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This is reminiscent of the zettelkasten system with the links between notes and topics, though ZK takes it a bit further and does away with the chronological sorting files by topic. Indexes have links to individual topics and topics can link among themselves. It tickles that part of my brain that is unsatisfied with top-down/chronological notebooks and the like and replaces it with www-like hyperlinks.

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I have to confess I was partly inspired by ZK to start doing this, but by doing it for transitory notes and putting it into my day-to-day habits I feel like I've gained super powers. It's less effort to use a timestamp as a UUID for everything and I don't have to think about how to organize them until natural patterns emerge which I can sort by with lists, or refine into a more focused note. I can also remember roughly when I was thinking of something, even years later, and zero in on the note based off of that if I can't find it through links or lists.

ZK, to me, requires a lot more focus and energy. It's not very well suited for, say, taking notes while you're on the phone or in teleconference. They aren't mutually exclusive, they just have different uses (I also have a ZK).

Use and adapt tools to work best for you! I may have to experiment with this system a bit, sounds like it may fill in some gaps here and there.

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