1  
 2  # Zettelkasten workflow
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 4  
 5  Highly effective systems should be simple.
 6  
 7  Since the release of the popular book [[r.Ahrens2017|How to Take Smart Notes]], much of the simplicity of the [[§ Zettelkasten|zettelkasten]] system has been confused and overly complicated as a result. With much debate over terminology of note types, when does an X note become a Y note, etc. 
 8  
 9  [[5.1 Niklas Luhmann|Niklas Luhmann]] not only had a simple system for managing and organizing his notes, he also had a simple process for developing them that can be summarized accordingly, in a modern context:
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11  1. **Identify** ideas that captivate you and spark your curiosity and select the best available sources to draw from. Recognize the primary sources that are commonly referenced when you stumble upon a new area of interest.
12  2. **Extract** knowledge from those books, articles, or relevant videos and podcasts by jotting down keywords and phrases in [[5.10 Source notes|source notes]]. Distill key points from [[5.10 Source notes|source notes]] into [[5.9 Main note|main notes]].
13  3. **Connect** existing notes to the main note by linking related concepts, keywords and phrases. Include sources in the reference section so your writings can credit the scholars who worked hard to provide that knowledge.
14  	- Quick tip: Press ``cmd + shift + B`` to create a new book note.
15  	- *If you use [Zotero](https://www.zotero.org/) as a reference manager, with the application open, press ``cmd + shift + L`` to create a Zotero source note*.
16  4. **Organize** notes in sequential order using [[3.2e1 Using folgezettel to catalog notes|folgelzettel]]. The necessity of this step is debated in the digital zettelkasten community since organizational hierarchies can be managed through indexes and links. But a true zettelkasten catalogues thought sequences this way and is considered a core principle.
17  5. **Create** outputs with the valuable insights you extracted, connected and synthesized by drawing from main notes in your zettelkasten (Archive).
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19  That's it. Ignore any "productivity gurus" who try to complicate it any further.