Thank you so much for this! I wanted to start my Zettelkasten this week but was a little intimidated and hesistant. I am not a huge fan of categories and creating them beforehand but I was unsure of how I could get started with my Kasten. Your idea of Foundation Cards is the answer to that problem. It really personalizes the Zettelkasten and gives the user a good sense of purpose and direction. Maybe that is the key to not get lost in all of the note taking because one might feel the need/pressure to fill all of these categories. With a foundation card though there is more focus on the topics that you're truly interested in. And it'll probably be very interesting to see how interests change and emerge by using a concept like this. And I also love your idea of directory cards! makes way more sense to me than hub notes.😅 Again, thank you so much. I am really glad I found your channel! Greetings from Germany 😊
Foundation cards have solved a problem for me that I’ve been trying to figure out for literally years - how do I give structure to my Zettelkasten that isn’t arbitrary? This gives me personalised structure, tailored to my own interests and needs, avoids my “filing” brain wanting to put a card into a pre-defined but ultimately arbitrary category because “that’s the correct placement” AND gives me some structure to work with so I’m not overwhelmed by a free-for-all on numbering and placement. Solving problems left and right, thank you Kathleen!
Can we use factoid cards if you are getting rid of the book you are using as a foundation book for a category? As long as we have our thoughts added to the cards this part makes sense but it seems if we have all these foundation books piling up and not much space... Could this be an option for factoid cards?
Of course you may use factoid cards. It's your Zettelkasten, so it should be created to serve your needs. My first suggestion, however, would be to leave the factoids on your Bib Cards, or on the backside of a Main Card containing the idea the facts support.
Thank you so much for this! I wanted to start my Zettelkasten this week but was a little intimidated and hesistant. I am not a huge fan of categories and creating them beforehand but I was unsure of how I could get started with my Kasten. Your idea of Foundation Cards is the answer to that problem. It really personalizes the Zettelkasten and gives the user a good sense of purpose and direction. Maybe that is the key to not get lost in all of the note taking because one might feel the need/pressure to fill all of these categories. With a foundation card though there is more focus on the topics that you're truly interested in.
And it'll probably be very interesting to see how interests change and emerge by using a concept like this.
And I also love your idea of directory cards! makes way more sense to me than hub notes.😅
Again, thank you so much. I am really glad I found your channel!
Greetings from Germany 😊
Greetings to you, Kate in Germany! I am very happy that this video was helpful for you. Please let me know how your Zettelkasten comes together.
Foundation cards have solved a problem for me that I’ve been trying to figure out for literally years - how do I give structure to my Zettelkasten that isn’t arbitrary? This gives me personalised structure, tailored to my own interests and needs, avoids my “filing” brain wanting to put a card into a pre-defined but ultimately arbitrary category because “that’s the correct placement” AND gives me some structure to work with so I’m not overwhelmed by a free-for-all on numbering and placement. Solving problems left and right, thank you Kathleen!
Oh Kat, I am so happy that this video is proving to be useful for you. Let me know how your progress goes with your Zettelkasten.
Can we use factoid cards if you are getting rid of the book you are using as a foundation book for a category? As long as we have our thoughts added to the cards this part makes sense but it seems if we have all these foundation books piling up and not much space...
Could this be an option for factoid cards?
Of course you may use factoid cards. It's your Zettelkasten, so it should be created to serve your needs. My first suggestion, however, would be to leave the factoids on your Bib Cards, or on the backside of a Main Card containing the idea the facts support.