How I Take Notes

Tiago Forte

“The best thinking is done with a network of notes, not a single notebook.”

My Note-Taking Philosophy

Core Principles

1. Capture first, organize later — Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good
2. Use bidirectional links — Connect ideas across domains
3. Write for your future self — Assume you’ll forget context
4. Review regularly — Knowledge without review decays

The Zettelkasten Method

Zettelkasten

German for “slip box,” this method was used by sociologist Niklas Luhmann to produce over 70 books and 400 articles.

Key Concepts

1. Atomic notes — One idea per note
2. Linking — Connect related notes
3. Emergent structure — Let organization arise naturally
4. Writing as thinking — Clarify thoughts through writing

graph TD
    A[Inbox] -->|Process| B[Atomic Notes]
    B -->|Link| C[Knowledge Graph]
    C -->|Review| D[Insights]
    D -->|Create| E[Projects]
    E -->|Learn| A

My Workflow

Daily Process

1. Capture — Quick notes throughout the day
2. Process — End of day, refine and link
3. Review — Weekly review of recent notes
4. Create — Turn notes into projects

Step 1: Capture

Quick Capture

Use the fastest method available:

• Mobile: Obsidian app
• Desktop: Quick add plugin
• Browser: Web clipper
• Voice: Transcription app

Step 2: Process

Processing Checklist

• Is this note atomic (one idea)?
• Does it have a clear title?
• Are there links to related notes?
• Is the context clear without external info?

Step 3: Review

Don't Skip Reviews

Reviewing is where the magic happens. I use a simple system:

Frequency	Action	Time
Daily	Process inbox	15 min
Weekly	Review recent notes	30 min
Monthly	Review all new notes	1 hour
Quarterly	Major review & cleanup	2 hours

Note Types

Note Categories

1. Fleeting notes — Quick captures, temporary
2. Literature notes — Summaries of what you read
3. Permanent notes — Your own ideas and insights
4. Project notes — Specific to ongoing projects

Example: Literature Note

Book Note Template

# [Book Title]
## Key Ideas
- Idea 1
- Idea 2
## My Thoughts
- How does this connect to [[Other Note]]?
- What can I apply?
## Quotes
> "Important quote here"

Bidirectional Links

The Power of Links

Bidirectional links are the core of my knowledge management. They create:

1. Context — Links provide surrounding information
2. Discovery — Find unexpected connections
3. Navigation — Easy movement between related ideas
4. ** serendipity** — Random discoveries through graph traversal

Linking Strategies

When to Link

• When you mention a concept defined elsewhere
• When two ideas relate but aren’t obvious
• When you want to create a “see also” reference
• When building a knowledge graph

# Example Links
- [[Web Development Basics]] — Topic reference
- [[Book Notes - Thinking Fast and Slow|Thinking Fast and Slow]] — Alias link
- [[Healthy Habits#Sleep Hygiene]] — Section link
- [[Machine Learning Intro]] — Cross-domain connection

Tools I Use

My Toolkit

• Obsidian — Primary note-taking app
• Quartz — Publishing notes to the web
• Git — Version control for notes
• Docker — Containerized workflow

Common Mistakes

Pitfalls to Avoid

1. Over-organizing — Let structure emerge
2. Perfect notes — Done is better than perfect
3. No links — Isolated notes are useless
4. No review — Knowledge decays without use
5. Copying instead of processing — Engage with the material

Measuring Success

Metrics That Matter

• Number of new connections per week
• Notes referenced in projects
• Insights generated per month
• Time to find relevant information

Related Notes

• My PKM System — The complete system
• Book Notes - Thinking Fast and Slow — Example literature note
• Healthy Habits — Applying note-taking to habits
• Quartz Blog Setup — Publishing workflow

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*Tags: notes productivity obsidian pkm