I do Bullet Journal and I don’t see myself going digital with it. Nonetheless, a BuJo plugin would be interesting.
Some thoughts on Markup:
- note
- [ ] open task
- [x] completed task
- [~] cancelled (strickenthrough) task – this is the notation employed by Things and I love it
- [>] migrated task
- [<] scheduled task
- [o] event (events aren't supposed to be marked "complete" in original BuJo so we can use this notation)
The above is convenient because Obsidian interprets - [ ] with any symbol in them as a completed task so your notes would be at least semi-readable even without the plugin on.
One issue I see with digitizing BuJo: not sure how “signifiers” (i.e., using * to mark things as a priority, etc.) might be implemented since Obsidian won’t recognize something like * - [ ] as a task anymore
And BTW, Noteplan is a Markdown app that’s very close to a digital BuJo, and it also works with plain text. So you could technically point Noteplan and Obsidian to the same place, and use the former whenever you’re in “BuJo” mode…
Signifiers wouldn’t be too hard either if we can just put [ ]* etc with some javascript or css modification. We can make things pop with bold or highlight too.
Having to use Noteplan alongside Obsidian kind of beats the purpose though, I was thinking more of a all-in-one approach just like how a BuJo can contain both notes and task/event management.
I like [o] as a notation for events! But more practically wouldn’t [2021-11-11] event be even better? Haha
Maybe? It depends on whether you’d have automated scheduling into it. If not, it could just as well consist of simple notes. My own future log is pretty close to the original with the difference that I have only one list and I add the month next to each item (mainly to use space more effectively - I was routinely running out of space for the upcoming month before).
check out the replies in the ITS Theme thread over in share and showcase - there is some discussion of custom icons for different items within the checkbox
A modification on the traditional paper-form BJ would be to use the Obsidian plugin “Rollover Daily To-dos” (can be found in the plugin store).
So in a way you wouldn’t need to worry about looking back at old daily note pages, each one will be carried forward to the latest daily note page.
Another one I’ve found which could help is the plugin “Review” (also available on the plugin store):
Basically when you run this command, you attach a date to the task/event and also automatically pastes it into the future date. Great for events with specific dates.
The Task Collector plugin provides right-click and hot-key options for setting tasks to any value you wish (you just have to give it the string of values you want available, and you’re off to the races).
It also has some additional options for adding metadata and removing text when you complete (or cancel) a task.
It works within a file, so it can move completed items to a lower section in the same document (possibly removing their task nature along the way).
A few themes provide baked-in support for custom checkbox values (Sanctum, ITS, ebullientworks, and Spectrum all do). Task Collector will render custom checkboxes in its popover using … whatever that theme or your own personal snippet decides to do (it is agnostic to style). It attaches special meaning only to x, X, space (), and - for canceled tasks if you tell it to.
A new plugin (released today) that will help you build your custom CSS snippet for custom tasks. (which would then work with Task Collector to mark them complete)
I have been interested in the Bullet Journal method and have been using it for a long time. But if we rethink the idea of the Bullet, it should be a modular lifestyle and collections by yourself. So it’s also great for that style:
[!todo] todo
work
…
[!notice] what should be attention
things of 1
…
[!mode] mode name
matched things
it’s callout function in Obsidian. it provides a beautiful world representation.
and I often use Python with Jupyter which allows a short and powerful code script to complete my collections task.
all I want to say is may we should concern about the core idea rather than Something metaphysical
Hi! I’ve been using obsidian for about a year now but I haven’t been able to find a system to maximize it to the potential I think it could be. I am decidedly NOT a tech person so even something like getting the date toggle-able? at the top of daily notes is beyond me. What you’re describing looks very useful! I’m currently installing it as we speak. Thank you for making it! Would you be able to walk me through using it if I have any questions? I’d appreciate it so much.
Using a Bullet Journal (BuJo) in Obsidian is a great idea. Thank you for this post.
I first started my BuJo years ago on paper using a note book. My first migration goes to Microsoft OneNote. It was a great improvement to have a digital search function. The migration to Obsidian was the next important step. Now my BuJo ist part of my Structure Notes from Zettelkasten method. Links between BuJo notes with Permanent Notes are a source of valuable insights.
And the best of all: There is no need for a plugin. It could be done with basic features from Obsidian.
BJ is maybe the reason I found and hooked with obsidian now.
I heard the first time of BJ 2 or 1,5 years ago and was very interrested in that system. I tried it for several weeks but was lost after all because of my lack of self-discipline. I need a digital reminder, so I tried some digital tools and hoped to copy BJ in some way. But really nothing worked, like I wanted.
So I bought another noteblock to give the original BJ a new chance and failed again.
Some weeks ago I found obsidian and what should I say. I found more I was looking for.
I don’t think, I would use a BJ Plugin in Obsidian. That would be limitation. I really enjoy to take my notes and attach a task with the reminder Plugin. My index is the daily note with a modified daily agenda from the task plugin example page.
I just found out about the Minimal theme in a video from Nicole van der Hoeven (“My time management setup in Obsidian (2023)” [07:52-11:12], and it has a nice feature for those who are Bullet Journaling in Obsidian: visual bullet markers following the traditional BuJo practice (like the ones described by the author of this thread). You can see it on the Checklist section. There are many, but the most relevant for Bullet Journaling are:
Syntax
Description
- [ ]
to-do
- [/]
incomplete
- [x]
done
- [-]
canceled
- [>]
forwarded
- [<]
scheduling
- [!]
important
Which would get displayed as shown here:
Visual bullet markers
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It’s just aesthetic, and you’ll have to take the appropriate actions associated with toggling that state, but I think it really helps in having a quick visual representation of the state of things.
This is a great workaround… just trying to figure out how to lock the checkbox. If you click the icon, it gets “cleared” and the custom icon info is gone. So the “[!]” would get cleared and become “[]”. Clicking it again would make it “[x]”.
(which would then work with Task Collector to mark them complete)
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