Second Brain System Guide

This is a personal knowledge base built on Zettelkasten principles. Structure emerges from links, not folders. Every note lives at the top level; type is just metadata.

Philosophy

• Flat structure — No folder hierarchy. Find notes through search, links, and MOCs
• Wiki-links are the architecture — [slug](/slug){.wiki-link} connections create the knowledge graph
• Type is metadata — A book note and an evergreen note are equals; type helps filtering, not organization

Note Types

When to Create an Atomic Note

One idea = one note. If you can't summarize it in a single sentence, consider splitting.

A note deserves to exist when it's:

• Self-contained — Understandable without reading other notes
• In your own words — Synthesized insight, not copy-paste from sources
• Linkable — Could connect to multiple other notes

Decision Checklist

1. Does this contain multiple distinct insights? → Split
2. Could different parts link to different topics? → Split
3. Is this over 500 words with multiple H2 sections? → Consider splitting
4. Is this a single cohesive argument or concept? → Keep together

Splitting Patterns

Break large topics into:

• Definition notes — What is X?
• Benefit notes — Why use X? When is it valuable?
• Challenge notes — What are the downsides or limitations?
• How-to notes — Practical application of X

When to Create a Map of Content (MOC)

MOCs are meta-notes that curate and organize related notes. Unlike folders, a note can appear in multiple MOCs.

Create a MOC When

• 15+ related notes exist on a topic cluster
• Navigation is hard — You keep losing or forgetting related notes
• Multiple perspectives — The same notes could be organized differently for different purposes
• Learning path needed — Sequential ordering helps understanding

MOC Structure

Brief intro explaining the topic's scope.

## Section 1
- [note-a](/note-a){.wiki-link} — One-line description
- [note-b](/note-b){.wiki-link} — One-line description

## Section 2
- [note-c](/note-c){.wiki-link} — One-line description

## Related MOCs
- [another-map](/another-map){.wiki-link}

Linking Philosophy

• Link liberally — Aim for 3-5+ wiki-links per note
• Contextual links — Embed links within body text, explaining the connection
• Related section — Add explicit ## Related at the bottom for key connections
• Backlinks matter — Every link creates bidirectional discovery

Workflow

1. Capture — Create note with frontmatter, dump thoughts in notes field
2. Process — Write summary, extract key insights in body
3. Connect — Add wiki-links to related notes
4. Refine — Evolve notes over time; split when they grow unwieldy
5. Organize — Create MOCs when topic clusters emerge

Related

• evergreen-notes — The foundational methodology for permanent notes
• building-a-second-brain-and-zettelkasten — How BASB and Zettelkasten complement each other