ADHD and Obsidian

[Andy_S]

I was recently diagnosed with ADHD and I’m still coming to terms with what this means for me.

On the notes side, I’ve shifted between different systems most of my adult life. I’m a Computer Science Grad and work in the IT industry so most of my approaches have been digital based. These have included Apple Notes, digital inking apps on the iPad, ToDo based systems, and recently even trying to go back to a pen and paper BUJO based system. Nothing sticks.

I did come across Obsidian recently and love the flexibility, atomic note and linking concept, access on all devices and it feels like it might be the answer. However, I’m already becoming overwhelmed by the flexibility. I’ve installed loads of plugs in, been looking at frameworks from Nick Milo and others but already seems to spending more time tinkering with Obsidian than actually creating notes in it.

How are other ADHD superpower people overcoming this?

[philoserf]

I started as you have. There is nothing wrong with that. You are learning what a new tool can do. Experiment for a while, trying different styles and processes.

Once I’d done that, I stripped it all back: one folder until I needed another, one file until I needed to divide that, daily notes that I extract from to new files, only the plugins that make sense for my needs, occasional experiments as new plugins come out, and no significant changes until I have a reason.

The hardest thing of all. Consistency.

[groberts56]

First thing to figure out (as in IT projects) - what’s your use case? Know this before looking at the “Obsidian guru” frameworks.
For many people it’s about collecting and cataloguing information (a digital personal library). For others it’s about journals, tasks, etc.
For ADHD folks (like me) it’s about creating a “scaffold” to bridge the gaps we have in Executive Function (EF), like task initiation, decision making, etc. Unfortunately, there are no frameworks in Obsidian (or anything else) for that. But it’s not all bad news.
With Obsidian you can build a framework to support your EF needs, using the platform (and some plugins) and some of the other frameworks out there.
But first I’ll explain my initial set up. I built mine for collecting and curating information and developing course content. I used the Minimal theme because it looks good out of the box, and it also allowed me to tweak it without wasting too much time (ADHD trap).
I settled on the PARA concept for file/folder management because fussing over folder structures is a time-sink. Just tag everything and toss it into some basic folder choices - Inbox, Projects, Areas (business-related, personal), Resources (for almost all content), Archive (for anything that’s done but might still be useful) and System (for templates, media attachments). I don’t do too much linking, might pay more attention to that someday.
Now the ADHD Executive Function part. I discovered that my biggest problem at first was handling the complexity of the course development process. So I started using the Projects plugin which helped a lot. But the next challenge then came - keeping track of where I needed t start work every day. My Daily Notes are useful for task tracking and other stuff, but first thing every day I’d be stuck for ages trying to recall where I ended yesterday and where I needed to pick up today (non-ADHD folks probably think this is nuts, but for me it’s a nightmare). This specifically relates to content creation, where I need to immerse myself in the deeper structure and meaning of content. It’s not a single task I’m trying to recall but rather a train of thought or the reasoning behind ideas. To address this, I added a “breadcrumb” trail in my project notes that puts reminders in my Daily Note of how to resume.
This may be beyond the ability of the average Joe and I’ve been in IT for ~40 years, so that helps (although I’m not an expert in JS or Dataview). I was diagnosed quite recently and even with meds it’s still a struggle some days. Obsidian does work very well for me. It takes some time to figure out what can be done, but first you need to know what you want to do. Otherwise you’ll be chasing shiny things and looking for uses for them.

[Engraver3428]

I also have ADHD and Obsidian has been very helpful. I also lost a lot of time tinkering with it at first, but that kind of helped me in the long term because I am now so intimately aware of what works and what doesn’t. Plus it was so fun tinkering, I now have good associations which makes me more likely to open it and get started on my work (tricking my adhd brain with whatever I can, LOL.). From an ADHD perspective, picking a theme that you like really helps on that side as well.

So - if you’re having fun with the tinkering, don’t kick yourself for getting lost in the weeds, let your brain draw positive connections so you can return to obsidian for productive things. If it’s just stressing you out, decide what you most want to use it for, download associated plugins, and ignore everything else for now. I like Dataview, Outline (a core plugin), Automatic Table of Contents, and Checklist.

I recommend really leaning on Dataview (lets you essentially create a database) and adding metadata to all notes in a structured way. When I built the vault for my graduate degree, I created a few notes templates according to my needs (one for each of these types: general notes, maps of content, meetings, articles, writing projects). That way you can start new notes from templates, with metadata and a structure already included - you immediately skip that first step.

Every template has a summery section in the metadata so I can use dataview to create tables with summaries of my notes. I have a tag system that I try to keep consistent across the vault so I can also use it for dataview and searching. The point is to simplify everything so you can quickly find a relevant note.

Each section of my vault also has a map of contents with a bunch of dataview tables tailored for whatever project it. Most importantly, each map of content has a table with the 5 most recent notes I’ve edited, and summaries of what they are so I remember what I was doing. (I love the breadcrumb idea from groberts56, also a very cool way to stay on track!) If you can set it up so it’s clear what you have to do next, it makes a big difference.

Good luck! I hope the ADHD diagnosis is helpful (it was for me)

[Andy_S]

Wow, thanks everyone for your support and ideas.

My tinkering did actually start to form some great ideas for setting up Obsidian in a way that works for me, and now I think I’ve got the baseline of a really helpful vault. I structured it as two vaults, a “Live” vault, that was simple, stripped down and just captured what was important at the time, and a “Sandpit” where I spent my time playing and trying ideas. Slowly the “Sandpit” became my go to as it started to have the structure I needed, and I was able to move all the ‘Live’ notes into an inbox for processing into my new system.

I’m really getting into Buttoms, Tasks, Tags and Dataview to create some automated dashboards and MoC’s that mean I can just focus on capturing the constant noise in my brain!

I’m inspired to carry on tinkering and not beat myself up too much.

[Cheezballz]

Fellow ADHDer here. I’ve spent most of my life spending a few months to a couple of years on an app/system, like Todoist etc, before switching to something else. I’ve been using Obsidian for about 2y and I’ve slowly been doing more & more with it.

The hard part is finding a system or framework that makes sense for your brain. I started with Milo’s LYT because it ‘organized’ Obsidian but switched after a year to PARA because it was simpler.

What works for me is 1) daily notes with task Dataviews so I can keep on top of regular tasks, either due to priority or due date, and 2) projects for organizing my big efforts. I’ve also added a Pinterest-like board to wean myself off Pinterest, and uploading all images to Imgur to save space locally.

That being said, nothing is final and things are always being tweaked. But Obsidian is pretty overwhelming to start so I’d suggest of thinking of something you want to do and figuring it out, or using an existing system (like PARA) and adapting it to your brain.

[fifteenbats]

AudHD here - I first began my notetaking journey with Evernote back in college 12 years ago which is wild to me. I was a natural resources focus and shared my content with classmates. I’ve tried bullet journaling as well, and then Notion, and now I’ve settled on Obsidian MD for my personal content and Microsoft Loop for work (though I’m beginning to write out a proposal for us to use Obsidian locally, since it would be more secure).

If you’re struggling with regular usage, if you have some technique that works well to prompt you to do things, whether it’s a notification on your phone to remind you to journal or a habit to build, consistency is the key and it’s the hardest thing. People with ADHD usually have a lack of dopamine, which is vital for executive functioning in the first place. It’s literally the go-go juice that gets you to do the thing.

If you’re becoming overwhelmed with how flexible it is, write out what you want to use it for. Dead serious. Start with a notepad, create a mind-map, then follow the mind map for titles of each section/folder/file. That helped me the most with setting up an internal framework that worked for me.