Ive switched from Bullet Journaling to using ObsidianMy conclusion after six months
I stopped using my Bullet Journal and started keeping my notes and tasks in Obsidian. After six months, I’m ready to draw my conclusion.
Whisper: Hands-Free Notes Talking for Obsidian
An Obsidian plugin for easy, hands-free note-taking with Whisper
Bookkeeping Eisenhower Matrixes & Pretty Canvas Cards
An interview with Obsidian's new CEO, workflow tips, and a personal note about the Silicon Valley bank run (I'm fine; I hope you are too).
Obsidian Forum
A place for Obsidian users to discuss Obsidian and knowledge management
GitHub - brianpetro/obsidian-smart-connections: Chat with your notes in Obsidian! Plus, see what's most relevant in real-time! Interact and stay organized. Powered by OpenAI ChatGPT, GPT-4 & Embeddings.
Chat with your notes in Obsidian! Plus, see what's most relevant in real-time! Interact and stay organized. Powered by OpenAI ChatGPT, GPT-4 & Embeddings. - GitHub - brianpetro/obsidian-sma...
API Key - Enter your OpenAI API key.
File Exclusions - Enter a comma-separated list of file or folder names to exclude from the search completely. For example, if you want to exclude all files that contain the word "drawings" in the file name, you can enter "drawings" in the field. If you want to exclude all files that contain the word "drawings" or "prompts" in the file name, you can enter "drawings,prompts" in the field.
Folder Exclusions - similar to File Exclusions but only matches folders instead of anything in the file path.
Path Only - Enter a comma-separated list of file or folder names. Notes matching these patterns will use only the file names and paths of files to make connections.
Heading Exclusions - Enter a comma-separated list of headings to exclude. Smart Connections will exclude 'Blocks' with headings that match the Heading Exclusions from the search.
For example, use this if you have a commonly occurring "Archive" section in many files and do not want the contents to be included when making smart connections.
This only applies to 'blocks' and does not change the content used for matching entire files.
Show Full Path - Show the full path of the file in the Smart Connections Pane. If turned off, only the file name will be shown.
The Weekly Review: How One Hour Can Save You A Week’s Worth of Hassle and Headache
You have a busy life and a to-do list a mile long. Unfortunately simply adding a new task to your to-do list doesn't actually mean it'll get done. Wouldn't it be nice if you could get out in front of your to-dos at work and at home, always know what's on your plate, and even have a little time to think about how you…
Back to GTD: Simplify your contexts
This post is part of the periodic “Back to GTD” series, designed to help you improve your implementation of David Allen’s Getting Things Done. As we've noted before, GTD contexts lose a lot of their focusing power when
This causes many of us to fashion more or less phoney-baloney "sub-contexts" that reflect some facet of the parent (e.g. "@computer" might contain "@email," "@web," "@code," "@print," and so on). While this makes terrific sense from a logical standpoint (and it can certainly have its uses), it doesn't reflect the true meaning of a context, at least in my own mind: "what tools, resources, opportunities, and limitations are unique to this situation?" or put slightly differently from the perspective of choosing tasks at a given time, "what are the things I can't work on now given where I am and the tools to which I have access?"
Back to GTD: Do a fast "mind-sweep"
The idea behind the mind-sweep is to identify and gather everything that is making claims on your attention or is likely to affect the larger areas of responsibility in your life -- everything that's quietly burning cycles, stealing focus, and whittling away at your attention -- so that you can then decide what (if anything) must be done about each of those things.
Are there items on this list I now realize might have been aggravating my recent GTD slack?
Did anxiety or a feeling of being overwhelmed contribute to avoiding proper planning and execution of these items?
Might there be holes in my system that have made it easy for some of these items to escape and resist subsequent capture?
Has my work, home life, or general focus changed in subtle ways that might make me want to rethink best use of my planning time?
Are there interesting clusters within these projects that suggest opportunities and imminent change?
What sorts of tasks and projects are causing the biggest pain for me now? And how can I evolve a system that helps to compensate for that?
Does this "next action" belong someplace else?
It is not a single, atomic activity - This is the biggest one for me, by far. Maybe 80% of the time, a small project is masquerading as a single TODO. Acknowledging the multiple steps and identifying the logical next action usually does the trick for me. Change: move to “Projects” and generate true next action
It is not a physical action - “Think about proposal for Bob” seems like a next action because it’s tied to a commitment I’ve made, but imagine how much easier this would go as “Draft five or six ideas for Bob’s proposal.” Now I’m writing instead of just staring at a wall thinking about the notion of proposals. Change: Reword it as a physical activity, preferably yielding a physical artifact or new next action.
It is not really the very next action I need to take - I can frequently find at least one action that needs to take place before the one I have on the list. Bear with me here, but even “Return library books” can linger for weeks and months if you first need to find the one missing book that mentally keeps you from proceeding. This is a thorny one, since a legitimate future action can seem like the next action, even when it really is not. Change: walk backwards through your steps until you can derive the true next physical action.
It is not something I’ve actually committed to - “Learn Regular Expressions” is something I’m really interested in, but, in addition to actually being a potential Project (not a next action), it’s not something about which I have a stake in the ground. Until I’m ready to make it part of my immediate actions, it’s just guilt-inducing cruft. Change: move to “Someday/Maybe/On-Hold” or “@Tech”
It is poorly defined or just badly worded - This is a catch-all for stragglers that may be addressed by many of the fixes above, but I draw it out separately here for a good reason: changing the way you define or word something also changes the way you think about it. Try always beginning your next actions with a physical verb. “Email,” “Call,” “Google,” “Recode,” “Visit,” and “Buy” all encompass physical actions, and often context. Change: try re-phrasing your next action as a specific contextual activity
It is nothing I can act on now - This is usually the result of lazy or infrequent reviews. If an item on your list is something that has a dependency with another person or just takes time until follow-up, get it out of there. Alternatively, rephrase it as your physical followup that you want to perform as soon as possible (“Call Jean to check progress on perl script”). Change: move to “Waiting On” or reshape it as a true next action for yourself
Next actions: Both physical _and_ visible
Next actions: Both physical _and_ visible
The thing is, I now see how items like these can’t really be “done” at all; each one of those things is actually a complex, multiple-item project with built-in dependencies and waiting time. To look at any of them as a single thing I need to do is to buy into the anxiety-inducing premise that my goals and behaviors should somehow mirror each other on a one-to-one basis. If you think about it, that’s plainly ridiculous.
A more reasonable approach using GTD would be to focus just on that next physical activity needed to undertake each project; even if it seems like a trivial activity. In order:
Find old résumé in file cabinet
Call gym to see when membership expires
Start a running list of everyone I need to buy Christmas gifts for
6 powerful "look into" verbs (+ 1 to avoid)
write - Once you've gathered any amount of information -- and, seriously, don't go to committee forever on this stuff -- try writing a letter, email, one-page-report, or even a theoretical blog post about your topic. No one ever needs to see it, but if you were to explain everything you've learned about your new topic alongside how you feel about it, you might be surprised to discover you know, think, and feel more than you had realized before you started writing. My layman's theory here is that writing puts demands on the left side of your brain to turn mushy clouds of ideas into semi-coherent pyramids of information. (Sometimes those pyramids will end up looking more like they were created by a dog's behind than having arisen from the dream-visions of Pharaohs, but you'll never find out until you commit that "Shitty First Draft")
agenda - If you have a big pile of a little questions that can wait for now, just capture them all into your list for "agenda-boss," "agenda-team," "agenda-spouse" or what have you. You can then quickly blow through them all at one time.
all - Some of the information you need to make decisions is almost certainly available in the brain of someone close to you. When needed, make a short call to someone who you think can help guide your way. This could be anything from the person in the next cube to a customer service line to a library reference desk to that wisest of institutional historians, your Mom. Again, all the usual admonitions about respecting time still apply, but a phone call, used efficiently, can be the fastest path to an answer.
email - Once you've given yourself an independent education on a topic and feel that you've learned enough to ask good questions, consider writing a short email asking for advice and input from a colleague or people on your team. All the usual rules apply here, but a fast email along the lines of "Do you have a preference in foo over bar, and why?" can be a quick way to bring one honeycomb of the hive mind's experience quickly into play.
GTD: Project Verbs vs. Next-Action Verbs
Project verbs
Finalize
Resolve
Handle
Look into
Submit
Maximize
Organize
Design
Complete
Ensure
Roll out
Update
Install
Implement
Set-up
Next-action verbs
Call
Organize
Review
Buy
Fill out
Find
Purge
Look into (Web)
Gather
Print
Take
Waiting for
Load
Draft
Email
Building Systems in Obsidian - Obsidian Rocks
Goals are a false target. If you want to be productive and effective, you need to build systems. Here's how to build great systems in Obsidian.
Obsidian Search: Five Hidden Features - Obsidian Rocks
Searching is an essential tool in any PKM, and Obsidian search is one of the best tools we've found for the job. Find out more here.
Dataview in Obsidian: A Beginner's Guide - Obsidian Rocks
Want to give your notes superpowers? If you use Obsidian, one of the surest ways to do that is with the plugin called Dataview. Learn more...
Five ideas for naming notes in Obsidian - Obsidian Rocks
Do you ever have trouble naming notes? Or worse, do you struggle to find your notes after writing them? You aren’t alone. It’s a common axiom in the programming world that there are only two hard things in computer science, and one of them is naming things. Here’s a few ideas to make naming notes […]
Maps of Content: Effortless organization for notes - Obsidian Rocks
Taking good notes is hard. Organizing them is even harder. Learn how to organize your thoughts effortlessly using Maps of Content.
Getting Started with Obsidian: A Beginner’s Guide - Obsidian Rocks
Obsidian is a wonderful app. But it’s also a complicated app, and getting started with Obsidian can be a challenge. Learn more...
Obsidian and GTD - Obsidian Rocks
Obsidian and GTD. At first glance, it may seem like these two systems have nothing in common. One is a tool for taking notes, the other is a system for tracking and completing tasks. Two different things, right? GTD is a controversial subject in its own right. For some GTD is too complex, for others, […]
Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them.
Open tasks tend to occupy our short term memory until they are done. (this is called the Zeigarnik effect)
Those of us who complete a lot of tasks need a good system for keeping track of our commitments.
Our commitment system needs to be completely trustworthy so we aren’t tempted to store tasks in our brains.
Quick Tip: Footnotes in Obsidian - Obsidian Rocks
Footnotes in Obsidian are great, but a little too difficult to use. Find out how to effectively make use of footnotes in Obsidian.
# Ted Talks are dangerously eloquent
Or, as [[Hamlet]] would say, “full of sound and fury, signifying nothing”.
A perfect example is the talk called “How to sound smart in your TEDx Talk”. [^2]
Eloquent talks trick us into thinking we learn more than we actually do.
They make us feel good without really improving us. [^1]
[^1]: [[Human Rites]] p80
[^2]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S0FDjFBj8o
Obsidian-Snippets
A small personal collection of CSS snippets for Obsidian.
Modular CSS Layout - snippets for wide views, multi column and gallery
Overview What is this snippet all about? Modular CSS Layout (MCL) is a CSS snippets collection that are meant to provide a useful layout options as a complement to the default theme or your chosen community theme. It uses Obsidian’s default CSS classes and HTML structure to achieve the intended layout (I don’t intend to do any color-theme changes) Do log issues in MCL github repo (link below) if you encounter any compatibility issues with your theme. How to get started? Since this is actu...
Metadata - Obsidian Help
Obsidian Help
Use YAML Front Matter Correctly in Obsidian
Add/use tags, and aliases in YAML.
Use YAML Front Matter Correctly in Obsidian
Add/use tags, and aliases in YAML.
My time management setup in Obsidian (2023)
My time management setup in Obsidian consists of a way to set goals, a daily note for rapid logging the present, and a review/retrospective system to evaluate past performance. In this video, I talk about all the plugins and apps I use to get all my responsibilities done-- without me feeling like I'm overwhelmed.
// RESOURCES
More stuff you can do with the Minimal theme: https://ift.tt/qwODLom
Habit Tracker template by Saturday Gift: https://ift.tt/6CuXH1M
My Periodic Notes plugin video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Uxj0XgMp0k
My Reclaim video: https://youtu.be/cBVjpFDltvQ
// TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Intro
01:24 Core Principles
03:08 Goal-setting and periodic notes
07:52 Rapid logging in Obsidian
11:13 Task management with Reclaim
11:56 Other tasks on Checklist plugin
13:35 Habit Tracker
15:50 Migrating notes elsewhere
16:37 Obsidian Projects
17:22 Google Calendar
17:43 Year Ahead
If you want to learn more about Obsidian, check out my course for beginners, Obsidian for Everyone: https://ift.tt/wKogaWu
---
// ABOUT ME
Site: https://ift.tt/wHpnBT0
Mastodon: https://ift.tt/176nw5a
My travel YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/c/luckydippers
k6 YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/k6test
// APPS I USE
- Obsidian: https://obsidian.md
- Readwise: https://ift.tt/ZYuR6gL
- Shortform: https://ift.tt/K8dJQjP
- Reclaim: https://ift.tt/YTivcE8
// GEAR
https://ift.tt/ftQrHmK
// WANT TO SUPPORT ME?
❤️ Join my Patreon and get my sample vault with templates: https://ift.tt/2At5Y7o
☕ Buy me a coffee: https://ift.tt/fkbGHA7
Note: Some of the links above are affiliate links, which means I may get a small percentage when you sign up using those links. To see how I decide what to promote in this way, check out my Ethics Statement: https://ift.tt/28E9KwM
Actually getting things done with Obsidian // Checklist plugin
The Getting Things Done methodology is showing its age now, but there are still some parts of it that can be updated and used in the digital age. In this video, I talk about how to actually get things done with Obsidian using the Obsidian community plugin called Checklist.
How to process notes in Obsidian // Readwise Official Obsidian plugin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rw1L5sxlnuU
How to set goals in Obsidian for 2022: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2Aeaq4sk7M
Getting Things Done: https://amzn.to/3KxuXpn
Forbes on GTD copies sold: https://ift.tt/xcTvWyV
Gadgets 360: When Yahoo Refused to Buy Google for $1M: https://ift.tt/a68OAtw
Checklist plugin: https://ift.tt/oYdxLts
// TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
1:09 The best ideas from GTD
3:59 Installing and setting up the Obsidian Checklist plugin
4:48 Primer on GTD task management
5:57 Using Obsidian Checklist
8:57 Task contexts and person agendas in Obsidian
If you want to learn more about Obsidian, check out my course for beginners, Obsidian for Everyone: https://ift.tt/wKogaWu
---
// ABOUT ME
Site: https://ift.tt/wHpnBT0
Mastodon: https://ift.tt/176nw5a
My travel YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/c/luckydippers
k6 YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/k6test
// APPS I USE
- Obsidian: https://obsidian.md
- Readwise: https://ift.tt/ZYuR6gL
- Shortform: https://ift.tt/K8dJQjP
- Reclaim: https://ift.tt/YTivcE8
// GEAR
https://ift.tt/ftQrHmK
// WANT TO SUPPORT ME?
❤️ Join my Patreon and get my sample vault with templates: https://ift.tt/2At5Y7o
☕ Buy me a coffee: https://ift.tt/fkbGHA7
Note: Some of the links above are affiliate links, which means I may get a small percentage when you sign up using those links. To see how I decide what to promote in this way, check out my Ethics Statement: https://ift.tt/28E9KwM
Become More Comfortable Making Bold Decisions
Identify the decision you need to make.
Examine your past bold decisions.
Ask yourself what attributes or similarities are shared between the bold decision you are considering and your prior decisions.
Consider whether there are attributes of your past bold decisions that might impede your ability to get to a good outcome for your current decision.
Apply the lessons from your past data to your current decision.
Taking notes from YouTube videos in Obsidian
In this video, I talk about five different ways to take notes on YouTube videos in Obsidian, for those (like me) who love learning things on YouTube and want a way to capture new thoughts in Obsidian. I mention a few community plugins, a browser extension, and a separate service as well as my workflow for just using vanilla Obsidian, so you can take your pick!
// TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Intro
00:35 Method 1 - Embed video
02:04 Method 2 - Media Extended plugin
04:43 Method 3 - Timestamp notes plugin
07:01 Method 4 - YiNote browser extension
10:30 Method 5 - Readwise Reader
14:45 Bonus: Readwise Ghostreader
// RESOURCES MENTIONED
Readwise: https://ift.tt/SsjHBOC
Shortform: https://ift.tt/ApCJ0OV
My video on Readwise Reader: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNH1JDOmGJw
If you want to learn more about Obsidian, check out my course for beginners, Obsidian for Everyone: https://ift.tt/0NMpjSa
---
// ABOUT ME
Site: https://ift.tt/KCn2k1h
Mastodon: https://ift.tt/SxH86wi
My travel YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/c/luckydippers
k6 YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/k6test
// APPS I USE
- Obsidian: https://obsidian.md
- Readwise: https://ift.tt/SsjHBOC
- Shortform: https://ift.tt/ApCJ0OV
- Reclaim: https://ift.tt/0hyPA5p
// GEAR
https://ift.tt/5UcaMvY
// WANT TO SUPPORT ME?
❤️ Join my Patreon and get my sample vault with templates: https://ift.tt/lZH2pNc
☕ Buy me a coffee: https://ift.tt/GXkz0Qy
Note: Some of the links above are affiliate links, which means I may get a small percentage when you sign up using those links. To see how I decide what to promote in this way, check out my Ethics Statement: https://ift.tt/caUj5Sz
Obsidian Roundup - Obsidian Iceberg
Weekly Obsidian News, focused on community updates, new plugins, workflow guides, themes, ancillary tools & code. Find out more a href="https://www.obsidianroundup.org/about/"about the Roundup writing process/a, or check out this a href="https://www.obsidianroundup.org/resources/"list of curated resources/a for a meta list of tips, high-level guides, and tools.