Using Compass Questions to Connect New Notes

The Problem

Network notes are only useful if they’re connected. But when you’re capturing a new idea, it’s easy to just dump it and move on—leaving it orphaned, never to be found again.

Worse: collecting isn’t knowing. You can file 1000 notes and understand nothing. Feynman’s lesson: knowing a bird’s name doesn’t tell you about the bird—you have to observe what it does.

How do you force yourself to make connections AND understanding in the moment?

The Solution

Add directional “compass questions” to your note template. Every time you create a note, the template asks questions that guide you toward connections.

The Four Directions:

• North - Where does this come from? (history, domain, origin)
• South - Where does this lead? (implications, what it enables)
• West - What’s similar? (related ideas, parallel domains)
• East - What’s opposite? (disadvantages, tensions, what could improve it)

How I Use It

My Obsidian template includes these questions. When I capture a new atomic note, I’m prompted to answer at least a few. Even rough answers create links.

Example from a recent note:

• North: Came from a Zettelkasten webinar
• West: Similar to Dewey Decimal (organizing by relationships)
• East: Opposite = just dump everything, no organization

That’s 3 connections I wouldn’t have made otherwise.

The Balance

This is ONE strategy among many. The tension:

• Too little organization → notes pile up, you can’t find anything
• Too much organization → you spend time filing instead of thinking

Compass questions sit in the middle—structured enough to create connections, loose enough to not feel like homework.

Where This Came From

Got this from Fei-Ling Tseng’s article on the essence of the Zettelkasten method. The compass questions help you “guide a conversation with yourself about what you know and don’t know.”

The key insight: it’s not about storage, it’s about associative thinking. Each answer becomes a potential starting point for another exploration.

Related

• Collecting Is Not the Same as Knowing - Why filing isn’t understanding