One of the keys to a useful Zettelkasten is to keep ONLY permanent notes.

The problem is that it's not initially clear why.

In the beginning, I would also mistakenly translate ideas from things I read into my own words. I thought these were permanent notes. Big mistake.

The problem

As I shared "my ideas" with the world, I quickly realized "my ideas" aren't that original... How do I know? I'd see the same ideas echoed across Twitter over and over.

When "literature" notes sneak into a Zettelkasten, the Zettlekasten becomes less "useful".

Don't worry, there's a solution, but first, let's revisit Sonke's definitions.

Fleeting Notes - Random thoughts. Not connected to any other ideas. A Zettelkasten full of them is basically a pile of unusable mess.

Literature Notes - Other people's thoughts. Useful in quoting, but not useful in sharing, because they're not my ideas. (Unless, you want to be a quote machine.)

Permanent Notes - Original Thoughts. Connected to other existing ideas. You're free to use your own insights at any time. 😉

I think another useful way to think about Permanent Notes is how "useful" will it be to your content creation.

Can you use it without quoting? Will it add to the conversation, or just echo?

Now, not ALL your permanent notes will be share-worthy in the beginning. But, when your process focuses on acquiring only original thoughts in your Zettelkasten? Interesting insights are only a matter of time.

So, what's a good way to create Permanent notes? Stay tuned!