pieces makes eating it easier than eating it whole.

[@LorettaBangBang]

I love this idea!

[@Occamed]

How to eat an elephant, one bite at a time. Totally agree

[@klawrenc0]

Modern PhD theses (at least in my field, biology) are composites of research papers that are already published, submitted, or almost ready to submit. The introduction or synthesis chapter that introduces the thesis would need an outline such as this, but once one has the three or four "chapters" (research papers) done, this almost writes itself. With such a thesis, you write one paper at a time, starting with the first one with good data completed. Start each chapter/paper by writing the Methods--that helps you get into a writing flow, and captures details of the Methods that must be included before you have forgotten them.

[@RoomieOfficial]

This is such a succinct and clear overview of this system - thank you! I’ve been wondering if I should try it out, the concept has been very fuzzy to me, but now it’s clear it’s not the right fit for how I think - but obviously amazing for many others! Thanks again.

[@nancyneyedly4587]

It certainly was interesting, but also not for me. I think more linearly and this felt more like a mind map style which I dont follow easily.

[@perezah7852]

A channel with 7.5m subscribers, but with only 3 likes? Damn...

[@LoffizAnimationer]

Systemet kanske kan användas till att istället för att skriva låttexter, ”utveckla” texter. Tror nog däremot att jag isf skulle skapa en separat för musikrelaterade idéer (även om det går emot grundprincipen att allt ska vara på samma ställe). Kul att se dig här iaf 💛

[@haleymartin9342]

This was the most useful introduction to the ZK method I've seen, among many many books and blog posts. Everyone else seems self-conscious about sharing their actual notes, but seeing your thought process in action makes it incredibly intuitive. Not only that, but your specific examples show you're a deep and intelligent individual. Thank you so much!

[@willowthewispy]

Thanks! I'm a senior developer using obsidian for my work. It's cool to see a different way of using the system. I'm using the system more to keep on top of the things that I'm doing rather than keeping track of the things I've learned which is your primary goal... I'd like to dump one tip that was invaluable to me. There's a Calendar plugin by Liam Cain which allows you to make notes for days. This compared with todo checkboxes is very useful to keep daily diaries and logs of what you're doing and what you're supposed to be doing. You can link these daily logs to notes in the rest of your system. Usually I'm juggling about 20 tasks a day if I didn't have this system I'd be completely lost.

[@zachem66]

So even though your use-case might be different, you're basically doing the same thing as her but with timestamps for all your entries into the system. Is that the idea behind your approach?

[@willowthewispy]

@zachem66 obsidian is a tool and like any tool the way you use it is limited to its design, so in that way yes I'm doing the same things. And things have progessed quite a bit since I posted this message 11 months ago. Right now, basically I'm keeping files that are topics I need to keep track of, this customers implementation, that overarching goal. Getting all the worked hours together. And I'm using dataview to query these files into overview pages. I create new documents with QuickAdd and maintain a log of the time I spend on things also with QuickAdd. Timestamps are a part of it, but more than that it's a list of active topics and todo checkboxes inside those topics. When all todos in a topic are done they move to another list until I archive them when they vanish. Meetings with different parties are also added in quickadd, and dataview shows a list of the previous meeting on top, so when I'm in a meeting I can quickly open the previous conversations notes, also the todo's that came from it and which I've done. Obsidian really is an awesome system. It's very flexible, I recommend growing into it, no ones system will be quite like the next persons. And my way of working certainly had about two to three very distinct iterations.

[@JohnJohnson-dl8oq]

This is good stuff! Thanks for making and sharing the video. Something I’ve recently started using is “transclusion”. In the kohn-1993 where your [[grades-inhibit]] link is, just add ! before, and the content of that note will be visible in the kohn-1993 note. You can also using the caret ^ to select just a paragraph, or # to select a heading. So, ![[grades-inhibit^]] and when you type the caret, you’ll see a list of paragraphs you can transclude. This was really helpful to me, and solved the problem of needing text to be in more than one place at once, but not being different copies to maintain. Anyway, this comment is way longer than I expected. Looking forward to more videos!

[@morganeua]

Wonderful! I love this, thank you, I will give it a go!

[@adamdavidlong6858]

@JohnJohnson thanks so much for this comment. Have been searching for awhile for this "transclusion" idea because I want to reuse a given piece of content in multiple places, but couldn't figure out how. This is tremendous. thank you.

[@Orionrobots]

Thank you - this immediately enhances the quality of my notes.

[@LiamLuxAndersson]

Thank you so much for this, complete gamechanger in the workflow of my notes

[@jayroy430]

Thanks for explaining this transclusion idea clearly! I am going to make a note about this right now!

[@misswoopa]

Thank you for this! All the other Obsidian/zettelkasten videos I saw were for computer science/STEM PhDs and it is so helpful to hear how to use the system for arts and humanities research ❤

[@morganeua]

Ya! I honestly don't even understand how you would use it for a STEM PhD. I'm sure it's absolutely great, but so out of my wheelhouse :P And it just works so well for writing-based research!

[@v0id_d3m0n]

@@morganeua that's where the live markdown preview really comes into play - mermaid for diagrams and the math and code blocks are _amazing_ . Also, the links are so useful for documenting code and when learning programming languages. Great all-round tool for notes and learning.

[@saus06]

Hey, just wanted to say a year later this saved my studies! I've been struggling with zettelkasten for a while now and watched a ton of videos, but yours made it by far the easiest and most understandable!! Thank you so much!!

[@roymitchell1721]

You have renewed my hope that my writing will become an enjoyable hobby once more. I rarely subscribe to anyone's youtube feed, and almost never at the first encounter with a creator's content, but I subscribed only a few minutes into your video. Thankyou for your altruism in sharing this approach.

[@morganeua]

Thanks for your interest, I hope that zettelkasten will reinvigorate your love of writing! This is great encouragement for me to keep making content like this :) I'm so happy to be helping people in this way!

[@shazwaniabdrahman2693]

I really appreciate you making this video. The explanation was clear and the demonstration was to the point. Looking forward to more videos on how you apply zattelkasten in obsidian.

[@radio5051]

This is the single most helpful video I’ve watched on Obsidian, and I’ve watched hundreds. There is no shortage of intelligent people on KZbin trying to explain how to use Obsidian. You are at the top of the tree. I was trying to find and explanation on how to link references sources and this is the best system I have seen so far. Thank you for sharing your system, and not making it overly complicated. Much appreciated.

[@Chichichichioma]

This is amazing. I made the same connection one day when I was high with my friend. As the conversation was going I noticed that whenever she started a new top, in my head, I created a “new bubble” for that topic. Till this day I remember everything we talked about. That’s doesn’t even happen when I’m sober. I knew I should start noting taking, even having conversations in this way. I guess I just needed to see this video to tell me that that is literally the correct way to view and accept information. It’s exactly how the brain works. It makes connections.

[@saltofthenet3383]

I like that you mention this is useful beyond just writing essays. If our goal is to become lifelong learners and teachers, this can become a way to aid in that process outside of the university context. The field I work in is a sort of medium ground between the university and real-world context, and up to this point I've been using a set of increasingly messy Google Docs, so I think I'll give this a shot!

[@heimlershistory]

Wow, when YT surfaced this video for me, apparently they knew exactly what I needed. Thank you so much for putting this together! I'm in a masters program right now and this method is about to change everything. Currently I'm using Notion, but I have no idea if the back linking feature works in that program. Have you tried it?

[@morganeua]

There IS a way to do it, yes. I had a friend using Notion for this, but I converted her to Obsidian :P I'm certain there's yt videos from people doing the zettelkasten system in Notion - the core principles I suggest here will still be relevant - but I don't know the ins and outs of Notion, myself!

[@mypradasatthecleanerss]

I found it hard to make connections in Notion. I would have to add properties for a ‘topic’ to each page of notes in a database and it didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. Also the fact Notion is an online platform makes navigation sluggish. Morgan’s method here has been revolutionary for me.

[@nogayangzomtenzin9516]

OMG HI HEIMLER

[@gamewrit0058]

Elizabeth Filips has a video called My Second Brain in Notion - Full Setup , from about a year ago that might help?

[@Kurax_]

I'm new to Obsidian powers (haha) but I've read that Notion is better for storing structured ideas while Obsidian is better for creating them. Does it sound right?

[@hirokoshinto6243]

Thank you so much for providing us with so many ideas and thoughts. To be honest I accidentally jumped in your KZbin video in the aim of finding some English learning material but I have been totally amazed by how effectively you organise your words having your own ideas behind and on top of that, you are so generous to share your ideas with us. Your video gives me tremendous hints that I could never come up with by myself. Thank you. As I am currently in a practice of writing English diaries, I can definitely classify my thoughts through my own phrases more effectively to find out what I can do with the next. Thank you for your generosity.

[@trinifernandez8870]

I love this. Been writing my undergrad thesis for a little over a year now, and by far the most challenging part has been remembering the things I read months ago and using them where I originally planned it. Thank you so much for the video!

[@davetaylor2088]

I am trying to find a way for my daughter (in year 9) to improve her learning process and I was thinking mind maps were the answer - she gets them. This is mind maps on steroids, mirroring the way our brain works holographically to connect ideas into a schema that we can apply to life. Great video, thanks mate and good luck with your PhD - also it looks cold outside your window there!

[@dominicpatrick2617]

Ikr? Holy shit lol, this will make Law school so much easier.

[@ngrey5092]

Just remember one thing, anything that is based on false info is useless, no matter how good it is organized. At 9 old, teach her to recognize BS and lies. That is more worthy than how to organize info.

[@spacebar9733]

@@ngrey5092 she still has to go to school...

[@AndersJackson]

@@spacebar9733 School is good to learn a broad base, but if you want to give her some deeper knowledge, then parent showing is invaluable. And learning what is bullocks and what is actually valuable is invaluable to learn. Like "If it looks too good to be true, it probably is just that."

[@ClaudiuC]

@@spacebar9733 school teaches you to recognize bs? That's news to me 😊 A decent chunk of what school taught me was, in fact, bs.

[@commenter4799]

Engineering students: "I'll see myself out."

[@lizisler9415]

I’m a senior and believe its never too late to study. OMG I wish I had found this years ago. THANK YOU!!

[@RuchiraDatta]

Thank you so much for this video! What you do with books and stickies is what I've already been doing for a long time. I started using Obsidian quite recently, and your explanation of how to get my notes from print books into Obsidian is just what I needed!

[@milkhtoast]

Love this! As a physician-in-training, I juggle so many sources of knowledge flying at me from clinics, papers, books, etc, etc, that I've been trying to really build a better system for myself so I can stay on top of the latest evidence. Looking forward to more!

[@billydeano]

Glad to know I wasn't the only one who took a deep dive into note-taking systems during my PhD. Great video!

[@caros8298]

This is the first note taking technique I came across that doesn't sound like torture. I actually even enjoyed creating the first two notes from the book I'm currently reading. Thank you for sharing this!

[@thebrew07]

This video has given me a HUGE breakthrough in my academic writing system. I'm a first-year master's student but I want to begin using this system for my own eventual research and dissertation. Thank you SO much for making academic writing more accessible to people.

[@LionKimbro]

My favorite part of this video is the "Core Principles of Taking Notes." Love it. I also liked seeing how you marked up your books.

[@gabrielbrasil03]

One of those times you think “universe or algorithm?” 😂 Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and experience with that process! I struggle a lot trying to reference mental connections and when I write it down, it’s easy to get lost sometimes

[@PenultimateWarrior]

This is phenomenal. I'm struggling through a PhD and was recommended the zettelkasten method by a friend. This is such a helpful overview. Thank you!

[@fadviola]

This is the most simplified and easiest-to-follow tutorial on zettelkasten and obsidian I can find on the internet. Thank you so much!

[@melissabennett6571]

I have watched so many videos regarding this note taking method, and yours is by far the easiest to understand and implement! I finally feel like this is doable. Thank you so much.

[@robertimani8820]

Dear Melissa, There is a moment she realizes the need is not note taking content and Apps. She realizes that it is "knowledge management" that we desperately need not note taking App, she says. She was absolutely right.

[@sohhyunmin]

Doing my masters and i found this video really inspiring. I may very well try to set up obsidian. Thank you so much!

[@morganeua]

Let me know if you run into problems and maybe I can offer suggestions! Or if you find cool ways of doing things cause I'm always looking for ways to do this better! ☺️

[@charlespaulinus]

I haven't even finished watching this video. I'm just amazed by your communication skills. You're awesome

[@DarielQuiogue]

Thank you for introducing Obsidian to me! I'm a (struggling) writer, and I've gotten to the point where I have characters appearing in multiple stories and a linear note taking app was no longer as good for keeping things consistent. Obsidian looks like the perfect solution, and is even lower-friction than the mind-mapping app I was using previously. I also really like that you introduced the tool along with a methodology that works with it, I think this really gives a new Obsidian user a jump start. Thanks!

[@ScarJeyjeyShine]

If you're a writer, you should check out programs like Campfire. They work on the same principle of interconnected notes, but are built specifically for storys, settings and characters. They give you certain templates, e.g. character sheets and timelines, and features such as picture integration. I use obsidian for notetaking, but campfire for DMing a role-playing game and enjoy the specific advantages for each!

[@RPanda3S]

@@ScarJeyjeyShine Campfire looks pretty interesting - any thoughts on how it compares to Scrivener?

[@FindingGreenOS]

I realise I have been slowly (and accidently) heading towards this method the closer I get to finishing my masters. I had been pasting quotes from literature into a table in a word document, and using bookmarks to sort them into ideas. This zettelkasten is of course is a much better and more intuitive system and I'm so glad I found this video - I will be using this system for my dissertation for sure.

[@zhiying12]

Thank you so much!! I have been looking for more efficient ways to connect my notes instead of just relying on manually creating mind maps, this is perfect! ❣️

[@assses-3216]

Oh my gosh this is fantastic! I remember during my undergrad my mind kept doing this where it would draw random lines between ideas I didn't even realise could pair! Love that there is a place that encourages this kind of working. Undertaking more academic courses at present and I can just see this being so useful.

[@yehminwu]

I’ve seen so many videos on zettlekasten, on obsidian, and taking digital notes for paper copy books, but this one is just the best walkthrough of a easy to follow workflow! Great job!

[@markporta]

I don't usually leave comments on videos, but I had to take a moment to thank you for this one. As a first-year university student, I'm faced with an overwhelming amount of information to retain and Notion isn't keeping up with that. This kind of system is precisely what I need so I'm moving all my academic notes to Obsidian!

[@morganeua]

Wonderful. Thanks for commenting! And best of luck on your notetaking journey, I hope Obsidian is everything you need it to be!

[@ceasec]

This is one of the best, most cogent videos I've ever seen on the topic of creating a Zettelkasten. I finished my MA in literature, and I'm planning on pursuing a PhD-this type of video is so invaluable. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

[@morganeua]

Thanks for your replies on both of my recent videos! Exciting times - a PhD also in literature? I'd love to brainstorm more solutions to PhD specific note-taking problems!

[@ceasec]

@@morganeua Yes, that's the plan! It's my pleasure; thank you so much for creating such brilliant content. I'm always happy to contribute (or at least participate) in any discussion regarding notes in academia. I'm teaching at a university currently, and I'm surprised to find the overall lack of knowledge management in my former professors' workflows LOL.

[@toxendon]

Mind maps saved me so many times at uni... LOVE IT

[@tttooooni]

There are so many videos about Obsidian, but I *loved* that this one actually has a specific section on how *you* use your system. It finally made the whole zettelkasten thing "click" for me! Thanks!

[@cmoxiv]

Mate. LOVED it. Simply explained in a practical context. I recommended this to my past and present students.

[@raychiu9275]

Your video is amazing! I clicked on it out of curiosity, and my mind is blown. You did an excellent job explaining a complex subject in a concise, easy to follow, manner. I’m going to internalize the principles and dive into the rabbit hole. Thank you for sharing!

[@robb7148]

I’ve always made some attempt at this but could never find the right “sauce” at making these useful. What finally clicked here was your simple approach. I always made it too complicated, too structured. Once I started simplifying my notes not only did my process improve but so did my comprehension. Thank you for sharing.

[@othon_87]

I am sorely in need of a notes system both for a kind of intense new job I'm doing, and to cope with my ADHD. This was super helpful and I honestly can't wait to give it a go so thanks so much for putting this out there!

[@araschanne1]

Ah this is cool! I took a qualitiative research course a few years ago and we used the "coding" method to write a major research paper. It's essentially very similar, coming up with themes or "codes" which are recurrent, prevalent ideas in the quantitative data and then using those to start linking the ideas together for the paper. I had no idea there was a digital tool to do it! You should've seen my ridiculously complex excel spreadsheet 😭 I love your thoughts about making note taking more holistic and dynamic, rather than a redusive, task-like process. I've been struggling with note taking lately because I find it overwhelming and boring haha This got my thinking about how I want to change my process!

[@coachcarenfern]

Oh my gosh, this was genius to watch, and it helped me explain all that I'm processing as I move through writing courses and programs. Thank you

[@mariyagami22]

Thank's for this enlighten introduction of Zettelkasten system. I'm a 23 years old pregrade mexican student that was looking for best ways to organice all the information I've achieve in a buch of notebooks and this is saving my life.

[@HiradHimself]

I've watched a bunch of videos on Obsidian and Zettelkasten. It always seemed overwhelming. This is by far the best one I've seen and made it seem approachable. Thanks for sharing.

[@keesdejong3653]

Hi, you've enhanced my life! For years I've been taking notes in Evernote, OneNote, my own GTD based note taking sheet, but always ran into problems. After a while it's a mess of categories, tags, books and countless pages that hinders finding information and something that definitely doesn't induce thoughts or ideas. A few days ago KZbin suggested your video. I'm so glad I watched it. I've bought and read the book How to take smart Notes by Sonke Ahrens (a must read for anyone taking notes!) and started with Obsidian. I already feel this way of working fits me, I can't wait to see my external brain grow :) And also, I love gamification and motivational drivers. So when you held up Punished by Rewards you introduced a second book I immediately bought! In short, thanks so much for your video! Informative and life changing!

[@michaeljmeyer3]

I ran into a lot of the same issue on Evernote. I Started using tags as Zettelkasten styled link backs rather than organization. I used Categories in ever note as more of a "focus" point. I find Obsidian to be really great, as it saves things locally, and when I am working on a corporate machine, I do not necessarily want my personal note bucket being accessed by the machine, nor do I want corporate property in my Evernote. Obsidian can be a bit heavy handed and not as straight forwardly manageable as evernote. Obsidian also does not have as much note capture as evernote does. I ended up using both for different reasons. Knowledge management, obsidian. Note taking and personal management (on the go, I work on several computers, devices, and odd locations) I use evernote. I found that a mix of these tools really helped me capture the different stages and the note to knowledge lifecycle (I see it as a truly iterative life cycle. Knowledge and understand is a cycle. Always liquid, always moving.) Different tools work better for different domains, and different stages. /ramble

[@rachelhellums4294]

Hey! Thanks for showing off your Obsidian setup. I'm mostly a Notion user, but am considering switching to Obsidian for my Zettelkasten because it seems to be built more for this purpose. Also, I'm really digging the topic you used as an example. Really helpful video!

[@user-wp5wo9sc4m]

Thanks! The walkthrough example was really useful. Many videos talk about the process, but don't show it - this helped make it clearer and more concrete.

[@MrRKWRIGHT]

I truly enjoy joining in all these comprehsensive curated courses out there which do so much to help us with a fun and efficient note taking system, unlocking peak creativity, optimizing our health and wellness, forgiveness and meditation, avoiding vulnerability in the workplace, getting more done in less time, even if we've haven't had enough restful sleep or a healthy nutritional breakfast because in the typical workplace these days, you're expected to get online early and start signing and returning documents, renaming all files in folders, and have them all done well in advance of COB (whatever that is anymore). Fortunately, many of these courses are brown bag lunch and learn events, which allow us to grab a sandwich while while we learn more from the life lessons learned by the host. Thank you doc, for caring and sharing and helping us to LEARN MORE.

[@arwenkozak2263]

I have been searching for a video to help me feel prepared, capable, and (dare I say) excited about starting my graduate program in the fall and note taking has been a huge stressor- this video was exactly what I needed. Thank you!!

[@morganeua]

Wonderful! Best of luck! There's also so much KZbin content about using obsidian and zettelkasten well, so I'm excited for you!!

[@trondknudsen6689]

The best way I've found of organising large amounts of notes, quotes and written thoughts while reading is using qualitative data analysis software such as NVivo or RQDA. Personal wikis with multi-tagged pages such as TiddlyWiki are also very handy.

[@BenjaminHare]

Extremely useful video. I was having trouble getting my mind around the Zettlekasten approach, but to actually see someone go through the process concretized it for me, answering all the questions I didn't even know I had. Thanks for taking the time to make this video.

[@sailawayteam]

Thank you! On my 3rd year in PhD studies, and I've gotten increasingly anxious about my knowledge being so utterly unorganised, and I know it will bite me in my behind so bad. I will give this method a go, I really like this idea and this could suit me well.

[@jesusbravomx]

Your video is AMAZING. There isn't any single video like this in Spanish. I'm sure of that, I searched and failed today all day long 🤣🤣 Your process is exactly I was searching for, since I'm a user of Obsidian for 2 months. I hope my thesis for Bachelor's degree will be successful and I'll make a video about my experience and the knowledge this video brings me right now. Thanks a lot, I owe you a coffee 🙌🙌

[@damonpthomas]

Thanks for taking the time to make this video. It's great to see how different people are using Obsidian or similar tools. I've been using Obsidian for a couple of years and I can relate to the idea that it makes reading (and writing, and thinking, and learning) fun and efficient. All the best with your studies!

[@morganeua]

I'm relatively new to Obsidian, so if you ever have any suggestions for how to make my process even more effective, I'd love to hear them!

[@damonpthomas]

@@morganeua It looks like you've already created a good system that works for you. I guess the key to these applications is being willing to tweak things as you notice there might be better ways of doing them. I'm still making little changes here and there to what I do on a weekly basis, though I'm using Obsidian for task management and planning as well as for collecting literature notes and writing academic papers and grant applications. It took me quite a few months to be happy with the full workflow from capturing notes while reading to recontextualising them and integrating them with my own ideas in journal articles. If your main output will be assignments, it's likely that you'll tweak the system at point of need as you try and use it in a new way for the first time. Probably the best thing about tools like Obsidian is how flexible they are. People everywhere around the world are using them in unique and exciting ways that fit their workflow, and this will often be very different to the next person. I definitely encourage you to keep on making videos of your system as you use and develop it. This will inspire other people to get on board the PKM train. Thanks again and all the best from Australia!

[@morganeua]

@@damonpthomas Definitely. Yes to all that! I think I'll even make a video on writing a paper start-to-finish with my zettelkasten to demonstrate how I can produce documents with it (to show my viewers - but also myself!)

[@12prombuilder]

Yes please!! I personally am struggling with that and the way you comunicate all this methods is awesome!! I would really apreciate it!

[@krzysztofbardzinski]

Eventually after many reading and watching about Zettelkasten and Obsidian you give me useful and easy to understand example of note taking. Thank you very much!

[@DolbroDan]

really good, very clear and straight forward explanation. I'm glad the system is working for you. I'm not an academic but i'm guilty of having scores of scraps and notebooks littering my home. So I definitely feel the need to use Zettlekasten to connect the dots... :P Good luck with your dissertation! Greetings from Northern Ireland.

[@mermaidpotato]

I just *finished* my dissertation, and I don't yet know exactly what I'm going to do with this information, but your opening lines about how you were lost looking at note-taking solutions when what you really wanted was some method for knowledge-management really ring true for me and a lot of the ideas and framing you've provided here feel like what I've been looking for. Thanks so much for making this. Wish I'd had this vid earlier, honestly!

[@Alan_Duval]

This video was my launching-off point for Obsidian. It has been absolutely invaluable. Thank you.

[@xavierthompson2213]

Thank you thank thank you! All of your content, from the Principles, to the breakdown around how you run the Obsidian Program, is stellar, was, and will continue to be insightful and wildly helpful. I will begin my journey of implementing the ZettlelKasten Methodology in my learning ventures moving forward. Thank you again for this content.

[@Ghost-ex5zr]

This was brilliant, I am unfortunately not longer studying at Uni (had to drop out for personal reasons), but I love learning and studying and especially learning about new ways to study as I have ADHD and its hard to one stay focused and two remember everything. This sounds exciting so I am definitely going to give it a go! Also Obsidian looks amazing and it's free!?!? Did not expect that.

[@bujin5455]

Thanks for the overview of the Zettelkasten method, as well as pointing out Obsidian, I'm going to be looking into both. Also, I would certainly be interested in more videos on knowledge management! In today's age, where we have Google, and almost all of the knowledge of humanity is at our finger tips anyway, understanding how to best leverage that, and to not be overcome with the sheer volume of it, is perhaps the most important personal development question of our time. For instance, there is effectively an infinite amount of life changing video on KZbin, but there is a line between time where you can effectively consume that content and where you can effectively implement and integrate the knowledge found. There are risks with venturing too far to either side of that line. Too far into the information gathering side, and you don't have time to implement and/or produce anything. Too far into the integration/implementation side, and you become increasingly disconnected from the ever accelerating developments around you.

[@kuzco7061]

I must truly say that in the beginning I was a bit skeptic about your approach but in the end I really loved it. I think every individual needs to find their own way to write their notes and find what matches best but, it really gave me some inspiration, thank you!!

[@morganeua]

I totally agree! That's why I was drawn to the zettelkasten system, because it's so malleable to the user's needs!

[@mondoquillmondo6705]

Excellent talk! I first watched this video months ago, before I fully understood the mechanics of Obsidian. At the time, I could already just glimpse the power of zettelkasten, but struggled with implementation. Now that I've learned Obsidian, and played with it a lot more, I much better see the benefits and the possibilities that you described. Thank you!

[@cassioalexan]

I love videos on note-taking systems and this video has been appearing in my YT recommendations for at least two months! Today I decided to give it a try. Good surprise I had! You speak so well and your voice is so pleasant I didn't get bored as you were showing us your way of taking notes with Obsidian. Great work! And thanks for sharing your system! 😊

[@morganeua]

Ah, thanks for clicking on the video, it's so great to have you here! 🥰

[@iosoi3145]

I really enjoyed this. I'd like to see a vid of your process for writing a note into your own words. I have ADHD and this is one of my struggles. Your style of presenting is effective for me 👍

[@hieu3189]

I have been dealing with zettelkasten for one and a half years now and I really like your video. It is well balanced. Just the right amount of theoretical background and straight forward and practical workflow for beginners.

[@matteomansi7499]

Wow, you managed to communicate in a compelling way your excitement for a incredibly effective knowledge system! Great clarity in the presentation, and also the sections where coherent and ordered in a perfectly logical way so that it was easy to follow throughout. Keep up the good work, we university students need this!

[@CHPetMom]

I have watched a lot of videos on the Zettelkasten System over the last few days, and I liked yours the best. Now, I am trying to do the same thing - kind of - in Notion. It seems to work right now because I use interlinked databases and tags. We will see. I really do not want to switch to obsidian or roam, unless absolutely necessary. Blessings, and thank you from a new subscriber

[@DexieNygma]

As a german, it took me half the video and the explanation of how the original worked to notice that zettelkasten is german 😂

[@gramz33]

thank you for this! I appreciate your clarity and this specific example SO much. I have beenusing Obsidian for about 1 yr exactly, but not in the Zettlekasten way. I have hundreds of notes, but I think they are still organized as I would a notebook, by class, by lecture - not by single idea. I feel encouraged by your idea to re-work how I use this.

[@kararonin]

This video is so helpful. For such a long time I've struggled with notebooks and word documents trying to connect all my thoughts or pieces of knowledge I've read. Like you, I used table of contents in word documents as it was the only way I knew how. I wasn't actually searching on YT for a video on this topic, it was suggested to me by YT but it's opened up a whole world for me. Thank you for this video and your helpful explanation on how to take better notes!

[@kokesjohn]

WOW ! Thank you Morgan for the "world's best note taking" !!! ✌ My humble suggestion is you should offer a step by step course with a series of videos for us note taking student to practice your system. I am sure ALL OF US would be happy to pay for this because you creating something so powerful for school, work, creative thinking, writing a book etc. etc. Once again many thanks for your breakthrough about note taking !!!! 🙏

[@TM-iq7wp]

Thank you so much for this video! It was eye-opening. I'm a fifth-year PhD student myself and I always wanted to create a Zettelkasten. A few years ago, I looked into it, but only found commercial systems and wasn't really happy with that. About 4 weeks ago your video randomly showed up in my recommendations and I was so intrigued that I downloaded Obsidian on the spot. This has changed my life! Since, I've transferred all my word documents that I used to write interesting ideas down on to obsidian and broke my manuscripts down to thoughts to feed them in. It is so satisfying to see different areas of knowledge grow and relate to one another! Initially i was unsure if it was worth the while, but I already benefited a bit from it in conversations and small presentations. I am now much more confident I will actually finish my PhD one day and I am currently preparing a presentation for my work group on the subject of knowledge management. All thanks to your video! =)

[@morganeua]

Wow, that is awesome!! Yeah, I love breaking down my thoughts into these bite-sized ideas, I find it so useful!

[@budutut]

I needed a video like this, because the most of materials dedicated the zettelkasten are quite theoretical, and I had no idea how it must work. But now I see. Thank you very much!

[@nukki2869]

This is by far THE BEST and THE MOST INDEPTH overview of zettelkasten! Thank u so much !

[@MotherMuse]

Fourth year student in psychology PhD program here. A couple thoughts. First, fantastic overview, thank you, this system looks amazing... I'm motivated to learn more! While I wish I knew of this sooner -mostly done with classes at this point- but like you said, may be very helpful for dissertation. Second, I'm wondering about pulling the notes in our own words directly out of the saved notes and connections and dropping them into the paper as you spoke about at the end of video. Love the idea of the writing already done, but I think I will run into the issue of self-plagiarism at some point, since many research topics for papers have overlap across classes. That said, I can see it working best for dissertation, since it's often a giant research paper diving into one specific area. Really appreciate you sharing this!

[@weniepanini]

In this case, I wonder if you can make yourself a notation that will show you that you have used your own quotation in whichever way you have used it.

[@leannesampson3199]

sorry..... there is such a thing as "self-plagiarism"?!

[@wearmeout1]

@@leannesampson3199 yes if it’s something you’ve published… if you’re taking it word-for-word and publishing it again, you’re plagiarizing yourself lol

[@leannesampson3199]

@@wearmeout1 WOW! I never thought of that possibility.... 🤔

[@alesandraroblespulgar1020]

Hello, I study law and I thank you very much for sharing the information. Your scheme is valuable and can have practical applications when analyzing doctrine and jurisprudence to resolve various cases. The connection area of ​​ideas is especially important, as it allows you to connect approaches that you saw separately and reach important conclusions. However, if you study law, I think you have to take into account some things: 1) Take notes in class. The system that is shown here is for you to generate a deeper and more autonomous learning, but it will not help you in undergraduate if what you are looking for is simply to pass courses. Take your notes as always in physical format and study your subjects so that you can pass your exams with the highest possible grades so that it is easier for you to access scholarships and more opportunities in the future. However, if there is something that you feel you can use in the future and turn into a note add it to the system to make it better and richer. 2) Have questions on hand to guide your learning. There are many, and by many I mean many, law books that complement and contradict each other, especially as topics become more and more technical. The questions will keep you grounded and ensure that you are understanding. In addition, they are very good ways to review before a test. As for the doctrine, in general I recommend you start with introductory books to get general notions of the topics, creating wikipedia like pages (here is also the information from your class notebooks that should be a starting point for what you know) , then start reading classic authors (I can't stop repeating this, read the original source. In law, knowledge always drinks from specific authors and if you understand their ideas you can easily understand modern jurists who drink from their ideas) and after that read contemporary authors from your own country about the topic. As for the case law, don't read the cases themselves as they tend to be long unless you really have an interest in one. Instead, read law manuals that have annotated jurisprudence. I can not fail to mention this: Do not read case law of a single country. Although the jurisprudence of your country may be binding and is more important to you, the jurisprudence of other countries can help you a lot to have clarity of ideas and different perspectives when facing a problem. 3) Specialize. The law is as broad as human action. That is why it is impossible for you to cover all areas of law. Even within a single area you will not cover the entire area in particular but you must specialize in a piece of it. The more specialized you are, the better. Therefore, do not seek to cover all possible topics but cover a single topic as deeply as possible. 4) Have prewritten models of documents and organization charts that explain the various judicial processes. The law is not just theory, your knowledge is worth nothing if you can't practice it. Pay close attention to procedural law classes and always try to know how to materialize your knowledge. This comes with experience, so I recommend that you start your internship as soon as possible. Finally, as a final piece of advice, teach to learn. Find people interested in your field of study and surround yourself with them. In general, these people will be other lawyers (senior lawyers) who can use your ideas for their cases. Work with them to learn from them, you will create important connections that will help you in the future. Do not lose the notion of practicality. Explain your concepts convincingly and clearly in such a way that everyone can understand your ideas. I highly recommend that you write your own essays regularly, almost for fun, on topics that you find interesting related to your niche.

[@TheOne-ou8iq]

Cool

[@pw.70]

WOW! That's amazing. I came here after looking at a piece of software called Obsidian. I use Obsidian to look at the structure of existing database projects so I can ascertain whether something is worth normalisation, but you've opened my eyes to new possibilities now. You've absolutely sold Zettelkasten to me. Thank-you so much.

[@RenatoT-si7vv]

I saw this video many times, but it finally made sense after I used Obsidian for a few days. I have adopted part of your method, thanks for making this video. Obsidian is intimidating at first, empty like a void, but once you start using it, it all makes sense.

[@j--roha]

Great video! Another method that might be faster when creating new notes is using the Note Composer plugin. Instead of copying and pasting your text like in this example (10:58), you could also select the text, right click, and in the options select "extract current selection". This will put the text that you selected into a new note or to an already existing one.

[@morganeua]

Ooooh, just getting to this comment, but that sounds like a great little time-saver!

[@cloudrainmakar2408]

Very helpful tip. Thanx