stamp 202505191115
Different ways of numbering:
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Scott uses a mixed system (starts top-down, then switches to bottom-up) - 1b1-scott-scheper-s-suggestion-to-build-your-zettelkasten-numbering-system-on-the-outline-of-academic-disciplines-is-confusing
- You can either start with Scott’s proposed numbering system and apply it consistently (which Scott doesn’t do), or the Dewey Decimal system, if you want to sort your notes into pre-defined categories. It defies the Zettelkasten idea tho.
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Sascha Fast recommends to use timestamps. Easy to enter either automatically or manually.
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Bob Doto argues in his book for Folgezettels even in digital. Needs more thinking, you can’t generate the ID automatically. - 1b1b1-the-folgezettel-numbering-system-helps-notes-to-cluster-in-a-sorted-list
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In digital, you don’t even have to UID, the system takes care of it.
In the Obsidian subreddit, the global graph constantly gets attacked, but it’s Obsidian’s only default view where you can see your notes clustered by connections.
A list view is pretty default in every file system.
Unless you use some sorting view and take the extra steps to consistently add the attributes, your files will be sorted by name.
- I personally don’t want to go back the Obsidian plugins rabbit hole.
How notes will show up with the different numbering systems in the list view:
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Without the title starting with some UID, your notes will be sorted alpabetically by title.
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Not very informative. Your clusters will be probably around words like “the”, “is” or “how”.
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Alternative to UID: you can start the name with a hashtag-like thing, so names can also create some cluster
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If you use timestamps as a starting string of titles, your notes will be sorted by date of creation.
- Just like in a journal. This is also the answer to “can you keep a Zettelkasten in a notebook / in notebooks. You can. It will look like Sachsa’s Zettelkasten, just on paper.
- 1b1b-id-ing-your-notes-by-timestamp-is-like-keeping-them-in-a-notebook
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The Folgezettel is a good way to cluster connected notes together in a list form, not just in the graph. 1b1b1-the-folgezettel-numbering-system-helps-notes-to-cluster-in-a-sorted-list
I sort my inbox and my raw notes chronologically - so I use the timestamps.
I sort my polished notes (my Zettelkasten) by the Folgezettel method, so emergent topics can cluster organically.
Related
- hub-zettelkasten
- moc-what-are-the-distinctive-features-of-a-zettelkasten-compared-to-a-notecard-collection