(1A4) Zettel as micro-essay
Writers like Ahrens, Doto and Kadavy — who introduced Luhmann's zettelkasten to a new generation — describe a zettel as one note that expresses a singular, complete thought.
Extending this definition, I see each zettel as a micro-essay: a complete and structured thought, which defines an idea, connects it to others, and states its meaning and relevance to the reader. Each note is evidence of [supports:: how I think about thinking][^1].
To [supports:: write the zettel], one must [supports:: (1C1) Read like a detective]. [supports:: The clues — each aspect of the zettel — must first be gathered then structured]. Thus, each new zettel to one's zettelkasten, [supports:: further cements one's identity as writer].
| 💬 Question | Purpose |
|---|---|
| ❓ What is it? | Definition / Explanation (They Say from [source:: @Graff2014TheySaySay) |
| 🧩 How does it connect? | Ontology |
| 🔍 What does it mean? | Interpretation (I Say from @Graff2014TheySaySay) |
| 💡 Why does it matter? | Relevance |
| 🪞 What does this say about how I think? | Meta-cognition |
Prev:: (1A) Writers are made through writing and reading
[^1] Reflection described to ChatGPT during writing deliberate practice on 2025-07-16
- (1A) Writers are made through writing and reading
- (1A1) Writing Depends Upon Your Ability To Read
- (1A1A) Elements Of Information
- (1A1A1) Personal Knowledge Management Allows You To Systematically Organise And Integrate Thoughts And Files
- (1A1A1A) Personal Knowledge Management
- (1A1A1A1) Ontology In Information Science
- (1A1A1A2) Write it down to remember
- (1A1A1A3) Digital garden
- (1A1A1A3A) Digital gardens are not blogs
- (1A1A1B) My Thoughts Are A Cottage Garden
- (1A1A1B1) My Daily Actions And Thoughts Cultivate My Garden Of Identity
- (1A1A1B1A) Interstitial Journalling Can Be Used To Proactively Plan For Upcoming Activities
- (1A1A1B1A1) Your Hustle Time is when you are available to see clients
- (1A1A1B1B) Interstitial Journaling Orients You To Both Event & Clock Time
- (1A1A1B1B1) Operating In Clock Time Vs Event Time
- (1A1A1B2) Cultivating A Garden Is Continual Effort
- (1A1A2) Arrange elements of information to construct body paragraphs
- (1A1B) Academic Humility
- (1A1C) Mixing Wide, Medium And Tight Shots Tell A Story Succinctly
- (1A1D) Compass of Thoughts Can Generate Ideas Or Connections
- (1A1D1) The act of zettelkasten is associative in thinking
- (1A1D1A) Flow of zettelkasten
- (1A1E) Academic writing is conversation
- (1A2) Zettel creation is writing a micro-essay
- (1A3) We act out our identity
- (1A3A) Shift your identity by changing your actions
- (1A3A1) Small habits shift identity faster
- (1A4) Zettel as micro-essay
- (1A41) Note types in MY zettelkasten
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