Niklas Luhmann was this cool German dude who was into sociology and philosophy of social science. He was really big on systems theory and wrote like crazy — over 70 books and nearly 400 scholarly articles on all sorts of topics. Impressive, huh?
So, the trick he used to be super productive in writing was something called Zettelkasten or slip-box — a wooden box with cards/slips.
In recent years, Zettelkasten has gained widespread popularity and application, especially after the publication of “How to Take Smart Notes” by Ahrens Sönke. This method has been widely discussed and adopted by many individuals.
The basic idea of Zettelkasten is to create a system of interconnected notes that are organized in a way that appears chaotic but is actually structured. Each note, also known as a “Zettel,” is meant to be written in your own words and captures a single idea or concept. By using your own language, you engage in active learning and deepen your understanding of the material.
As you accumulate a sufficient number of notes, you can leverage the existing structure and connect related notes through collectives or hubs. These collectives act as central points where various notes converge, allowing you to establish connections and identify relationships between different ideas. This process of linking and refining your notes enables you to quickly generate articles or written outputs with ease.
Many knowledge workers have embraced Zettelkasten as a way to streamline their…