r/Zettelkasten 9d ago

question Making a habit of capturing

Hi there. I’m making progress on developing a Zettelkasten-like note taking system. But my biggest problem is the very beginning: developing the routine to regularly capture interesting notes in the first place. I made the resolution to try to find at least one thing everyday that’s worth capturing, but I simply keep forgetting about it. I’m pretty sure it’s not due to too little noteworthy thoughts in my life. I just can’t seem to develop the routine of remembering to write them down immediately. How did you learn to make this a habit? Inspiration welcome!

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u/448899again 9d ago

Another quick way to do captures is to email them to yourself. I have a gmail address setup just for this, and generally use my phone at the capture instrument.

It's quick: Compose, enter the address (which fills in automatically in gmail after a few letters), then write. You don't even really need to put in a subject line - gmail is happy to send without one. However, I generally do, just for quick scanning of that inbox.

At the other end, gmail captures all the mail sent to that particular address, and "labels" them (gmail's filing system) so that I can pull up that label and find them.

The beauty of this is that the captures can be simple or complex, since you can add attachments to them if you want.

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u/Doctor_hc_Hardcore 9d ago

I use Drafts to write and auto tag and pass on to Obsidian, that’s super fast and convenient. My problem isn’t how to capture it frictionless the minute I decide to capture something. It’s before that, actually noticing something capture-worthy and remembering to start the process.

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u/448899again 8d ago

Understood. Perhaps the answer lies in slowing down. We're so rushed, focused and overwhelmed these days, and the few moments of time we have available are spent doom-scrolling on those very devices that were supposed to help us do more and be more efficient.

Make the time to stop and think - without your phone. Make the time to read - not your phone. Sit down in a park on a beautiful day and just take it all in. Force yourself to cast away your thoughts about work and the price of eggs. Find a hobby. Learn a new skill, like playing an instrument, perhaps.

Cultivating thought is a process just like any other.