How to Start a Zettelkasten When You Are Stuck in Theory
This guide is deliberately concise. It is written for people who struggle to get started and get stuck endlessly consuming Zettelkasten theory.
- Start with a minimalist, distraction-free app.
- Learn only how to quickly create new notes, set direct links, and find notes in the Zettelkasten (full-text search, following links).
- Create a structure note for a current research interest.
- Create notes from a link first: start by adding a link on the structure note to the future note that does not yet exist, and then create the corresponding note.
Your first and only goal initially is to make the structure note a representation of your research progress that you’re proud of. Imagine someone asks you about the topic, and you feel confident pulling up the structure note while they see it. This structure note should give the impression, “Wow, there’s a lot in there.”
Focus on this one structure note. This indirectly means: focus on this one research interest.
This approach is inspired by Josh Waitzkin’s explanation in The Art of Learning about how to start learning chess. Instead of beginning with the full board and all pieces, you start with just the king and one other piece. This allows you to focus on the behavior of a single piece. You isolate a sub-skill and can train it more effectively.
When building this one structure note, ensure each individual note is carefully crafted. Use paragraphs, revise your wording until it’s clear, put effort into the title (and adjust it later if it doesn’t fit—it happens often!), and try to connect each idea with other ideas in your Zettelkasten. This network of connections is straightforward when you focus on one research interest: each link should lead to another thought that expands the current one. This could be a counterposition, an alternative definition of a term, a practical implication, a template based on the idea, etc.
Your research interest should be genuine. It’s a mistake to choose something you think is “safe” to fail at. It may seem rational to experiment with something where failure has no serious consequences (e.g., having to start over). But this only leads to a lack of motivation to build the intensity and seriousness needed for thorough work. If the content of your Zettelkasten isn’t important to you and only serves to learn the Zettelkasten method, you’ll quickly become superficial and sloppy with the content. The Zettelkasten method requires serious engagement with the content – it cannot be learned with dummy content.
Once you’ve sufficiently pursued your research interest, choose a new one and repeat the process. You’ll encounter notes from your previous research interest. Always ask yourself if those old notes can help advance your current research. Can you benefit from a concept you’ve already captured? Do you see a pattern between an old note and a new one? Record all of this in your Zettelkasten.
Get started.