Joan Westenberg wrote a post about deleting her second brain. I enjoyed it and much of what she said there rang true, to some extent, for me. And I am glad that she has found some sort of liberation and even joy in having deleted her notes.
But I don’t want to delete mine, even though I do know what she’s talking about when she’s talking about the anxiety to capture or the sense of guilt that comes from a perceived perpetual deferral to the future self (I’ll catalogue all of this someday; I’ll get around to understanding this or expressing this brilliantly at some point in the future).
I like my notes. I like my app (Roam Research) that lets me access them. I like that Readwise surfaces some of them for me and that I can get re-connected with something that held my interest some months or even years ago.
I think that one of the tricks involved in having a system of notes (damn, do I really have a Zettelkasten? has that happened?) is to really believe and embrace the idea that it’s a conversation partner (or a communication partner, which is I think the term in How to Take Smart Notes).
It’s not an overlord. It’s not an idol requiring the punctilious preparation of perfect permanent notes.
If it’s stressing you out, remember that it’s supposed to be there to help you, not make you feel bad.
