News:

Welcome to the new (and now only) Fora!

Main Menu

Zettelkasten Notetaking Method

Started by Charlotte, December 13, 2020, 11:10:28 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

Charlotte

Quote from: Parasaurolophus on January 13, 2021, 10:39:40 AM
Yesterday I finally got my hands on a book I need to start that book project. Since I have a lot of other stuff to do before I can devote real time to it,  I've started reading it very slowly, just a few pages at a time here and there when I have a few spare minutes.

I've taken this opportunity to start my zettelkasten. I'll post back once it's more substantial, and once I have a better feel for the technique.

Please do update us on what you think about it!

mleok

On Reddit, someone suggested using Obsidian.md or Roam Research. Obsidian in particular looks interesting, as it has a standalone app, supports Latex math code, and is free for personal use.

bacardiandlime

I mentioned Obsidian upthread and I've been gradually getting into it. Its interface is a bit unusual (if you've never done any coding you'll need to acclimatise yourself to it, markup language isn't hard but not exactly intuitive). I'm still getting the hang of it, and I'm not using all the more advanced features. It is cool to see a spiderweb type graphic of all my notes and how they link together.

Charlotte

Quote from: Parasaurolophus on January 13, 2021, 10:39:40 AM
Yesterday I finally got my hands on a book I need to start that book project. Since I have a lot of other stuff to do before I can devote real time to it,  I've started reading it very slowly, just a few pages at a time here and there when I have a few spare minutes.

I've taken this opportunity to start my zettelkasten. I'll post back once it's more substantial, and once I have a better feel for the technique.

Hate to bump an old topic, but I'm curious if you continued and are having success with this method.

Bacardiandlime, are you still finding Obsidian useful? I meant to try it out earlier this year, but forgot.

I'm about to start on a new project and hope to use one of these methods for better organization.

Parasaurolophus

Quote from: Charlotte on July 26, 2021, 05:42:54 AM
Quote from: Parasaurolophus on January 13, 2021, 10:39:40 AM
Yesterday I finally got my hands on a book I need to start that book project. Since I have a lot of other stuff to do before I can devote real time to it,  I've started reading it very slowly, just a few pages at a time here and there when I have a few spare minutes.

I've taken this opportunity to start my zettelkasten. I'll post back once it's more substantial, and once I have a better feel for the technique.

Hate to bump an old topic, but I'm curious if you continued and are having success with this method.

Bacardiandlime, are you still finding Obsidian useful? I meant to try it out earlier this year, but forgot.

I'm about to start on a new project and hope to use one of these methods for better organization.

I stopped all work on that project when the hatchling was born, since I needed to retrench and use my limited time for projects with imminent deadlines. I'm not certain whether I'll return to the note-taking when the time comes--it's quite time-consuming, especially because for any given item--even one that's not super-useful--there's almost always some connection I can draw to something in a paragraph somewhere. It's possible that it's not a good fit for the kind of very deep reading and engagement that my discipline requires of us.

Then again, maybe it's just me balking at something a little different.
I know it's a genus.

HappilyTenured

Quote from: bacardiandlime on December 22, 2020, 08:15:57 AM
I'm trying out Obsidian (note-taking app), just trying to get my head around it so far. Anyone else use it?

Hello, I'm bumping an old thread. I have Obsidian and Roam Research and do not know how to use them although I'm watching online tutorials. There's definetly a learning curve for me. I would say Roam is more comfortable to me, especially since I've connected it with my Zotero library.

Anyone else is used to working with Roam and Zotero? Any tutorials to recommend?

thundercloud

I've been investigating notes software for a different purpose, but I'm quite interested in the linking capabilities that would be required for Zettelkasten use. As I don't see that anyone has mentioned TheBrain yet, I'll suggest that it would be worth looking into. Unfortunately, the free version may not be sufficiently robust, and the paid options are expensive.

bacardiandlime

I've been using Obsidian with mixed results. I'm not a natural when it comes to markup, so I'm probably not using all the possibilities. My main issue is not being in the habit of adding notes there (it feels like replicating the notes I already put in my bibliography software).
I have also just started with mymind.com which seems interesting, but I've only had it a few days so I'm not sure.

HappilyTenured

Hello folks,

I tried Obsidian and Roam Research, and it just gives me a lot of headaches. Recently found out about Better Notes plug in in Zotero, but I don't quite know how to use it properly despite looking at the manual.

Does anyone else use Better Notes in Zotero as a plug-in? It seems more convenient because I won't need to learn how to use an entire new software.

MarathonRunner

I started using Scrintal recently, after trying Obsidian. I quite like it. Definitely helped with the lit review portion of my dissertations.