I’ve got a few templates that I use depending on the content, and I have improved them based on the feedback here already. I use Alfred, and have these stored as snippets that get pasted in place pretty easily.
Standard Template
# Title
Status: #triage
Tags: #sn
Date: {date:short}
Type: [[Articles]] <!-- Media type, if there is one -->
Related: <!-- Links to pages not referenced in the content -->
## Notes
<!-- The main content of my thoughts really -->
-
## Questions
<!-- What remains for you to consider? -->
-
## Terms
<!-- Links to definition pages -->
-
Book Template
# Title
Status: #triage
Tags: #sn #genre
Date: {date:short}
Author: [[Author Name]]
Type: [[Books]]
Related: <!-- Links to pages not referenced in the content -->
## Summary
<!-- No more than a couple paragraphs summarizing my thoughts -->
## Notes
<!-- The main content of my thoughts really -->
-
## Quotes
<!-- Notable quotes with reference to their page or location -->
-
## Questions
<!-- What remains for you to consider? -->
-
## Terms
<!-- Links to definition pages -->
-
Glossary Template
# Term
<!-- Definition goes here -->
Date: {date:short}
Tags: #glossary
Type: [[Glossary]]
I don’t really have a template for Permanent Notes, yet. But will share it when I do!
Type: #literature-note#video OR #article OR etc.
Date written: [[2020-08-14, Fri]]
Date read/watched: [[1998-12-18, Fri]]
Author: [[author]]
Source:
Status: #wip
Keywords:
Notes:
Inmensae subtilitatis, obscuris et malesuada fames.
For permanent notes:
Title
Fabio vel iudice vincam, sunt in culpa qui officia. Inmensae subtilitatis, obscuris et malesuada fames. Ambitioni dedisse scripsisse iudicaretur. Nec dubitamus multa iter quae et nos invenerat. Petierunt uti sibi concilium totius Galliae in diem certam indicere.
A communi observantia non est recedendum. Vivamus sagittis lacus vel augue laoreet rutrum faucibus. Nihilne te nocturnum praesidium Palati, nihil urbis vigiliae.
Metadata:
Type: #permanent-note
Status: #wip
Timestamp: [[2020-08-14, Fri]] 12:22
Keywords:
References:
[[literature note]]
[[literature note#corresponding heading]]
keywords are left empty as I’m still deciding on whether I should be using tags or links for them, and whether I should also add keywords for literature notes
Where do you all stand on file name and note title? The same? Different? If the same do you add the title to the top of the note or do you let the file name carry that load on its own?
Does anyone tag their dates or backlink their dates? just in case you wanted to see every single note you made in a current day or month of the year in a graph or list?
Every permanent note of mine has a link to its corresponding daily note plus time. It not only acts as a timestamp, but it also lets me see all the notes I’ve made for a specific day via the daily note’s backlinks.
Note sure if that answers your question but there ya go
Below is what I have come up with. It is a template and a workflow/process heavily inspired by “How To Take Smart Notes” by Sonke Ahrens. Still a work in progress but hopefully of help.
I am using a hybrid Zettlekasten system by capturing the literature notes physically on index cards and then transferring/elaborating into Obsidian as per below.
Zettlekasten Permanent Note Template
tags:
links: Home Index Link - any others you may wish
Idea goes here
Lorem ipsum… - with embedded in-situ links in your idea text #TBC (This tag can be used to search for notes which still need elaboration and/or were just captured quickly whilst in-flow from other notes)
1. Key Phrases… Think…
How to retrieve?
When will I need to know this?
What contexts? #KeyPhraseTag1#KeyPhraseTag2 …
2. Elaboration… Think…
Connections | Consequences | Implications…
Why is this of interest?
What else does this relate to?
Where have i heard this before?
What does the opposite of this mean?
Compare how this fits with X or Y
Contrast with Z
How can this be combined with other ZKN notes?
What is missing?
What are the similarities?
How does this connect to XYZ?
How does this fit with what i know?
Can this be explained by something else?
What are the limitations?
Is this convincing?
Can this be disproved?
Why X 5?
What if this is wrong?
What if…
So what?
3. Related Literature Link
RN: RYYMMDDHHMM
LITERATURELINK GOES HERE - link to the book/article/paper you have captured as a note
Note: Other Zettlekasten links should go in text in situ
4. Classify
Does this fit in with a topic and what about new topics to the index?
5. CMD-SHIFT-R - Force fit
See if a random note can give new ideas/insights to the current thought
[[Reference to a Book, Article that sparked the thought]]
> Quote, if any.
My own thoughts or a rephrase of the quote.
Tags: [[Tags]], [[Associated]], [[with]], [[Thought]]
Tags are what most would call MOCs. I use actual #tags only for metadata. So for example each book note will have a #Book tag and status tag (#read, #reading, or something like that.)
Started seriously Zetteling a couple months ago. This is the template I settled for. It uses the templater plugin to insert the ID of the Zettel, date and time.
# 202101031548 Write atomic idea here
**January 3rd 2021 / 3:50:01 pm**
**Tags:**
### Body of the Zettel. This is where the main idea of each Zettel will be explained.
Below, a few bulletpoints allow you to add more information and flesh out each idea.
- Sub-idea 1
- Sub-idea 2
- Sub-idea 3
**Related Notes**
Space for adding links to [[internal notes]]
**References**
Space for adding external references in the form of links or [bibliographic sources].
(https://wikipedia.com)
For my current template for creating permanent notes I’ll still want to improve one thing, but don’t know how.
Right now I write my note content, cut the content, use the templater plugin and then paste the content again. I really like to just automate it. And I also don’t want to write my note content after using the templater because it’s too cluttered…
Maybe someone knows?
---
UID: {{tp_today:f=YYYYMMDDHHmm}}
title: [{{tp_title}}]
bibliography: ../library.bib #path to bibtex file for citations via pandoc
link-citations: true
csl: ../apa.csl #citation style for american psychology association
aliases:
---
...
{{tp_cursor}} "Note Content"
...
<sub>[[followed by note link]]</sub>
*Here comes all the relevant note links or links I didn't used in "Note-Content"*
---
"References in APA Style (Zotero)"
#tag
"Backlinks in document plugin"
Your wording is interesting to me. “wrapping your head around” zettlekasten…While I approach this system with a similar energy, I’m also trying to approach it as an exploration, into the unknown, planting a garden. The point is not to understand, but to explore and eventually make connections. This implies being lost, not knowing, messing up. It mimics life in many ways.
Thanks
I use tags to mark Zettel as entry points for specific topics. I thought about using map of concepts but I in my opinion they are “adaptive folders” on steroids and still are priming a hierarchical/top-down approach.
I am not a fan of MOCs either, or at least the top-down ones I’ve seen so far. They don’t really support the emergence of ideas. But having said that, what I really meant by my question is what is the significance of your <sub> tags. It’s something I’ve not seen before.
Ah that’s only formatting to please my eye. I also didnt use the “follows note” link and just use the backlink plugin for rendering it within a note at the bottom.
I hope that in the future the graph plugin will show something like the impulse function in neuron.
MOCs and index notes (etc) only replicate folder structures when they are defined top-down in that fashion.
But they can be incredibly useful when you allow them to emerge from the bottom up.
For example, the MOC approaches you see that use some form of decimal system to establish structures as a framework to start with are well-intentioned but flawed, IMO.
A better approach is to just start with notes and then identify themes and collections organically from the bottom up, collect those into notes, and then eventually label them MOCs or whatever else you want.
In my own note collection I have multiple “levels” of “hierarchy” without imposing a hierarchy at all. (its more of a heterarchy, because I can freely put any note in any list anywhere at any time)
Notes - lowest level
Outlines/Lists - ordered or unordered collections of notes on a very specific theme
Topic Clusters - ordered or unordered collections (including list notes) on a broader theme
A handful of MOCs - top level broad collections
Notes from higher levels can freely link to any of the notes in the lower levels.
Actual example from my own notes:
Individual notes on note taking methods, principles, ideas, etc
Two list notes: List of note taking principles and List of note taking methods collecting the notes from #1 in various ways
Topic clusters: one on Zettelkasten method, one on note taking systems in general, etc, each linking to items from #1 and #2 as appropriate
A few MOCs: I don’t have a “note taking MOC” but I do have one titled Reasoning and Learning MOC which includes a section on knowledge digestion and note making, containing links to various items from #1 - #3 as appropriate
In this manner a broad grouping of topics has emerged from my notes, with no central planning. MOCs are a useful concept for collecting these together, without requiring me to pre-define a central taxonomy. The MOCs in my collection are analogous to academic disciplines or fields of study in a sense but are unique and specific to my needs and interests.
