Atomic Notes

Atomic notes, within the context of a personal knowledge management system, are self-contained, single-concept notes. Highly atomic notes are a hallmark of the Zettelkasten system of notetaking, which uses short notes, often written on index cards, to capture ideas and thoughts. The purpose of the Zettelkasten approach is to form connections for writing.

My published notes are not typically atomic, although I do maintain a non-public Zettelkasten as well, where the notes are more traditionally atomic. By contrast, what I write about here is more broadly focused and less restrictive. I tend to find that highly atomic notes are useful for reflecting on learning and driving the writing process, whereas what I call compound notes are more interesting to read.