Thread by @beauhaan

TRUST: THE HIDDEN SECRET TO A ZETTELKASTEN 👥

"In the context of testing the trust of this system... it was mind-blowing"

𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲-𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴:

When I first started learning about this strange German word for slip box, I had no idea that it would bring me to where I am today.
¹|₂₀

And as I have scoured every resource I could about this simple, lightweight, note-taking system, I realized that I was fortunate enough to not have brought with me much baggage of old ways of working.
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I say that with great admiration to those that have had strongly held ways of working that may have even been quite successful at organizing their thinking and writing.
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However, one of the first things I realized was that when many were approaching this task of learning about this way of working—they were often times too filled with past grievances to have any way of holding on to this new way of working.
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I mean how many of us can talk of our frustrations with Evernote this, Notion that, the list could go on.
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And I just couldn't bring myself to carrying around little index cards, no matter how thin, around with me, when I had a fully functioning and powerful computer with me at all times.
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https://twitter.com/beauhaan/status/1395206101872820224?s=20

There had to be another way, and I suppose asking a different question would lead to a different answer and this is the point of this post.
⁷|₂₀

𝗔𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻, 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗴𝗼:

One of the biggest realizations that I had while on this journey was that nobody could actually teach me how to do it.
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I don't mean the simple concepts and how to put them together, but rather how to actually implement it and habitualize this process over time.

That's one of the most difficult aspects of learning how to do anything.
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The mastery of anything requires a work ethic, but without being work while doing it.

If you can figure out that paradoxical idea, then you're on the road to happy destiny~
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After I understood the concepts (h/t: Zettelkasten.de, Daniel Lüdeke, Sönke Ahrens, and of course Luhmann's actual words) I started to see a hypothesis come to light.
¹¹|₂₀

If I could truly off-load my thinking to this communication partner then how much more would I be able to actually focus on the writing and thinking.

Could I really have something that I could depend on? Even after all the failed attempts?
¹²|₂₀

𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲-𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗮𝘀𝘀:

I knew one thing had to be different this time. I had to trust in this system. And I use that word loosely, because the negative connotations are ever apparent.
¹³|₂₀

I had to trust that this wasn't going to fail me.

But how would I ever test that trust unless I could prove undeniably that this way of working was going to allow for me to never have to remember everything in this fallible mind of mine?
¹⁴|₂₀

Then after a long coaching session with @soenke_ahrens, I realized that he gave me a clue—a vital clue linking what I didn't know with what I did know.

He gently guided me to this concept of critical mass, without revealing how powerful that moment would be.
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See, my interpretation of a critical mass of notes is when after building out my Zettelkasten over time—I stumble upon a note that I had completely forgotten about.
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https://twitter.com/beauhaan/status/1395885843630501888?s=20

This in itself doesn't matter much, but when in the context of testing the trust of this system... it was mind-blowing.
¹⁷|₂₀

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝘆 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲-𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴:

If the experience of writing a new Permanent Note is an actual memory.
¹⁸|₂₀

Then taking the captured Fleeting Notes, processing them upwards towards a crystallized thought, and then spending the time connecting it to all Relevant Notes that I have ever written is all I have to remember.
¹⁹|₂₀

And what this communication partner has done for me is bore the weight of my memory and reminded me—surprised me!

This was the litmus test of whether I could trust again, and the excitement hasn't left me ever since.
²⁰|₂₀