Obsidian is my beloved note taking app. I have been using obsidian for more than three years now. I love it primarily for its simplicity and the ability to link notes. There are a myriad of other features if you want to dig deep, however let’s stop at those core features: simple markdown text files and linking of notes.
A couple of years ago I stumbled upon the concept of Zettelkasten. That story of the famous Niklas Luhmannwho created history by producing a plethora of academic papers and books using a slip box (Zettelkasten) despite starting from a non academic background? If you are interested in Zettelkasten and Niklas Luhmann see here and here. Being a flashcards (both paper and digital) user myself, this concept resonated well with me. Flashcards were the go to method for me to study both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
Right about the same time some internet algorithm pushed Obsidian in front of me and I thought this is the perfect partner to bring about the best work I can do using the Zettelkasten workflow.
The Workflow
I needed a way to capture information (fleeting notes), a way to process them and eventually create permanent notes. When there are references-rich sources like research papers, I wanted to create literature notes from which further digested notes could be created.
Thinking process using Obsidian as the Thinking Space
Information flowing from the web, papers, books, people and my own thoughts are captured using a synchronization enabled simple software to create fleeting notes. I could capture fleeting notes from any software. (or with a piece of paper for that matter). Currently I use Apple Notes for this as there is great synchronization between the devices I use. However Google Keep would work just the same.
There is some processing of information before being brought into my obsidian vault.
Notes enter initially as fleeting notes then to be further processed and atomized (made to represent a single atomic concept or fact) in to permanent notes,
As the number of notes grew, naturally new connections appeared. New thoughts, workflows, thought processes, mental frameworks emerged, old knowledge got strengthened and I kept on becoming productive.
Ability to integrate with Zotero was a great boon and I quickly became a supporter and got a paid membership.
With the AI integrations, connections between the notes I was blinded to, were brought to light.
That’s it. Got the knowledge in, thought about it, made connections. And revisited whenever I needed to.
Using obsidian for “everything”
This is where my gripe starts.
What I see when I go online to learn about new ways to use obsidian, Youtube, Medium, Reddit etc etc, is this tendency to over complicate this simple software.
To Obsidian developers’ credit, they kept it true to its original values and let the community plugins take it away in any direction they fancied without causing damage to the key theme of the obsidian.
There are so many tutorials nowadays on how to create ”todo list apps“, “project planning Workflows”, “book shelves”, “movie databases” etc etc.
While these workflows are not “bad” on their own, I feel they betray the whole philosophical existence of Obsidian. At least for me. (and a lot of the users who would benefit from obsidian.)
There are purpose built software tools for these functions and they do a much better job of those jobs. I advocate for using the right tool for each task, rather than attempting to use a single tool for everything, even when its limitations are glaringly obvious.
Strengths of obsidian
I think when we use any software, the primary determinant should be what does that help me achieve and how does it do so.
For me, obsidian is to help me think. Think and think again.
For thinking, I need context. I need my previous notes and a way to understand how they are interconnected. I find the “linking the notes” ability of Obsidian to be very helpful here. When I start jotting down my thoughts, I start creating connections with my previous notes, and I try to create new ideas based on the “old and the new”.
This process is immensely helped by Obsidian’s simplicity and the ability to make links. I found certain plug-ins that help to discover notes that are hidden, for example, Smart Connections, Strange New Worlds and Power Search. The idea of having these plug-ins is to surface out hidden “gems”. Finally, the note that you create is a sum total of all the cognitive work so far.
In my case output creation is done in a different office suite ( Google workspace) which provides more features than plain obsidian, including collaboration ability to share among other software, formatting options and ability to work from any Internet connected device. Another important point is that this approach separates thinking and creating processes. I don’t want my Obsidian vault to be “contaminated” with partially synthesized cognitive outputs.
That is all. It’s that simple.
No todo lists, no project plannings, no movie databases, no bookstores.
Before attacking me left and right please understand that this is what works for me personally. So please don’t judge. If you think creating that movie database with plot details is your use case for obsidian, please go ahead and do so. I truly appreciate that each one of us is unique in our requirements and preferences.
“Thinking Space” vs “Second Brain”
Finally, I honestly believe that a simple setup similar to what I showed above : “thinking space“ concept should be the most appropriate use case for the majority of Obsidian users.
Creating a “second brain” with Obsidian where everything has to happen in a single digital tool (all-encompassing digital repository), at least to me, makes a poor choice of digital tool use.
Your thoughts?