How to Manage Long-Term Projects in Obsidian: My Proven Approach

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In task management, tools like Todoist, Obsidian Dataview, and Tasks help us manage specific tasks. However, when it comes to overseeing the overall progress of a project, traditional task management tools often fall short. This article will introduce how to use Mermaid Gantt charts effectively in Obsidian to manage long-term projects (for example, lasting over a year), helping busy professionals in both work and life better grasp their overall progress.

Background

My initial motivation for using Gantt charts in Obsidian was to create a timeline for a research project application, which needed to include work packages, milestones, project meetings, deliverables, publication deadlines, etc. This macro-level overview of project progress is crucial for successful project completion. Before this, I had used tools like Todoist, Obsidian Tasks, and Dataview to manage tasks, but I often felt a lack of control over the overall project timeline. Upon reflection, I realized that while these task management tools are great for handling detailed tasks, the sheer volume of minor tasks can easily lead to losing sight of the project’s macro progress.

During my PhD, I faced the challenge of keeping track of overall project progress. While regulations vary by country, a typical PhD program lasts over three years, with many students taking five to six years. For specific projects during my PhD, writing a paper — from initial execution, generating results, analyzing data, drafting the manuscript, to eventual publication — could take over a year. The entire process of writing, revising the dissertation, having committee members review the work, preparing for the defense, printing the thesis, and finally defending it is lengthy. I often found myself bogged down by numerous detailed tasks, losing sight of the overall project progress.

Eventually, I realized that tools like Gantt charts could help me maintain an overview of long-term projects, allowing me to escape the minutiae. In fact, after successfully securing funding for my project, I continued to use the Gantt chart I created to remind myself of the current project status and which phase I was in. Seeing the full-screen project progress Gantt chart daily kept me focused on managing the project timeline and reminded me to allocate more time and energy to important tasks rather than getting sidetracked by trivial matters. This is one of the key benefits of Gantt charts: they provide insight into project progress, allowing for better allocation of time and energy toward advancing the project.

Now, let’s dive into how to use Gantt charts in Obsidian to manage project progress effectively.

Read more here:

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Hey Wen, I’m not very happy to find your promising article behind a registration barrier actually. :disappointed:

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Hi @Mephi To clarify, do you mean to read the full article on Medium, a membership is required? The reason for the membership requirement on Medium is to compensate for the time spent writing the article, as when Medium members read articles, the platform allocates a portion of the membership fee to the writers. (If they could at least refund the membership fees I paid, I’d be pretty happy too. :sweat_smile:)

However, there is a reminder and a link at the beginning of the article that allows you to click through and read the full article for free and without registration. I apologize for the inconvenience of needing to click twice to access the full text. But rest assured, the second link will grant you free access to the full article.

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Thanks for answering, @Wen. With this hint I finally was able to find the well hidden link to your full article, now resulting in another question:
What exactly is the essence of especially your approach? This is what I would expect under a topic named share & showcase.
Instead I find the repetition of an elaborate introduction about your background contradictory pointing out the importance of allocating

Which I btw totally agree with.

As for your invitation to comment on your writings, I can not see any individual output except a wild list of Obsidian plugins you use and a filtered copy of original Mermaid docs which to my mind are even better explained by Mermaid’s Live Editor, but no workflow at all.
I am missing a well thought out structure.
And while Gantt charts usually is project management basics, some readers may feel thrown in at the deep end by the sudden mention of a thing called Mermaid which is not explained at all despite a reference link at the far end of your article.

Hopefully this may be of help for any future writings.

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Hi @Mephi Thank you for taking the time to read my article and provide detailed feedback! I’m glad you shared your thoughts. I will consider your suggestions regarding the structure and content of the article in my future writing.

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a “medium” pay-walled article in full can be read for free by adding its URL for saving at https://archive.ph

  • actually, it was saved 3 days ago, so someone did it already
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Thanks @Wen for the contribution, I’ve been looking for something like this and knew about Gantt charts and Mermaid, but couldn’t really figure out how to incorporate it into my workflow. I’ve been trying to avoid using Obsidian as a task manager, but your article did make me question whether that’s the right approach. Thanks again!

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@cosmickitten Thank you for your feedback!

In fact, since I started using Obsidian four and a half years ago, I have always combined task management with knowledge management. I believe that tasks and notes can provide context for each other. For example, when we are executing a task, if it is just an isolated task, it can sometimes be difficult to get started, especially when there are many tasks. Conversely, during the execution of tasks, new ideas and notes can emerge, so the execution of tasks also provides context for ideas, notes, and knowledge management. This is why I integrate the two.

In the future, I plan to write more about these aspects.

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Alternatively you can archive (through archive.is or similar sites) a Medium article and read it that way :wink:

Uups, I didn’t read further. @Yurcee already said that.
But archiving paywalled pages in general may make them readable. It’s a good thing to try.

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@Wen anytime! Quick question: I’m currently using TickTick, and am considering migrating the tasks to Obsidian for the reasons you mentioned, and also because of TickTick’s list limitation, however, I noticed you mentioned that you use the Todoist plugin. Do you see much benefit in managing tasks externally? I’ll be honest, I’ve not attempted task management yet, I’ve only just installed the Tasks plugin.

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@cosmickitten Thank you for your question! I do use multiple external tools to manage tasks, with my two most commonly used being Todoist and a calendar application. The former serves as a reminder, while the latter is used to schedule things that must happen on specific dates and times.

Next, I will use Todoist as an example to explain how I combine external tools with Obsidian for task management.

First, it’s important to emphasize that even though I use Todoist to manage tasks, the specific details of the tasks are in Obsidian. For example, tasks may have subtasks, sub-items, or specific text and note links underneath them, all of which exist in Obsidian.

Another point is that the number of tasks in my Todoist is vastly different from the number of tasks in Obsidian. Although I haven’t kept strict statistics, I currently have around 100 tasks or reminders in Todoist. In contrast, the number of tasks in Obsidian is likely over 100 times greater.

When I think about the benefits of using external tools for task management, three key points immediately come to mind. Now, I still use Todoist as an example to illustrate the advantages of combining external tools with Obsidian for task management

First, I create duplicate tasks and reminders in Todoist to emphasize some important and urgent tasks in Obsidian. This is an important feature of my system, highlighting important stuff. I don’t put too many details of tasks into external tools because keeping task details in Obsidian helps integrate knowledge management, allowing tasks and related details to retain long-term value even after task completion.

Secondly, some tasks appear in both Obsidian and Todoist, essentially serving a redundant purpose. Redundancy, simply put, can make the task management system more reliable. Important and urgent tasks are visible in both Obsidian and Todoist, making it less likely to forget or miss them. Of course, the characteristic of redundancy is reflected in multiple aspects of my system.

Furthermore, one reason I use the external tool Todoist for task management is to adjust my mood by switching between different tools. In reality, I spend most of my screen time in Obsidian; across all tools, I spend about 25% of my time in Obsidian. However, this might also present a problem—though it’s not a major one: looking at Obsidian all the time might lead to a bit of aesthetic fatigue, so occasionally checking tasks in Todoist can provide a change of pace. While this isn’t a crucial factor for task management itself, I personally enjoy doing this from time to time to switch things up.

This response may be a bit lengthy, but I hope it is helpful to you.

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I can 100% agree with that. Changing the colors of your theme or switching it outright, may combat that to an extent. I love my own setup, and it works great for me, but sometimes you just want to look at something else.

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Inspired by the discussions here, I am currently developing a plugin called Obsidian Todoist Context Bridge. Feel free to check it out, as I believe this can bridge the gap between task and knowledge management. Todoist can link to specific AbilityCity nodes, tasks, etc., allowing us to provide context for tasks.

New Plugin: Obsidian Todoist Context Bridge, A powerful plugin that bridges your Obsidian notes with Todoist tasks while preserving rich context - Share & showcase - Obsidian Forum