This post continues a series of video demos in which I show how I use the Emacs package zk for notetaking. The emphasis is on showcasing the practicalities of my process.

In this video, I show how I quickly find notes related to the note I am working on in zk, and then insert the relevant links.

The goal is to find and insert links with a minimum of mental overhead and technical friction, so that I can keep my focus on the ideas and content of the note at hand.

Trying to find a single note among hundreds, and then putting the link in the right spot, could be a task unto itself — a not inconsiderable problem and distraction. But a few handy search functions, and some help from the package Embark, make the matter all but effortless.

This post inaugurates a series of video demos in which I will show how I use the Emacs package zk for notetaking. The emphasis will be on showcasing the practicalities of my process.

In this video I show how I use a hydra as an entry point to my zk. The config for my hydra is here, in my dotfiles.

I also show how I use an “inbox” note as a starting place for new notes. For more on the place of the inbox in a notetaking practice, see section 2.1 of How to Take Smart Notes by Sönke Ahrens.¹

In the next video, I will show how I use the function zk-find-file and others in combination with Embark to quickly find notes and insert links — with a minimum of effort!

\Chthon`o*pha"gi*a\, Chthonophagy \Chtho*noph"a*gy\, n. [NL. chthonophagia; Gr. ?, ?, earth + ? to eat.]

A disease characterized by an irresistible desire to eat earth, observed in some parts of the southern United States, the West Indies, etc.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)