170 - Utility is a common theme throughout how I approach thinking about zettelkasten and knowledge work more broadly. It is also useful to use as one of many lenses to think about life with. At the end of the day, we have limited time and must make a decision. Therefore you should consider the utility of an activity. I think where this conversation gets lost is that people often don’t understand the utility of activities and therefore perceive them as bad.
A common example of this is art. People often devalue art because it doesn’t have immediate utility in their mind. But art is important for the spread of culture, ideas, and values in a society. Even something that is devoid of meaning and purely aesthetic has utility if it promotes an appreciation for life and reality in your mind.
It is also important to create a distinction between utility and efficiency. You don’t want to chase utility to such a degree that you become rigid and dehumanize others. You often see this in business settings, where people get treated like widgets instead of humans with human needs.
Related to Applicability.