2b2 - Evergreen notes

Last updated Aug 15, 2023

• Note-takers “churn and burn” through their notes.

  • They take them for a specific short-term (“just-in-time”) purpose—like a test or a project.
  • When the milestone concludes, the notes lose their value.
  • This type of note-taking doesn’t accumulate long-term value.

• Note-makers “know and grow” with their knowledge.

  • Instead of having value evaporate from their short-term notes, note-makers create living notes that are able to grow in value and evolve over time.
     
    Let’s overly simplify this difference with a table:

    Note-taking	Note-making
    Passive thinking	Active thinking
    “Churn and burn”	“Know and grow”
    Static & permanent notes	Living & evergreen notes

• In the late 1950s, Niklas Luhmann didn’t have a computer. But he had plenty of index cards. Whenever he read something notable, he would write it on an index card. Decades later, Luhmann had ≈100,000 index cards that he used to write 400 articles and 60 books. 

• People are rightfully impressed by how prolific he was with his “Zettelkasten” method. So they try to replicate it in the digital world.

  • But as always happens, some folks get a little too dogmatic and they rigidly tie themselves to the “One True Zettelkasten Method”—bending over backwards trying to digitize what Niklas Luhmann did with index cards.

• What could go wrong? Zettelkasten zealots are likely to experience two pitfalls in their PKM efforts:

  • Making atomic notes that are too tiny = fragmented thinking.
  • Thinking that their “permanent notes” can’t change = rigid thinking.

• A subtle but important distinction to the term “permanent notes” (which is NOT a term from Luhmann by the way) came around 2019 when Andy Matuschak coined the term evergreen notes. For many, including myself, evergreen notes suggest that ==notes are living and changeable.==

• When we make evergreen notes, we make living notes—notes that can grow in value and evolve over time. If notes can’t evolve and make new connections, they won’t be as valuable to us.

While evergreen notes are just regular notes, they have principles that generate value.

• Clear and concise - The title for evergreen notes should be a ==clear title or statement. ==
  • As you form this one-liner, you clarify and sharpen your thinking. It’s like a ==mini-thesis.== This process naturally enforces an ==atomic note size.==
  • Don’t stress about making atomic notes. Follow the Goldilocks rule: Not too short, not too long.
  • You will know if it’s too long ==if you have trouble linking it because it’s saying many different things.==
• Your own words - Writing in your own words forces you to deeply think about what you’re trying to say.
  • This is a forcing function to draw out your unique perspective. 
• Linked - Your living, evergreen notes should have links to other notes. 
  • You will naturally make links if you’ve made clear notes in your own words.
• Non-static - As you encounter new things in life, you can ==re-write or re-factor your notes== to capture more meaning and value.
  • This means evergreen notes become ==living entities==—gaining insights and complexity as time passes.