The Weekly Review 03-26

The Weekly Scribble

The quieter you become the more you can hear. - Ram Dass

Understanding Zettelkasten better

I’ve recently been diving deep into the Zettelkasten method—a German concept that translates to 'slip box'—and it’s slowly changing how I think about organising my life. At its core, this system is about more than just filing away information; it’s a framework for learning and understanding that relies on three specific types of notes: fleeting, literature, and permanent notes. I will write more about these three types of notes in greater detail once I understand the difference.

Looking at my current habits, I realised I have a major bottleneck. I’ve been great at capturing fleeting notes—those quick, random thoughts or reminders we jot down in the moment. However, most of them just sit there (and I usually forget about them). They haven't transpired into anything meaningful. To actually grow my knowledge base, I need to bridge the gap between these initial sparks and the creation of permanent notes that actually stick.

The goal now is to better utilise every resource I have. By taking the time to process my fleeting notes and literature notes into well-thought-out permanent notes, I’m not just archiving data; I’m building a second brain. I am hoping it will support my blogging process and re-ignite my passion for learning. This process is designed to bring a much deeper level of understanding to everything I study, making the connections between ideas much clearer.

Beyond just staying organised, I’m excited about how this will fuel my creative work. These permanent notes are going to serve as the foundation for my writing and provide a constant stream of inspiration for my blogs. Instead of starting from a blank page, I’ll have a rich library of interconnected ideas ready to be shared with the world.

New Habits for 2026

At the start of 2026, I decided to simplify my approach to personal growth by committing to just five core habits. My goal was to create a routine that I could actually stick to for the entire year without feeling overwhelmed. These five pillars include taking my daily supplements, journaling, meditating, reading for at least 30 minutes and a quick physical challenge I call the 'press plank.'

The 'press plank' is a simple but effective way to keep my body moving every single day. It consists of a one-minute plank followed by at least twenty press-ups. By keeping the physical requirement manageable, I’ve found it much easier to stay consistent. I also try to fit thirty minutes of aerobic exercise each Saturday. I truly believe that five habits are the sweet spot. It’s enough to make a significant impact on my life without spreading my focus too thin.

To stay organised, I’ve integrated a few specific tools into my routine. I use Day One for my journaling and the Calm app (Headspace educational subscription expired) for my daily meditation sessions. When it comes to reading, I switch between physical books, my Kindle, and Apple Books. Regardless of the format, I make it a point to take fleeting notes and highlight key passages so I can actually retain and apply what I’m learning. I'm yet to try something like Readwise.

So far, this journey has been incredibly successful, and I attribute that to setting SMART targets. By making each habit specific, measurable, and achievable, I know exactly how, when and what I needed to do each day. This clarity removed the guesswork and helped me build a foundation of consistency that I’m proud to carry through the rest of the year.

Don't expect things for free

For a few years now, I have been seeing a lot of posts online from people complaining that certain applications aren't free. There seems to be a growing frustration when features like cloud synchronisation are locked behind a paywall. While I understand the desire to save money, we need to take a step back and look at the bigger picture of how these tools are actually built.

Developing a high-quality application takes an incredible amount of time, effort, and resources. When we use a service like Obsidian, Tana, Todoist, etc, we are benefiting from the hard work of developers who have spent countless hours refining the code and maintaining the infrastructure. It only feels right to support these creators by paying for a subscription rather than expecting their labour for free.

It is honestly disheartening to see negative comments directed at developers just because they are charging for their work. Expecting everything to be free isn't fair to the businesses or the individuals who are trying to provide us with value. If we want great applications to exist and continue to improve, we have to be willing to invest in them.

If you find yourself struggling to afford a subscription for a tool you use daily, it might be time to look at your spending habits and what you truly value. If an app saves you time and removes frustration from your life, it is worth the investment. By subscribing, you aren't just buying a feature; you are buying back your time and supporting the people who make your digital life easier. I have removed a lot of subscriptions from my life to redistribute some of it to the services I want to use. I would recommend looking at this approach. BTW - I am not ranting. I'm simply making an observation. 

The Media Shelf

• Digital Zettelkasten: Principles, Methods, & Examples by David Kadavy (Goodreads)
  •  This short book explores the concept of Zettelkasten and argues that the digital form has many benefits over paper form. David also includes his setup and tips to get it going in any plain text application.

The Link Log

• Give Me 15 Minutes. I'll Teach You 80% of Obsidian | Linking Your Thinking with Nick Milo (YouTube)
• Zettelkasten 101: Stop collecting Lit notes | Quotient of One (YouTube)

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As always, thank you so much for reading. The Weekly Review is simply a place to gather thoughts, ideas, links, and recommendations — the kind of things I would have once shared on social media.

Mark

DISCLAIMER: Some parts of this blog were generated through AI from my notes in Voicenotes and edited.