Zettelkasten - Personal Knowledge Management System

What is it?

Build a living web of ideas–not a filing cabinet (he says, using an emoji of a filing cabinet).

Instead of taking notes you never revisit, Zettelkasten helps you:

• Capture useful insights from what you read.
• Connect ideas over time to spark new thinking.
• Continuously reuse your knowledge for writing, fundraising, and strategy.

You know those non-profit leaders who always seem to have a killer blogpost at their fingertips, no matter the situation? This is how they’re doing it.

How it works

1. Take atomic notes: When you read something interesting, distil the key insight in your own words (no copypasta). Each note should be one idea, one note–no long summaries.

2. Link ideas: Connect new notes to existing ones. Found a great insight on community engagement? Link it to past notes on volunteer retention. Over time, this builds a network of knowledge.

3. Surface insights, Review and revisit. This system naturally surfaces connections that fuel your writing, fundraising appeals, or strategic thinking.