#StructureNotes #archiveapp-demo
Structure notes are a big cornerstone of the Zettelkasten Method. The bigger the archive gets, the more important they become. A good example for a structure note is the overview for this app: [[201705110828]]
Structure notes do not contain any new content on their own. They also do not simply list all the notes that are important for some purpose. A structure note's intent is to provide a good overview over a topic -- structure it.
Sometimes, structure notes grow naturally. For example, you have a regular note, edit it a lot and add more links to related details to it. Meanwhile, you extract the original contents of this note into new notes, thinning it out and leaving mostly links behind. This regular note one day appears to have become a hub to direct you to detail notes more than a piece of content.
Example: Sascha had an idea about the definition of modernity. Modernity marks the end of a delayed coupling of work and gratification. He did research on this topic and ended up using much of it as evidence for the validity of this claim. The tiny note that at first contained the definition of modernity grew a lot over time and became difficult to use. Sascha cleaned it up and made it a structure note about the note cluster on modernity.
Sometimes, you can predict without doubt that you will be working on a topic a lot. Then do not wait until a structure note emerges naturally. Begin with a structure note right from the start as the hub for your upcoming topic notes. This is how this whole introduction into The Archive got started, too: as an overview of topics that were then fleshed out.