My 5-Year Journey Building a Zettelkasten: Lessons Learned

In this space, I’ll share the key insights and practical tips I’ve gained from my 5-year struggle to implement a Zettelkasten system. Whether you’re just starting or looking to refine your approach, you’ll find actionable advice to make your note-taking more effective.

In my mind, I think of this as Zettelkasten “for the rest of us.” I’m not an author, a student, or an academic, and I wouldn’t say I’m doing knowledge work. I’m simply creating what I was looking for when I started my own Zettelkasten and sharing my experiences here.

The Initial Struggle

I experimented with various note-taking systems for years before discovering the Zettelkasten method. If you’re like me and read a lot of non-fiction, you probably take notes, highlight passages, underline key points, or even fold the corners of pages. Whether reading a physical book or digital content, I often want to remember more; I’m pretty sure I’m not alone.

So, when I saw the title How to Take Smart Notes while book browsing on Amazon back in November of 2018, I bought it immediately.

Now, you might expect me to say that I let the book gather dust for three years, then finally rediscovered it, read it, implemented its advice, and lived happily ever after. But that’s not how things played out. I read it immediately but struggled with the terminology—fleeting, literature, reference, and permanent notes. The numbering system was, and frankly still is, even more baffling.

Experimenting with Digital and Analog Tools

Still, I was determined. I bought a cool red box to store my cool new 4×6 index cards (you can see it pictured there at the top of this blog). I started writing more notes, trying to rewrite in my own words, and reading everything I could find about the Zettlekasten method and its creator, Niklas Luhmann.

I created a digital Zettelkasten in Roam, which I eventually lost when I switched to Workflowy. I experimented with Obsidion and Notion. I read about and experimented with different numbering systems and ultimately settled on a hybrid approach that I describe in depth elsewhere on this blog.

Finding a Simplified Approach

After years of trial and error, I finally developed a simple and usable Zettelkasten. The literature landscape on this topic has grown significantly over the past five years, with some excellent resources and others that are less helpful. I’m committed to sharing everything I find—hopefully, my experiences will make your journey a little easier.

https://zettelkasten.de/posts/overview/#the-introduction-to-the-zettelkasten-method