I have noted that professionals, such as lawyers, often read with incomplete comprehension, and their resulting writing or speeches are mediocre or poorly structured. Is there a way to read with better comprehension and to set yourself up for better writing and speaking later? Let us look at the Zettelkasten system of notetaking.
Zettlekasten: A Simple Way to Read and Write and Think Better.
Zettelkasten was why the 20th century sociologist Niklas Luhmann was so jaw-droppingly prolific, publishing over 60 books. Far from being a genius, he ascribed his astonishing productivity to his notetaking system. While reading, Luhmann wrote fleeting notes, generally about the content of his reading. Critically, he did not quote but wrote the ideas out in his own words.
He later used these to generate permanent notes, which had insights related to his ongoing research. When he saw a useful conceptual connection, he would link permanent notes regarding one book to other permanent notes he had earlier created. He numbered the notes rather than organizing them by topic, and notes that were conceptually linked to one another were placed together according to their numbers. So, slip number 5 might have information and insight about oil production and note 6 might have an insight about geopolitics. These might seem to be different fields of study; the number ordering reflected the connection that Luhmann saw.
Luhmann stored these notes in a series of boxes. He could shuffle and renumber his notes later if he saw other connections. His notes represented an ongoing dialogue with himself.
Luhmann wrote on a vast array of topics – from sociology to philosophy to economics. The ideas and insights from his broad reading, with the topics built from the bottom up through the links, sinuously interlaced themselves. His books reflected the restless ebb and flow of his eclectic reading. He easily transcended the dreary silo mentality that characterizes a lot of modern-day academic thought and expression.
With the permanent notes (and associated bibliographical notes) and the links, he had already amassed a formidable amount of information even before he began to write. Hence his remarkable productivity.
How Can It Help You?
Whether on paper or apps such as Obsidian, this technique can help professionals who are researching. As a lawyer for many years, research, writing, and speaking were my bread and butter. With Zettelkasten, I would have been better positioned to see connections as I researched – the holding of a federal case intersecting subtly with a state court case in a non-intuitive way, for example. Similarly, this simple but effective notetaking system can help business professionals see sometimes elusive connections between seemingly discrete concepts.
In reading, we greatly enhance our productivity if we take notes and not just highlight relevant text. If we use Luhmann’s system, we are also nicely setting ourselves to write later in a way that is unique, linking together ideas that may seem unconnected at first glance.
Like what you read here? Work with me so that we use every available technique to improve your business writing and business presentations.
