The Three-Phase Foundation

The Zettelkasten method provides a systematic approach to note-taking and knowledge management through three distinct phases: capturing, organizing, and connecting. Each phase serves a specific purpose in the transformation of fleeting thoughts into permanent knowledge.

Capturing: This phase involves recording new ideas or pieces of information as they come to mind. Each note should contain a single idea and be labeled with a unique title/identifier.
Organizing: Once you have a collection of notes, you can start organizing them. This includes consolidating fleeting notes into permanent notes and creating reference notes to keep track of everything.
Connecting: One of the key benefits of Zettelkasten is the ability to connect related ideas together. Look for ways to link your individual notes together, either by creating new connections or identifying existing ones.

The Need of a Personal Analogy & Framework

The terminology and analogies used to describe these phases should resonate with your thinking patterns. While traditional Zettelkasten vocabulary includes terms like "fleeting notes", "literary notes", and "Zettels" for permanent notes, these labels may not feel intuitive for everyone.

Personally, I believe that the perfect analogy is what works best for you, what makes more sense & to describe different phases of thought you can use any analogy.

I have been using the organic growth metaphor, representing the note's evolution as 🌱(seedling) → 🪴(budding) → 🌳(evergreen). This seedling-to-evergreen progression provides rich contextual understanding, bringing in the element of time and the gradual development of ideas. Under this framework, permanent notes become "evergreen notes"; mature, self-sustaining pieces of knowledge that continue to provide value and generate new connections over time. You could explore a more straightforward approach, the states of matter analogy offers clarity through familiarity. In this model, thoughts progress from Gas☁️(scattered, volatile ideas) to liquid💧(more formed but still fluid concepts) to solid🪨(crystallized, permanent notes). This framework emphasizes the increasing stability and reliability of information as it moves through each phase.

Regardless of which analogy or terminology you choose,

The fundamental objective remains the same: reaching that final state of permanent notes📃🌳🪨