A BEGINNER'S GUIDE

NOTES
IN OBSIDIAN
HOW TO USE OBSIDIAN AS YOUR
"SECOND BRAIN"

BROOKE HARRISON
 INTRO
"Obsidian is a powerful knowledge base that
works on top of a local folder of plain text
Markdown files."

Hi, I'm Brooke!

I believe a strong note-taking app allows for the
following:
Keep everything in one place
Longevity of notes
Easily "search" for files
Connect ideas and build a knowledge base

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 CONTENTS
Table of Contents

Intro (1)
Backstory: What is This Guide For? (3)
Setup: Creating Your First Vault (4)
Setup: Learning Obsidian (5)
Setup: What is Markdown? (6)
Setup: Suggested Plugins (7)
Structure: Creating an Organizational Structure (8)
Structure: Index & Map of Content Framework (9)
Structure: Your Index (10)
Structure: Graph View (11)
Structure: Using Folders (12)
Structure: Incubation & Sort (13)
Notes: Establishing a Naming Convention (14)
Notes: Linking Back to Your Index (15)
Notes: What Are Daily Notes? (16)
Notes: Opening Your Daily Note (17)
Notes: How to Process Ideas in Daily Notes (18)
Notes: Using Internal Hyperlinks (19)
Notes: Suggestions for Your Daily Notes (20)
Notes: Creating a Template for Your Daily Note (21)
Panes: Split Vertically & Horizontally (22)
Resources (23)

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 BACKSTORY
I came across Obsidian in my search for a note-taking app
patterned after the Zettelkasten method. I've previously
used nvAlt and The Archive, both of which are wonderfully
simple, but didn't meet my needs. You may have heard of
popular app Roam Research... while it has rave reviews, it's
pretty expensive.

What is This Guide For?

I wanted to create a resource to help beginners like me get

started in Obsidian.

I've taken the basic principles of the Zettelkasten method

to create my own system, and Obsidian has given me the
tools to build that system. In this guide, I'll cover some of
the basics like how to get up and running, but I'll leave the
more technical tutorials to Obsidian itself, which has
excellent resources to help you understand their features
(and more). 

My goal is to show you how to create an efficient

infrastructure for your notes, and how to maintain it. I've
done quite a bit of research, and I've implemented these
methods myself.

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 SETUP
Creating Your First "Vault"

When you download Obsidian, you're prompted to create

your first "Vault" for your notes. I've opted to save my
Obsidian notes in Dropbox. In Dropbox, my Obsidian
"vault" is the parent folder. See the screenshot below.

You can create multiple vaults, which is an awesome option

if you'd like to keep certain groups of notes separate. For
example, I have a vault for my freelance client work.

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 SETUP
Learning Obsidian

Obsidian has created a vault called "Obsidian Help," as a

resource to help users get started. This is where you can
find descriptions for features and capabilities, and learn
more about how to use Obsidian.

For example, you'll find a note called "Importing Data" in

Obsidian's "Help" vault under the "How To" folder, which
will teach you how to import your data from a previous 
system like Roam Research, Evernote, or Notion.

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 SETUP
What Is Markdown?

Obsidian uses plain text markdown files (.md). Markdown

files are similar to text files (.txt), and these file types have
longevity in the sense that the format is not proprietary to
any specific software (like Word or Pages). Therefore, we'll
have a way to open these files for many years to come.

When you take notes, Markdown allows you to format

your text using symbols to create headings, subheadings,
bolded and italicized text, etc. You can "preview" a note to
see the formatted text by selecting the "preview" button in
the upper righthand corner.

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 SETUP
Suggested Plugins

Many of the "plugins" are automatically activated when

you download Obsidian. This is a list of plugins I've found
helpful that you will need to activate manually:

Backlinks
Tag Pane
Daily Notes
Word Count

(Don't worry, we'll come back to the daily notes!)

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 STRUCTURE
Creating an Organizational Structure

According to the Zettelkasten method, each individual

"thought" or "idea" is given its own note. In this way, you
facilitate the connections between notes by "linking"
similar ideas or concepts.

Some people believe that structure inhibits this process,

and prefer all notes to be "horizontal," or all at the same
level (no categorization or folders). And I (sort of) agree.

When I first started using Obsidian, I created multiple

folders to house categories or groups of notes. I quickly
realized it wasn't working. Notes that didn't fit into a
particular category or folder were "loose," existing outside
of the structure I'd created. At the time, I had no system for
"linking" ideas or building my knowledge graph.

Now, I've adopted a structure of organization called "IMF,"

the Index & Map of Content Framework.

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 STRUCTURE
Index & Map of Content Framework

Your "Index" is like the table of contents for your notes.

Keep in mind that your Index is highly personal, and you
will customize it to best serve your purposes.

My Index lists my "buckets" of content. I have subheadings

for "Areas of Interest," "Areas of Responsibility," and
"Channels." Under each of these headings, I have links to
individual pages which serve as "content maps" for each of
the umbrella subjects.

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 STRUCTURE
[Index] Areas of Interest

My "Areas of Interest" include:

Productivity
Personal Development
Business
Freelance
Writing
Creativity

Generally, my notes fall into at least one of these buckets

(if not more). When I click into one of these pages, I've got
backlinks listing all the notes in my database which have
referenced the particular area of interest.

[Index] Areas of Responsibility

"Areas of Responsibility" are a bit more specific, listing the

projects I work on most frequently. For example,
"Medium" is one of my "Areas of Responsibility."

[Index] Channels

"Channels" refers to the type of content I consume:

Articles
Books
Videos

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 STRUCTURE
Graph View

As you continue to add notes, your knowledge base will

grow. And if you link notes to your Index and maps of
content, you will be able to visualize the interconnectivity
of your thoughts and ideas with your web.

Click into "graph view" to see your "second brain" come to

life.

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 STRUCTURE
Using Folders

I mentioned previously that using folders to categorize or

"nest" your notes can quickly become disorganized or
overwhelming. The only drawback to a "horizontal"
structure is that the sidebar gets cluttered. There are
simply too many notes competing for your attention.

I've since borrowed a strategy from YouTuber Dalton

Mabry, who uses only 2 folders for the sake of de-
cluttering his sidebar. These are:
Incubation
Sort

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 STRUCTURE
Incubation & Sort

The "Incubation" folder is a space for ideas that are "in

progress."

This means I've created a new note but haven't quite

gotten around to fleshing it out. I like this method because
it gives me an easy way to navigate to my current projects. 

When I've completed a note in the "Incubation" folder, I'll

simply drag it into my "Sort" folder, which is where
everything else lives. This is simply a catch-all folder, but
it's useful because I can "hide" my notes when I don't want
to see them listed in the sidebar.

I like to keep things clean. The only note that lives outside
of "Incubation" or "Sort" is my Index.

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 NOTES
Establishing a Naming Convention

You can click the blank page icon in the upper left corner to
create a new note. You can give this note a title (notes are
listed by title in the sidebar) and then begin typing.

I follow a consistent naming schema to keep my notes

organized. I like to keep this simple so I can't forget it. For
example, the only titles I capitalize are literature or media
notes (i.e. notes that are not original to me; research or
notes on a book, article, or video I've consumed).

The two notes in the pink box are my own (these are ideas
for potential Medium articles). The other titles in this list
are capitalized because they are notes I've taken as
research (articles written by other authors).

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 NOTES
Linking Back to Your Index

I've borrowed the following template from Justin at

Effective Remote Work (scroll to the end of the PDF for
Resources). At the top of each note, I list the following:
Links
Topics
Type

Use double brackets to create internal hyperlinks. With

"Topics," for example, I link to the appropriate Areas of
Interest or Areas of Responsibility (i.e. the categories
pertaining to that note). I might link "Productivity" or
"Medium" (or both!).

With "Type," I list hashtags to "tag" relevant keywords.

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 NOTES
What Are Daily Notes?

This is my favorite feature in Obsidian. Your "Daily Notes"

create a space for ephemeral thoughts and ideas.

Automatically populated & stored in a separate folder

Easily accessible via the lefthand sidebar
A dumping ground for ephemeral notes and ideas

Activating the Daily Notes Plugin

Open your settings and select "Plugin." Scroll until you find
"Daily Note" and toggle the button to activate the plugin.
Now you should see your "Daily Note" in the lefthand
sidebar.

Once you've activated the plugin, you'll find a panel in

Settings to make further customizations. This is where you
can designate the file location and naming schema of your
daily notes. I've kept the default settings (year - month -
day).

You can also create a template for your daily notes; when
you do this, your notes will auto-populate using this
template (no need to copy and paste from a previous daily
note!).

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 NOTES
Opening Your Daily Note

The best part about your "daily note" is that it's easily
accessible via the lefthand sidebar. When you click the
"daily note" button, Obsidian will automatically populate
the note.

Unlike other notes in your

system, you don't have to
go hunting through your
folders or even "search"
for the title to find today's
note. Even after exiting
your daily note or clicking
into another doc, you can
quickly access it again by
clicking the "daily notes"
button.

Opening my daily note to jot down a quick thought or to-

do list requires almost no thought at all. I keep Obsidian
open throughout the day, and my "daily note" is easily
accessible. It's like the ultimate sticky note.

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 NOTES
How to Process Ideas in Daily Notes

Despite the ephemeral nature of my daily notes, they play

a critical role in my overall note-taking process.

I don't always have time in the day to create permanent

notes using my organizational structure (links / topics /
tags).

Not to mention, I can't always assume which ideas will

become permanent notes. So I jot down a few sentences in
my daily note to jog my memory, and if need be, link to a
new note for further thought.

This is where the internal hyperlinks come into play...

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 NOTES
Using Internal Hyperlinks

Again, the idea is to build a knowledge graph or "second

brain" of sorts by connecting related thoughts within the
database.

When I believe a particular thought or idea warrants its

own note, I use the double brackets around a word or
phrase to create an internal link to a new note within my
web. I can return to that note and flesh it out later.

Even better, the permanent note retains a "backlink" to

the original source (for example: my daily note, titled by
date).
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 NOTES
Suggestions for Your Daily Notes

Daily to-do list

Daily journal
Habit tracker

If you love to-do lists like me, you could keep those lists in
your daily note.

Maybe you want to develop a journaling habit. It would be

simple to get started in Obsidian, especially considering
this is a built-in feature and your entries are saved
alongside your personal notes and features. Without even
meaning to, my daily notes keep a record of the day's
goings-on.

Some people don't keep traditional "journals," but rather

daily notes chronicling their progress towards their goals.
You might create a set of questions or prompts to answer
each day:
What am I thankful for today?
What went well today?
What didn't go so well today?
How can I improve tomorrow?
What progress did I make toward my goal?

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 NOTES
Creating a Template for Your Daily Note

However you plan to use your daily note, I'd recommend

creating a loose template for efficiency. Each day, your
note will auto-populate with your custom template, and
you're ready to take targeted notes.

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 PANES
Split Vertically & Horizontally

"Panes in Obsidian can be split infinitely and resized, and

they make cross-referencing multiple notes a breeze."

You can "split vertically" or "split horizontally." This is a

great feature for comparing notes, and especially when I'm
drafting an article so I can display my outline and draft
side-by-side.

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 RESOURCES
Obsidian Forums

https://forum.obsidian.md/
Check out the Obsidian forums for discussions,
announcements, and FAQ. Learn more about how other
users are structuring their notes and engaging with
Obsidian's features.

Learn more about the Index & Map of Content framework.

YouTube

Check out Dalton Mabry's How to Organize Notes in

Obsidian. I used his Index and his folder structure as a
model for my own. (See page 12.)

Check out Justin DiRose's channel Effective Remote Work

for In-depth videos about note-taking In Obsidian. Justin
also uses IMF, and I've appreciated his tutorial for how he
takes "literature notes."

Check out Keep Productive's interview and Obsidian tour

with Justin from Effective Remote Work.

Zettelkasten

Learn more about the Zettelkasten note-taking method.

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