## Obsidian Process 2023 🔹 *parent* [[Obsidian|Obsidian]] ▫️ *related* [[Permanent/Obsidian/Obsidian Plugins|Plugins]], [[⏶ Obsidian Process 2021#Table of Contents|2021 Process]], [[❞ How to Take Smart Notes|How to Take Smart Notes]] %% ### Todo - [ ] Finish editing - [ ] Add templates to github and link in YAML section %% ### Overview I started using Obsidian to build build a [[✧ Personal Knowledge Management|Personal Knowledge Management]] system (PKM for short) back in 2020, and realized quickly that this powerful program had great features but benefitted most those with intentional methods. Since then I've taken a lot of guides, books, and tutorials to perfect my own process, and hope it will help clarify what has helped me in Obsidian. An intentional method in Obsidian taught me: - to write structured, effective notes from what I learned. - to read actively by summarizing ideas I learned. - to create unique ideas from this process, and integrate effecively to areas of study. My intention behind this guide is to help people starting off with Obsidian and struggling with organization and process. I hope to distill basic principals that have worked for me from a variety of sources. The guide covers: - Note Format as building blocks - Anatomy of an effective note - Template structure - Processing notes from Inbox - Tagging intentionally - Folder strategy - Why does all of this matter? ### Note formats and categories Utilizing specific note **formats** in Obsidian is important for processing new information into you system, while different **categories** (`Article`, `Book`, `Video`) are more flexible to help describe a type of reference material or information you close at hand. I'll explain why **four formats** are ideal for most notes and describe the categories I use for each. **References** (also called *literature notes*) include `Article`, `Book`, academic `Papers`, and `Video` formats. Best understood as the jotted notes taken <u>during study</u> such as: a summary of an article, important quotes from a book, and overview of key topics in a video. - Rather than copying word-for-word, transcribing key points as you learn has been proven effective for retaining new concepts longer. - Obsidian [plugins](https://github.com/readwiseio/obsidian-readwise) like the Readwise tool are able to parse highlights from Kindle or the web and transcribe into a formatted note, which I often review and include in Reference notes. **Permanent notes** Includes `Topic`, `Information` or `People`, are the building blocks of information that you develop from information you've studied. - A `Topic` should always be your own thoughts on a topic you've studied like "Yoga poses for flexibility", framed as your understanding of a concept from many sources. - `Information` or `People` are <i>factual</i> and <i>specific</i>: "steps to reset my Android device" is detail information to save. While `People` might also save important details about a friend to reference, books read by Oscar Wilde, or tweets from a favorite celebrity. >[!tip] Atomic Notes >The [atomic notes](https://zapier.com/blog/zettelkasten-method/) principal suggests that smaller notes are easier to review and search. Simplicity motivates us to actually use our PKM and build upon it. I've found tools like [Note refactor](https://github.com/lynchjames/note-refactor-obsidian) can simply this work by creating new notes from headings or selection. **Index format** is a format that should develop organically to organize your Permanent note. - A `Topic Index` might begin as a `Topic` that becomes unmanageable as a single note. For instance a `Topic` about JavaScript may index every concept and library, which themselves may become and index for specific concepts. <u>Break down only when necessary instead of creating indexes of potential sub-topics.</u> - `Categories` are indexes created based on specific types of notes, while `Course` might collect different lessons in a series. I have a root folder listing common note types and then use [Dataview](https://blacksmithgu.github.io/obsidian-dataview/) to create a table of recent notes and status.  <i>An example of a table generated with Dataview for listing recent notes by category</i> **Time-based** - `Fleeting` is basic for meeting notes, ideas, but I process then delete. `Daily` for journal prompts and for linking new notes at the time created and access using the Calendar plugin. Date/Time snippets can be easily added using [Natural Langage Date](https://dannyhatcher.com/natural-language-dates-in-obsidian/). ### Anatomy of an effective note Having a unified style and common elements across your templates reduces friction when making changes, these are the core elements I use in almost every note. Try my [template format](https://obsidian.mikecarlson.io/Permanent/Templates/%E2%9A%91+Template+format) if you need a place to start. >[!caption] >>  >> <i>A book reference template</i> The title, id, aliases, and date all use [Templater](https://github.com/SilentVoid13/Templater) functions to automate information. Four common elements: 1) **Title** - I add a unicode character to the title to identify type in my navigation, and set the <u>first alias to a text-only title</u> so I have both options. This method helps with search, graph, and can even help bulk format notes. - Title below yaml is h2 2) **Frontmatter** format - `title` - `id` - from [moment](https://momentjs.com/docs/#/displaying/format/) date to identify sequence - `aliases` - with 1 default - `tags` - format for each template (see below), - `type` of note category - `date` created, - `publish` status (optional) - helps identify live notes 3) **Note Title / Related** block (also add to snippet + hotkey) - *parent* index, - *related* topics OR *next*/*prev* if part of a sequential Topic I include 🔹▫️ icons for style. Keeping this block at the top 4) **Sections** all start with h3 - **Overview** - summary of note's purpose, - **Concepts** - named from specific information - **References** - always last section with default format Following this format ensures every [Outline](https://help.obsidian.md/Plugins/Outline) is easy to navigate when I review notes.  >[!tip] Modified date — is it necessary? >> My frontmatter originally included `modified` date and I played with scripts to update it based on last change, but nothing worked perfectly and it just made notes more cluttered. >> >> The modified date is still available through Dataview queries and with [File Info Panel](https://github.com/CattailNu/obsidian-file-info-panel-plugin), but not visually necessary for me. ### Processing from Inbox to folder This is an important process to get right, and unncessary work will result in new notes getting stuck in process. *My rule of thumb:* **Inbox** should not contain more than **10 notes** or **3 days of notes**. Anything older will be hard to recall details of to process it, so steps need to be simple. Fill out parts that aren't filled in by Templater. This is the **basic criteria** for status change (🟡 => 🟠 or 🟢) - **title of topic** - be specific and descriptive - **parent index** - the first instinct is a good one, if the parent is an index I add an outgoing link to the topic. - **3 related notes** - related topics, reference notes, next/prev (chapters, modules) - **1 citation minimum** for References and Topics, otherwise optional. Establish your style with a snippet or use [Zotero](https://forum.obsidian.md/t/new-plugin-citations-with-zotero/9793). I default preferred format. - Basic notes (**Overview** at least) The final step is to change the [[#Tagging|tag status]], my explained below. Remember! This can all be changed or added to later. It's more important to establish a note then obsess over details and clog your inbox. >[!tip] Quicker than you think > While this may seem time intensive, in most cases it takes only a couple minutes. The act of relating the note immediately saves you time from editing later, and creating two way links helps develop deep relationships between information. Frontmatter example ```yaml --- title: ❞ My Obsidian process in 2023 id: 20230616003831 aliases: ["My Obsidian process in 2023", ] cssclass: literature-left tags: [🗂️/📚/🟡] type: Book date: 2023-06-16 00:38 publish: false --- ``` Markdown template ```markdown ## My Obsidian process in 2023 🔹 *parent* [[Obsidian]] ▫ *prev* [topic], *next* [topic], *related* [topic] ### Overview [name of book](url)[^1] ### Concepts [page] description of idea ### References [^1]: last,first (year). *Name of book* [link to resource](url) ``` Citation format ``` Name of thing[^1] [^1]: author (year). *title of resource*, pages. [external URL] ``` >[!warning] **Why is this process so important?** > > My style developed from necessity. My first templates had different structures, I used different reference formats, different heading sizes, overly long sections, random tags for no reason. > > It caused hours to fix topics, I duplicated ideas, and found issues everywhere. *Avoid edit hell by sticking to a simple style.* ### Tagging Intentionally >[!info] Work in progress > I'm working to make tag changes more seamless by adding interactivity that changes tags, then sorts based upon new status. The default tags in my templates are expected to stay the same. If the above basics are filled out, I change the reference note's status in the frontmatter, which indicates folder when it's ready to move. **inbox** 🗂️/📚/🟡 => **sorted** 🗂️/📚/🟢 The format is `[note type/category/status]` but status is type-specific: - **References**: reference/book/unsorted 🗂️/📚/🟡 - **Personal info**: personal/information/sorted 🦊/ℹ️/🟢 - **Permanent topic**: permanent/topic/seedling 📥️/🔺/🌱 - **Permanent index**: permanent/index/branch 📥️/🔷/🌿 Won't explain too detailed, but the important identifiers are: 1) the section it belongs to 2) the type of note 3) the status (how complete is it?). As the status changes they move into a folder. - Reference/Personal have 2 status types: `[unsorted/sorted]` 🟡 => 🟢 - Fleeting notes status flags them for *deletion* or *archive* - 🗃️/ℹ️/🟠 - Permanent have 3 *seedling* types: `[new/in progress/complete]` - 🌱 => 🌿 => 🌳 ### Folder Strategy Keep as simple as possible: 8 folders, max 3 levels of heirarchy, with only *Daily Notes* having more than two levels. *Zettlekasten* has my **Permanent Topics** with no subfolders. >[!tip] Why organize this way? > Forcing myself to simplify was a difficult habit to break, but I came to realize that organization emerged organically through my tagging, sorting, and creating indexes of related notes and types.  That covers most notes, but I have specific note types I wont explain in detail: - *fleeting* (temporary notes to review and remove) - *daily notes* (where I reference new notes, my activity) - *categories* - indexes of sorted notes (Books, People, Info) - *Kanban* - 4-5 boards organized by status of ongoing projects --- %%Most notes have: - default title with unicode for template type, format [unicode identifier + title] - (Book: **❞ The Lord of the Rings**, Video: **✦ Youtube tutorial on time management** - Templater code to trigger replace fields when I call the template: title, id (by date format), aliases (title without unicode or AKA),%% ### Why does all of this matter? Starting a vault in Obsidian is easy. On the other hand, learning how to develop a vault that's *effective* for developing new ideas takes a lot of trial and error. I just hope to share what's worked to anyone else looking for new ideas. There's no right way to develop a PKM, however I'm most influenced by - [[⏶ Zettelkasten|Zettelkasten]] method developed by sociologist [Niklas Luhmann](https://zettelkasten.de/introduction/#luhmann-s-zettelkasten) and especially the brilliant explanation of this idea in *[[❞ How to Take Smart Notes|How to Take Smart Notes]]*. - I picked up a lot of early ideas about Obsidian from Bryan Jenks brilliant channel. - Other useful books and guides listed [[⏶ Obsidian Process 2021|here]]. I love Obsidian because it challenges you to experiment with process and integrate new ideas constantly, but rewards you with a second brain.