My Discbound Zettelkasten

My zettelkasten is the heart of my long-term notes. The German word “zettelkasten” literally translates into “slip box” (as in slips of paper). Built properly, it acts as a system of notes that you communicate with and, over time, learn from.

The premise is relatively simple: a zettelkasten is a collection of notes (think flash cards, but for comprehension and not rote memorization). Each note (or “zettel”) is a thought, bit of information, or concept. My zettels typically contain a keyword or phrase, some definition(s), relevant authors, and possibly causes/effects (antecedents and consequences of the concept).

Zettelkastens can be online and offline. In fact, I first learned about the zettelkasten system from Beck Tench, who uses a Zettelkasten via Tinderbox.

My zettelkasten is physical (surprise, surprise). For some time, I used regular index cards. However, when I switched to a discbound planner system early in 2019 (see my scheduling system here), I decided to also create a discbound zettelkasten. This allowed me to flip through my zettels and take them out to organize them in interesting ways.

An prototype of my zettelkasten. I took this picture while transitioning some of my old zettels into the final discbound zettelkasten.

Each zettel is a 4x3 index card, which is the size of the micro happy planner. I punch disc holes on one of the long sides of my zettels.

I keep my zettels in loose alphabetical order, so they’re relatively easy to find. I would discourage organizing one’s zettelkasten by topic or something because it may discourage unusual and surprising combinations of concepts (this is one way your zettelkasten “talks to you”).

Zettelkasten Key

Though I don’t formally organize my zettels (aside from alphabetically), I do ID each card with a unique alphanumeric sequence. Whenever I reference the zettel, I include the ID (both online and offline). My ID is a little complicated: the date of creation, followed by a field tag, a level of analysis, and a keyword. It typically looks something like this:

20191222CT0001word

“20191222” is the date (2019-12-22). “CT” stand for the field (Communication Theory). “0001” implies an individual-level idea. Finally, “word” is the keyword.

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Understanding my identification system. This is the first page of my zettelkasten. The stickers and washi tape were gifted to me by fellow grad students in my department!

Identification systems do not need to be nearly as complex as mine, but they do need to help you produce unique identifiers. When I reference Zettel A in in Zettel B, I’ll write the ID of Zettel A into Zettel B.

Writing the Zettel

In addition to an ID, my zettel also includes:

• The concept, usually a phrase or word. One zettel should be one “piece” of information. I also have dated zettels to refer to historical events (like the American Revolution, WWI, and the establishment of GATT.

• A brief definition or explanation of the concept. Sometimes, I’ll reference other zettels.

• On the back of my zettels, I have post-its referencing the other zettels (with the concept and the ID) and the names of relevant scholars or citations of relevant articles.

Front of Zettel

Back of Zettel

Combining Zettles

To write literature reviews, I take out my zettelkasten and combine multiple concepts in a “physical mind map” (If I like it enough, I’ll write it out as a cohesive flow chart and will digitize it).

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One of the first times using my zettelkasten prototype. In the upper left corner, you can see the ways in which I combined the zettels to make a claim.

In this process, I often treat my zettels as nouns or verbs. Arrows are usually verbs or prepositions. I then use these zettels to create first drafts of my thesis statements (for short memos and articles, in particular).

Book Logging and The Zettelkasten

As I mentioned in my previous blog post, I use an open circle bullet (o) to indicate an idea I want to put into my zettelkasten. Sometimes, I want to write new zettels. Other times, I want to add to already-existing zettels. In the case of the latter, I’ll write that zettel’s ID in my notes, so my book is also “linked” to my zettelkasten.

When I add the information to my zettelkasten (either as a new zettel or when expanding on an already existing zettel), I fill in the circle. I try to scan my book log once a week to transfer concepts to my zettelkasten.

This process is great because it allows me to review my notes. When I want to add new notes, I use a different colored pen, so I know what my original comments were and what my newer comments were.

Writing and Maintaining a Weekly To-Do

The core of my scheduling system is my weekly to-do list. When I have new tasks or things to do, this is where I write them down. I keep one to-do list a week; it is my master to-do list. During an academic week, my to-do list can range from anywhere between 20 and 45 items. My to-do lists are cumulative: that means I include work tasks (e.g., course assignments, reviewing papers, and writing) and personal tasks (e.g., baking, cleaning the fridge, and taking out the garbage).

Where do I write them?

When I first started writing weekly to-do lists, I used to write them on index cards, loose white paper, or college-ruled three-ringed binder paper. Now, I use dotted paper in my Happy Planner. 

What do they look like?

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A mock to-do list. Notice that I have included work things (e.g., analyses for projects) and personal things (“Dye Hair”).

My to-do list is a pretty simple numbered list. Though I’ve used the same general system since high school, I’ve made two major edits that have really helped me out.

1. I vary the length of my “check box” to indicate the length of time it takes to complete that to-do task. This is where dotted paper comes in handy because I can draw these boxes easily. I’ll also only draw boxes when I’ve started working on a task (that way, I’ll be able to see which tasks I didn’t work on that week).
   Most of my tasks have one to three boxes. One box is a relatively short task (e.g., writing a rec letter, sending an email). Two boxes indicate that the task is longer (e.g., writing a blog post, reading articles). Three boxes are for the longest tasks (e.g., writing part of a paper, grading, finishing coding tasks). Sometimes, especially when I’m collecting data, I’ll have longer boxes (e.g., if I’m collecting news articles for a constructed week, I’ll draw seven boxes).
   When I finish a task, I “x” out the number and color in the checkbox (like Task 5)

2. Many of the things I do require multiple steps. I’ll “thread” related action steps by writing the second task next to the first task’s check box. This is especially useful for data analyses. For example, if I need to: collect tweets, analyze them, create a graph, and then write a blog post, I’ll write this as multiple steps on one row.
   We can see this in the example to-do list. Task 8 requires me to grade first, and then put the grades in the gradebook. In this example, I’ve finished grading, but I haven’t put them in the gradebook. Task 10 requires me to collect data first before using the data in a lesson plan. I’ve planned to do this task, but I haven’t started on it yet.

3. For tasks that are urgent or must be done by a certain date, I indicate that task with a star and/or I write the due date of that task to the far right. To do this, I use an erasable red Frixion pen (I like being able to erase the stars). Honestly, I don’t think how you indicate it matters (you could highlight your task, or use a permanent pen, or something else), but you need a way to signal to your brain that this task has a looming deadline.
   In this example, Task 7 (read book chapter 1 & 2)is important. Task 8 and 10 are due Friday. It may not be urgent on Monday, but I would likely put stars next to these tasks by Wednesday.

   When I am done with a task with a star, I erase the star on that task and cross the task out as I normally would.

Notice that Task 6 (7-day data collection) has 7 boxes. Task 8 (grading) is a lengthy task (once I grade something, I have to also record it in my gradebook, which is a fairly quick process), Task 7 (read book chapter 1 & 2) is a medium-length task, and task 9 (scheduling a meeting for a project) is a short task. I have completed Task 5 (Zettelkasten Update). I’ve started on Task 3 (blog post) and Task 7, both of which are “urgent” (marked with a red star), but I' haven’t completed them.

Why use to-do lists?

This to-do list is very important to me because it is my “task dump”: it is a centralized location for me to check. When I look at my to-do list, I get a sense of what I need to accomplish. I can also tell when I’m taking on too much (e.g., when I have 40+ tasks). 

I haven’t fully completed a weekly to-do list since my last year in high school (I distinctly remember exclaiming my excitement during an AP Java class), and I write the to-do list knowing I will have to transfer several tasks to the next week (especially if I write them down on Friday, which is when I write a lot of my tasks).

When I took classes, I would try to put down my upcoming assignments at least two weeks in advance. For courses with term papers, I will break down the paper’s task into smaller increments (read articles, collect data, analyze data, write parts of the paper). I’ll then turn these smaller pieces into various action steps that I thread together (e.g., read these articles, and then write a short memo about them; grade these assignments and then post them on Canvas).

How can I do this digitally?

I’d be remised if I didn’t extoll the virtues of writing by hand, if possible. There are a lot of benefits to writing your to-do list by hand, including increased retention, the ability to practice your handwriting, and time to reflect on your tasks.

However, I understand that it might not be possible for all people. The key to maintaining a weekly to-do list is to have one centrally located place for it, regardless of where it is. You can’t maintain a different to-do list on your phone, your computer, and on different post-it notes and hope to have a handle on everything you have to do.

On your computer, you can use a sticky note application (Sticky Notes/Stickies/Xpad) to maintain a running list. If you have multiple sticky notes, you want to make sure your “Master To-Do List” is always noticeable, and probably a different color from the others. Though you won’t need to migrate tasks week by week, you should take an hour a week to assess your tasks, determine how much progress you’ve made on important ones, and remove tasks that are no longer necessary.

Want an app for that? There are also many to-do list/task manager phone apps. When I maintained a digital-dominant scheduling system (about 2 years ago), I had a digital to-do list that I would replicate in writing. During this time, I really enjoyed using Any.do because of its simplicity, but there are many other apps you can use.

What about color-coding tasks?

I’ve often tried to color-code my tasks (e.g., write all my coding tasks in green, and all my reading tasks in red, and all my grading tasks in purple), but I’ve found that what I gain from that information isn’t worth the time it takes to switch between colored pens. I also don’t carry around my colored pens everywhere.

On occasion, I do decorate my task list with interesting quotes, stickers, creatively handwritten notes.

Decorating your to-do list is also a good way to practice your letter writing and/or calligraphy (or doodling).

What if I want different to-do lists for different things?

Some people like keeping multiple to-do lists (for example, I have daily to-do lists that are subsets of my weekly to-do list). This is especially common when you teach: you may want to keep your work plans separate from your personal plans.

In these cases, I would still encourage maintaining one master to-do list, but I would write my teaching tasks as generically as possible (“write lesson plan for X”) or my master to-do list would refer to my teaching to-do list (“complete tasks 1-3 in my teaching to-do list”).

You can absolutely have multiple planners/journals (one for personal, one for research, one for teaching/lesson plans) but still maintain one to-do list.

Preparing for 2020!

It’s December, which is when we tend to think about what we’ve done this year and what we hope to do for next year. For me, that reflection includes updating my personal organizing and scheduling system (e.g., planners, calendars, bullet journals, organizers).

Organizing has been essential to maintaining a consistent workflow throughout my academic career. It’s a living system—I continually revamp it to make sure I’m getting the most out of it. Right now, I’m using a “paper-dominant hybrid system”: my scheduler, to-do list, reading notes, and zettelkasten are in print, but I maintain a digital calendar, a citation system, and mind-mapper.

Organizing systems are as varied as academic scholars. This makes sense: your system should serve your needs. But regardless of whether it’s digital or physical, multi-platform or all in one place, it behooves scholars to have a system that isn’t a pile of scraps or things you write on your hand. Trust me when I say: there is too much to remember in grad school for you to “have it all in your head.” If you don’t write things down or record it, things will inevitably slip from your mind.

For that reason, I'm hoping to spend my next few blog posts talking about how I organize my academic life (from day-to-day scheduling to keeping notes that will last a decade). I’ll also talk about how I’m updating my 2019 system for the new year.

But before I proceed, here are a couple of disclaimers/considerations:

1. No organization system is perfect forever. In the planner community, the term “planner peace” refers to having a system you are completely satisfied with. While this sounds awesome, realistically, you won’t find a system that completely fits you for your whole life. Your planner system will change as you and your career changes—but this is how it should be, because what you need from your organizing system will change.

2. Maintenance is key. A good organizing system relies on regular maintenance. That might involve setting aside time weekly to update your citations, review your planner/calendar, or to clean your to-do list. As diverse as organization systems are, they all still require maintenance.

3. The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry. Few of the days I schedule and organize go exactly as I anticipated. Even if I write a daily to-do list, I rarely complete it. Don’t be hard on yourself when your plans go out the window for a day (or longer). Don’t feel bad if you have to forgo your organizing system for a bit when things get hectic.

4. Don’t mistake planning for doing. Planning out your day is not the same as actually doing what you planned. Don’t make planning busy-work to avoid the real work you have to do.