---
title: I believe Zettelkasten is the future of note organization
description: The number one goal with note organization is to make it easy to find notes when we need them. That being said, we often don't know when or what note we need. It's the reason full-text search isn't the single solution to note organization.
date: 2022-05-20
lastmod: 2022-05-20
---
The number one goal with note organization is to make it easy to find notes *when we need them*. That being said, we often don't know [[notes/we dont know our needs|when or what note we need]]. It's the reason full-text search isn't the single solution to note organization.

## The problem with grouping
That's where folder and tags come into play. We use folders and tags to group similar notes together, but it becomes problematic once we accumulate hundreds of notes. As more notes are taken, more folders/tags are needed. Otherwise, groups contain [[notes/clutter slows us down|too many notes to manage]] and finding/filing notes take longer. Since it's not sustainable to grow the complexity of note organization, a compromise must be made. We either organize fewer notes or take fewer notes.

## Zettelkasten as a solution
My futile attempt at note organization pushed me in search of a solution. Which is how I found [[notes/Zettelkasten|Zettelkasten]], a new note-taking paradigm. Rather than grouping notes with folders and tags, notes are connected together like [[notes/the brain is a network of ideas|thoughts in our brains]]. Organizing notes through connections allowed me to [[notes/interoperable components are efficient|reuse past notes]] without growing note organization complexity.

In addition to filing and finding notes more efficiently, old notes were automatically resurfaced as I added new notes. This helped me build links between old and new ideas which [[notes/connecting ideas improves learning|facilitated my learning]]. 

## The issues with Zettelkasten right now
Right now, the issue is that people have [[posts/zettelkasten-shouldnt-be-complicated-but-it-is|overcomplicated the Zettelkasten system]]. The only requirement should be from the [[notes/two principles of zettelkasten|two principles of Zettelkasten]]. However, many existing workflows suggest adding many additional steps to make Zettelkasten work. I believe that the complication is a barrier to entry and prevents people from utilizing the full value of Zettelkasten. 

## How does Fleeting Notes simplify Zettelkasten?
Fleeting Notes is a lightweight note-taking app that resurfaces notes when you need them. A key feature of Fleeting Notes is that it **does not support folders or tags**. Notes are found either through search or connections. With this, we have a simple and fast app with UI that is optimized for taking notes and building connections. See [[posts/simplest-way-to-use-zettelkasten-for-note-management|my simple note-taking workflow]] to get started.