Stop wasting your time with Obsidian
When I was in school I would see my fellow students take notes in various ways. Some people took very minimal notes or bullet points. Others spent 5 minutes just decorating the heading.
I loved all the fun colors and doodles kids would pair with their science or history notes. So I brought a whole bunch of colored pens and pencils to school and started decorating and making colored points.
But the whole time I thought “This is really tedious and tiring. How do these people do it?”. I persisted but by the end of the class, I noticed only got a few pieces of information out of it. I spent all my time trying to structure my notes instead of actually making a note.
A lot of articles and videos I see online about Obsidian are ways to organize your notes.
Zettle this, PARA that… etc
I’ve used Obsidian for the last 2 years for various purposes. I’ve tried almost all the methods that people mention, but I realized one thing in particular.
Some parts of the methods work for me. Other parts don’t work for me.
I was too focused on how my second brain should work, not the why.
This isn’t to say that someone’s method of taking notes and using Obsidian is wrong. I’m saying that it is wrong for me. I was too preoccupied with figuring out ways to organize my notes, how I should write, and what my Obsidian vault should look like. Instead, I should’ve just focused on writing.
Have you ever found yourself pondering why someone thought about something the way they did? “Should I use tags or MOCs? What if I used both? But that’s not what this person does so maybe I shouldn’t”
Everyone’s brains works differently. What works for me in my vault might be different than what works for you. Some plugins that I use all the time might seem useless to you.
If you are in the same boat I was, try this:
Spend 5% of your time with Obsidian learning about peoples strategies
Spend another 10% adapting parts you like into your vault
Spend the rest of your time just writing
You’ll probably find it hard at first. “How do I find this? Where do I put that? How does this relate to that?” but the more reps you put in just writing and taking notes, you’ll find a pattern that works for you.
If you’re just starting out with Obsidian, don’t be afraid of messing up. They’re your notes and can be changed later if need be. Just start writing. However, it’s perfectly fine to gleam strategies off of people. In fact, I recommend it.
Just be sure to limit your time searching for the “perfect” system. The “perfect” system doesn’t exist for everyone, but it might exist for you, your needs, and your thought process.
If you’re looking for inspiration for Obsidian, I recommend Nick Milo and Odysseas. Both have great insights and might give you some good ideas that you can use.
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