# Atomic notes As their name implies, atomic notes focus on a single idea or concept. The goal of atomic notes is to **explain one thing well**. Following the ideas of the [[Zettelkasten method]], and [[How to Take Smart Notes (book)]], notes should be atomic and link to each other. Longer texts can be assembled by _composing_ atomic notes together. **Atomic notes are more than just a note-taking technique. I consider those as foundational for building a solid, scalable and maintainable [[Personal Knowledge Graph (PKG)]]**. By breaking down knowledge into its most essential components, atomic notes enable a level of flexibility, objectivity, and interconnectivity that is highly valuable. Atomic notes, by their nature, are _concise_, and _focused_ on a single idea, insight, or piece of information. This granularity not only makes notes easier to manage and retrieve but also significantly enhances the ability to connect those to other notes. Atomic notes are inherently _flexible_. **By distilling information into its most basic, standalone elements, each note becomes a building block that can easily be reorganized, linked, or expanded**. This adaptability is crucial for allowing ideas to evolve over time. As new information comes to light or understanding deepens, atomic notes can be updated, combined, or recontextualized without disrupting the coherence of the whole. Creating atomic notes encourages a mindset of detachment and objectivity. By focusing on the essence of an idea rather than its implications or the emotional weight it may carry, it's easier to assess and integrate new insights. Objectivity is key in maintaining a system where ideas are evaluated on their merit and relevance, not on an emotional attachment or previous significance. Over time, notes will come and go, expand or be replaced. And if each is just a tiny part of a whole, it's not that important. The system and all the other ideas it is composed of live on. The fact that atomic notes are short and focus on a single idea makes it easier to identify possible connections between different pieces of information. Like DNA strands recombining to form new life forms, atomic notes can be linked in novel ways to generate insights that might not be apparent when dealing with more complex, entangled notes. ## References - Principle of atomicity: https://zettelkasten.de/posts/create-zettel-from-reading-notes/ ## Related - [[Benefits of atomic notes]] - [[How to implement atomic notes in your PKM system]] - [[How to split long notes into atomic ones]] - [[Focus on the system as a whole, and not on each individual idea. Let those evolve, transform, morph, or disappear. It doesn't matter. The Knowledge Graph as a whole does]] - [[Benefits of atomic notes]] - [[Consider notes as cattle rather than pets]] - [[Downsides of writing long notes]] - [[How to implement atomic notes in your PKM system]] - [[How to split long notes into atomic ones]] - [[Personal Knowledge Graph (PKG)]] - [[Focus on the system as a whole, and not on each individual idea. Let those evolve, transform, morph, or disappear. It doesn't matter. The Knowledge Graph as a whole does]]