12 Principles for using Zettelkasten

Edmund · January 7, 2023, 11:19am

Figure: 12 Zettelkasten Principles

What are the basic principles, when working with a Zettelkasten? Here’s my answer structured to support a simple process:

A well-structured Zettelkasten relies on clear management principles to ensure efficiency and usability. It begins with defining specific goals, as a clear purpose guides note-taking and organization. Continual evaluation of the process allows for improvements that enhance effectiveness, while applying simplicity ensures that the system remains practical and user-friendly.

The core of the Zettelkasten method lies in high-quality notes. Writing a single note per idea, using a consistent template, and linking related notes create a dynamic network of knowledge. Tags and structured searchability further improve organization, making it easier to retrieve information when needed. To keep the system relevant, regularly reviewing and refining notes is essential.

Supporting principles focus on setting up the Zettelkasten in a way that suits the user’s workflow. The selection of appropriate tools, from AI-supported collaboration to structured folder systems, enhances efficiency while maintaining simplicity. Finally, beyond functionality, engagement with the Zettelkasten should be enjoyable—when knowledge work is rewarding, maintaining the system becomes effortless.

Three Management Principles

Start with clear goals
Determine what you want to achieve with your Zettelkasten and use this to guide your note-taking and organization.
Inspect and adapt process
Continually evaluate and refine the organization and use of your Zettelkasten in order to maximize its effectiveness and efficiency.
Simplify Zettelkasten
Apply the rules of simplicity to improve and ensure the usability and effectiveness of your Zettelkasten so that it meets your needs and provides a positive knowledge management and note-taking experience.

Six Core Principles

Make good notes
Write exactly one note for each idea and write as if you were writing for someone else.
Use templates
Consistently use a consistent format for your notes to make them easy to read and navigate.
Link notes
Link related notes together to create a web of interconnected ideas.
Use meta data
Use tags to categorize and organize your notes and make it easier to find related information.
Search and retrieve notes
Test the efficiency of your Zettelkasten by searching for specific information. If you can quickly locate what you need, your system is effective.
Review and revise notes
Regularly review and revise your notes to ensure they are up to date and accurate.

Three Support Principles

Setup Zettelkasten
Find your appropriate set-up level to start with.
Select tools
Invite AI to contribute to and review your Zettelkasten to facilitate collaboration and shared learning.
Provide structure
Folders are best for clustering notes within the structure of your process. Keep your process as simple as possible.

Plus One

Have fun
Enjoy the process of building and using your Zettelkasten!

Which principles do you miss and should be added? Which are not so important?

Edmund · September 7, 2023, 10:23am

A structure behind this list helps me better understand Zettelkasten values and principles.

1. Writing over Copying:

Instead of mindlessly copying and pasting, Zettelkasten emphasizes “Writing over Copying.” Approach your notes with a purpose. Start with a clear goal (Point 1). It’s like crafting your own story rather than retelling someone else’s.

2. Flexibility over Structure:

Imagine your knowledge system as a playground, not a prison. Zettelkasten encourages “Flexibility over Structure.” It’s about adapting and growing. Think of it as your personal garden of ideas, where you “Inspect and adapt the process” (Point 8) and “Keep up to date” (Point 9) like tending to your plants.

3. Tags over Folders:

Forget about folders and embrace the concept of “Tags over Folders.” Zettelkasten invites you to label and organize your notes using tags, just like tagging your favorite photos on social media. This makes finding and connecting ideas a breeze.

4. Learning over Knowing:

Knowledge isn’t about what you know but how you learn. “Learning over Knowing” is at the heart of Zettelkasten. It encourages active engagement with your knowledge. It’s like the difference between reading a book and discussing it with friends. Embrace this principle, and you’ll find your knowledge growing organically.

Networked Mindset:

Zettelkasten isn’t just about you and your notes; it’s about connecting with a broader community. Think of it as joining a club where “Open-mindedness,” “Collaboration,” and “Connectedness” are the rules. This networked mindset is like discovering new friends who share your interests.

Have Fun:

Amidst all the knowledge management, don’t forget to have fun (Point 12). Zettelkasten can be a joyful journey of exploration. Think of it as a treasure hunt for your own ideas.

Edmund · October 18, 2023, 3:33pm

Zettelkasten Metro Map

The Zettelkasten metro map is a system of symbols, colors, icons, architectural challenges, cooperative spaces, and crowds of Zettelkasten city residents. Together, they’ve formed an increasingly vital way of understanding the city as a whole.

The city is divided into metro stations, and for those of us who use public transportation, it’s a shared experience.

The Zettelkasten metro system makes the entire city more accessible. You can find out more about the individual metro lines below:

Values Line (blue)
Principles Line (red)
Notes Line (green)

The Zettelkasten metro is the pride of the city. It is always changing, thriving, growing and evolving into something new.

References
[1] Ahrens, Sönke. How to Take Smart Notes: One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning and Thinking, 2022.
[2] “Tennessine. A Collection of Projects for the Web.” Accessed October 18, 2023. https://tennessine.co.uk/

Edmund · November 29, 2023, 7:37pm

The 7 Deadly Sins

The seven deadly sins someone should be aware of when using a Zettelkasten [1] are:

Copying without comprehension
Copying information into the Zettelkasten without truly understanding or internalizing the content, hindering genuine knowledge growth.

Association without relevance
Creating connections between notes that lack meaningful relationships or relevance to your work.

Tagging without organization
Using tags excessively or inconsistently, leading to a chaotic and unstructured Zettelkasten.

Reference without understanding
Linking to external sources without fully comprehending or integrating the knowledge into your Zettelkasten.

Expansion without reflection
Adding new notes without taking the time to reflect on their implications or connections to existing knowledge.

Quantity without quality
Focusing on creating a large number of notes without ensuring the quality of content and meaningful connections.

Tool obsession without practice
Constantly switching or obsessing over Zettelkasten tools without dedicating time to actual note-taking and knowledge building.

What are your favorite sins? Which ones are missing?

References
[1] Ahrens, Sönke. How to Take Smart Notes: One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning and Thinking, 2022.

Edmund · March 23, 2024, 8:23pm

Today I updated the “12 Principles for Using Zettelkasten”. Here’s the reason why:

Now it will be easy to add the missing posts to:

[8] Review and revise notes,
[10] Simplify Zettelkasten, and
[12] Have fun

If you want to simplify the model choose 3 principles (yellow lines):

[1] Start with Clear Goals
[2] Make Good Notes
[12] Have Fun

Or as I started some years ago with 2 principles:

[2] Make Good Notes
[12] Have Fun

Edmund · May 30, 2024, 3:38pm

Figure: Zettelkasten Use Case Diagram with PlantUML

You may use many lines of text to describe your principles for using Zettelkasten. With PlantUML [1] [2] it is easy to draw beautiful UML diagrams [3] to do the same job.

Here is my first draft to show some of the “12 Zettelkasten Principles” [4]. I’ve also integrated the already mentioned “ARCO Framework” [5], which helps to create some useful views on your notes.

My updated version from 24/04/2025:

References
[1] PlantUML. “Open-Source Tool That Uses Simple Textual Descriptions to Draw Beautiful UML Diagrams.” PlantUML.com.
[2] Theiner, Johannes. “Joethei/Obsidian-Plantuml.” GitHub - Generate PlantUML Diagrams inside Obsidian.md.
[3] Booch, Grady, James Rumbaugh, and Ivar Jacobson. The Unified Modeling Language User Guide. 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Addison-Wesley, 2005.
[4] Obsidian Forum. 12 Principles For Using Zettelkasten
[5] Obsidian Forum. ARCO Framework

Edmund · December 16, 2024, 2:25pm

A maturity model [1] can be viewed as a set of structured levels that describe how well the behaviors, practices, and processes of an organizational system can reliably and sustainably deliver the required results. While originally designed for software development, its structured approach to improvement can inspire creativity when applied to other areas of life.

Imagine training for a marathon. At first, you might struggle to run even a single mile (Level 0: Incomplete). But as you keep practicing, you manage short, inconsistent runs (Level 1: Initial). With time and effort, you create a basic training plan, running regularly each week (Level 2: Managed). Over time, you refine your routine, tailoring your runs to build speed and endurance (Level 3: Defined). Eventually, you monitor your progress with stats and tweak your plan for specific goals like improving pace (Level 4: Qualitatively Managed). Finally, running becomes second nature, and you experiment with new techniques to keep improving (Level 5: Optimizing).

This same concept of structured growth is the foundation of maturity models. But what happens when we apply it to personal knowledge systems like the Zettelkasten [2]? Drawing on Csikszentmihalyi’s insights into creativity [3], this playful application can reveal new ways to think about the evolution of our own note-taking systems. The enclosed concept map explores six levels of Zettelkasten maturity:

Level 0: Incomplete  
Level 1: Initial  
Level 2: Managed  
Level 3: Defined  
Level 4: Qualitatively Managed  
Level 5: Optimizing

My questions:

Where is my Zettelkasten on this map? Will this framework inspire fresh insights into my system? And how can it guide the evolutionary development of my knowledge organization?

References
[1] Paulk, Mark C., ed. The Capability Maturity Model: Guidelines for Improving the Software Process. The SEI Series in Software Engineering. Reading, Mass: Addison-Wesley Pub. Co, 1995.
[2] Ahrens, Sönke. How to Take Smart Notes: One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning and Thinking, 2022.
[3] Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly. Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention. HarperCollinsPublishers, 1996.

Edmund · December 16, 2024, 2:27pm

Here is the Zettelkasten Maturity Model with links to existing posts:

Level 0: Incomplete
Knowledge work may or may not get completed.
= Make good notes

Level 1: Initial
Knowledge work gets completed but is often delayed and over budget.
= Level 0
+ Provide folders
+ Select tools

Level 2: Managed
Knowledge projects are planned, performed, measured, and controlled.
= Level 1
+ Start with clear goals
+ Link notes
+ Search and retrieve notes

Level 3: Defined
Established standards provide guidance across projects.
= Level 2
+ Setup Zettelkasten
+ Use tags
+ Use templates

Level 4: Qualitatively Managed
Data-driven with quantitative performance improvement goals aligned with user needs.
= Level 3
+ Review and revise notes
+ Metadata
+ AI

Level 5: Optimizing
Focus on continuous improvement and built to pivot and respond to opportunity and change.
= Level 4
+ Inspect and adapt process
+ Simplify Zettelkasten

But do not forget the one: Have fun!

Edmund · February 15, 2025, 4:48pm

According to Mortimer Adler in “How to read a book, 2014, p.96” a key term is the basic element of communicatable knowledge. The “12 Principles for using Zettelkasten” are based on connected key terms as shown in this concept map. And there are three steps to start with.

Edmund · March 5, 2025, 3:30pm

Zettelkasten - Term and Definition

A good definition in the sense of being clear, precise, and useful for its intended purpose should be:

Accurate – Reflecting the core principles of the method.
Concise – Avoiding unnecessary complexity while conveying the essential ideas.
Contextual – Providing enough background for someone unfamiliar with the term.
Usable – Helping someone understand or apply the concept effectively.

Here’s the definition from Wikipedia:

A Zettelkasten (German: ‘slipbox’, plural Zettelkästen) or card file consists of small items of information stored on Zettels (German: ‘slips’), paper slips or cards, that may be linked to each other through subject headings or other metadata such as numbers and tags. It has often been used as a system of note-taking and personal knowledge management for research, study, and writing.
— Zettelkasten - Wikipedia

Do you also have a good definition in mind? Then use our survey at: Zettelkasten - Term and Definition — Zettelkasten Forum

Edmund · May 7, 2025, 9:07am

Re-visiting old notes in my Zettelkasten sometimes lead to new insights. Here is an update of the structures above:

A Zettelkasten Use Case Model

A use case [1] is a description of how users will perform tasks on a system. Here’s an example. If we’re defining a complicated system like a sports watch, it might be better to describe how we use it than to describe all of its sophisticated components in detail. I can say: “I use my sports watch to monitor my steps taken.” instead of: “My sports watch has an optical sensor, an accelerometer and a gyroscope”.

We can now do the same with our Zettelkasten [2]. Each use case is represented by a bubble. The use cases are grouped together if they have a common purpose. This makes it easy to identify the core use cases that are used most often, the use cases that manage the Zettelkasten, and the use cases that support the whole system. Let’s take a closer look:

All together we have use cases of what we can DO with our Zettelkasten within “Management”, “Zettelkasten Core”, and “Support”. Another group shows the different ways to VIEW elements from our Zettelkasten. Here we find an ATLAS as a book of maps, a REFERENCE as a book of facts and external links, a CALENDAR as a book of events and an ORGANIZER as a book of tasks and projects.

It is easy to remember the acronym ARCO for these views if you know that Arco is a town north of Lake Garda in Italy. The cliffs surrounding the town are a free-climbing paradise, which is why it’s also known as the land of sport climbers.

Two important use cases are included in this model: “Read stuff” and “Write stuff”. They are both essential to benefit from our Zettelkasten. But they need to be defined separately. They are not part of the Zettelkasten system. Both stand alone. Both are defined as independent disciplines with their own use cases and creative processes. And a Zettelkasten user has to find bridges between the disciplines of reading, note-taking and writing. That will be a separate chapter.

Reference
[1] Booch, Grady, James Rumbaugh, and Ivar Jacobson. The Unified Modeling Language User Guide . 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Addison-Wesley, 2005.
[2] Ahrens, Sönke. How to Take Smart Notes: One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning and Thinking, 2022.