I used to buy tons of beautiful notebooks and not use them because i was afraid of "ruining" them. Started using them as commonplace books after watching your vids!
Your comments about not being able to "be messy" with your thoughts digitally is the pretty much the exact reason I do all my initial research, brainstorming, outlining and rough drafts for my short stories by hand. I do have a journal/planner that I have been using as a kind of commonplace journal for the shorts stories, but really has only been capturing random thoughts and ideas and some research that was writing related. I didn't know what a commonplace journal was until I saw another one of your videos recently, but I think it will be helpful to capture information, thoughts, and ideas about my other interests, especially since they often influence my writing
This is wonderful! I use both physical journals and Obsidian, too. Usually, we see “either/or” content so this is helpful and refreshing. I, too, loved your theme. I would also be interested to hear more about that aspect of your setup. I like what you have done with folders and tags. This makes a lot of sense to me. Index seems to be a much more approachable concept than MOCs. It is funny how using a different word can change how you think about something! ❤❤
Your system is so simple and so clean. I use folders in a traditional way since forever and it works but I recently feel I'm missing the resurfacing of notes and I searched on the web about a structure. I often hear about zettelkasten but each time I found it was too complex for my needs. You finally give me the aha moment with a structure simple enough that I will use and want to use it everyday but also that I will love and enjoy to use. But moreover, where notes will serve me and not the inverse. By the way, you have the more beautiful and pleasant voice I heard on TH-cam and every words you pronounce is so easily clear that it clearly enhance the quality of the video.
Zettlekasten isn't really complex once you understand it, the core stuff is just writing notes about ideas you have in 200 words or less (since that using the analog method, you need to write in an A6 aprox card) with your own words and link them to each other to make connections. It is not really necessary to overcomplicate it making different folders with "reference notes" (the source; a note only with a reference, like Albert's The Cell book, in the analog way, you could just write it as a footnote or at the other side of the paper), "literature notes" (ideas you didn't create; what you extracted from the source, annotations, things that interested you from a piece of media and page numbers, etc), "permanent notes" (ideas you created processing previous information and making the connections to previous notes) and "fleeting notes" (ideas you get throughout the day and have to check later to either discard or save) For example, I only write things I feel are worth writing down and classify everything under a single folder named "notes", I add a reference footnote if the idea has a source and that's it. I prefer to stick to the basic idea of zettlekasten because I would get overwhelmed clasifiying and making notes for everything; I prefer keeping it simple.
This is the first time i've heard about Obsidian -- it sounds really exciting but also very daunting. Writing things down is so much slower, but I remember them better that way. I do think though, that i'm more likely to look at entries again if they're on my phone rather than in a book. Having once place to save snippets of information as well as links, articles to read, etc sounds very appealing. Thanks for this video! ❤❤
this has revolutionised everything for me!!! thank you. i also like to hyperfocus on specific subjects and often spend hours trying to find things i previously read on reddit 😅
oooh, I love love love your thoughts on the commonplace books! digitalizing is a great idea - it makes the “encyclopedia” more accessible for sure! the process of writing down the “someone else’s thoughts” and analyzing, coming to your own conclusions and creating concepts that are relevant to you is so inspiring to me - and also adding YOUR structure on top of that…so cool and so useful to those of us who consume A LOT of media!
dataview was so convenient that when i opened the graph, i realized that i neglected what i was in it in the first place, making connections. I ended up going with what i was used to, listing information like a folder. So as a roundabout person who tends to work best in scratch, i keep renewing my vault to go through each note and subconciously filter which notes actually matter to me 😅. Notebooks still work best for my ideas, tho. So it's really great to use both analog and digital commonplacing to always update myself with the notes i keep with me. Also, the aliases property is a godsend so i could avoid a lenghty internal link while also being able to manually choose which unlinked mentions to link. I've also avoided having too many folders and rely on tags, which helps in seeing the node sizes differ according to frequency.
this video made me realize that i've been using the apple notes app on my phone as my commonplace book for years without even knowing ! i've been wanting to find a way to organize information more efficiently so i'm definitively going to try obsidian out. thank you for sharing your methods !!
Can you please tell what theme you have? I want one of these, it looks amazing!!! The video itself is so clear and comfortable, please don't stop, you're great!
love this video. you provide great information. and proof you don't need to show your face in order to make great videos :) I love that you are showing us your obsidian set up. makes me wanna get started instantly, def. inspiring :) thank you! just subscribed :)
Thank you, this is so insightful, I feel inspired now :D ! I've been using Anytype for digital journaling, it looks pretty similar to Obsidian, but I don't think it's as customizable. I'm a Notion girlie but needed an alternative specifically because of the offline functionality.
This was a really great, straightforward video! I use Obsidian for Commonplacing and thinking as well, even though I use physical notebooks and planners for many other elements of my life and work. I found the theme and color scheme you used particularly calming - can you share what theme you are using and any visual plugins you have for the folder colors? Thank you again for such a lovely video that makes a really nice connection between analog and digital and focuses on the WHY/purpose of what you are trying to do rather than just getting distracted with a new toy/tool :)
I was just thinking about you the other day (wondering if you had gotten your Cousin back and how you were dealing with the Weeks) and lo and behold, a new video! I use a different app but in a similar way, so it's nice to see another way to use the digital Commonplace.
Do you have plans to make a video on your obsidian set up? Yours seems very aligned to how I would set up mine! I downloaded Obsidian and was overwhelmed with the options and then closed it and didn't go back. A video of your setup would be very much appreciated! Love your videos so far thank you for creating!
I still use an analog commonplace book and just digitize it to my note taking app once I’m done. OCR is so good now your handwritten notes show up in search.
Helpful video indeed, thanks! It seems that if I need to link to an external source, it needs to be a public URL. Can I link to a file which is not shared publicly? Also, what's the theme that you're using?
Hi! I noticed you said Obsidian is offline and stores your files locally to your device. That said, I highly highly recommend a scheduled, automated backup system to an external storage device such as an SSD and/or to a cloud service. I would hate to see your computer or its storage die, and you lose your notes.
Oh yeah, backing up is SO important. Right now I’m backing up 1-2x week, once in the cloud and once on an external storage device. I do it manually though, but I should set it up scheduled because I’m forgetful. Will look into that!!
Oh no, I’m a little antsy about my back-ups actually 😆 but I like that I can use the program offline. In programs like Notion you can’t use it without internet access because they store all your files in *their* cloud. I have spotty internet at best so that wouldn’t work for me.
Thank you for this video. I just love notebooks and I have a lot of them and also I am using Obsidian. Have you thought about using a mixed method? I've seen notebooks convertimg handwritten notes into digital text while you are writing, but I did not try it
Hi again! I started using Obsidian after watching your video and have become more than a little obsesses with it. 😅 I'd love to know how you're using yours, if you're interested landing to make a video about it? P.S. I'm planning on writing a blog post about my system soon, I hope it's all right to refer to your video?
What stand do you use to hold your camera and what kind of camera is it? I’ve always been interested in doing these kinds of videos. Yours are very well made!
Thank you! I just use my iPhone to film! I did buy a “overhead camera mount” online, you can find a lot of different ones if you type that into google. And I use a USB mic for the audio because otherwise it sounds really echo-y
You may have found this already but I managed to get bold timestamps by: 1. Install Natural Language Date plugin. 2. In the Natural Language Date plugin settings, set the time format to **HH:mm :** 3. In a note, type @time or you can assign a hotkey in the hotkeys section of settings.
thank you! i was looking for some papers yesterday that i had been working (therapy homework) and went through 4 different binders before remembering which one had what i was looking for. my external drive is the same way. somethings can fit into several different folders/binders that i often forget where they are at. do you know if i can scan my handwritten notes into PDF and save them on Obsidian too? again thank you!
I used to buy tons of beautiful notebooks and not use them because i was afraid of "ruining" them. Started using them as commonplace books after watching your vids!
Your comments about not being able to "be messy" with your thoughts digitally is the pretty much the exact reason I do all my initial research, brainstorming, outlining and rough drafts for my short stories by hand. I do have a journal/planner that I have been using as a kind of commonplace journal for the shorts stories, but really has only been capturing random thoughts and ideas and some research that was writing related. I didn't know what a commonplace journal was until I saw another one of your videos recently, but I think it will be helpful to capture information, thoughts, and ideas about my other interests, especially since they often influence my writing
This is wonderful! I use both physical journals and Obsidian, too. Usually, we see “either/or” content so this is helpful and refreshing. I, too, loved your theme. I would also be interested to hear more about that aspect of your setup. I like what you have done with folders and tags. This makes a lot of sense to me. Index seems to be a much more approachable concept than MOCs. It is funny how using a different word can change how you think about something! ❤❤
Your system is so simple and so clean. I use folders in a traditional way since forever and it works but I recently feel I'm missing the resurfacing of notes and I searched on the web about a structure. I often hear about zettelkasten but each time I found it was too complex for my needs. You finally give me the aha moment with a structure simple enough that I will use and want to use it everyday but also that I will love and enjoy to use. But moreover, where notes will serve me and not the inverse. By the way, you have the more beautiful and pleasant voice I heard on TH-cam and every words you pronounce is so easily clear that it clearly enhance the quality of the video.
Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed it and could give you an aha moment!!
Zettlekasten is actually super simple but i understand why it would seem complex, the content online really sucks unfortunately
Zettlekasten isn't really complex once you understand it, the core stuff is just writing notes about ideas you have in 200 words or less (since that using the analog method, you need to write in an A6 aprox card) with your own words and link them to each other to make connections.
It is not really necessary to overcomplicate it making different folders with "reference notes" (the source; a note only with a reference, like Albert's The Cell book, in the analog way, you could just write it as a footnote or at the other side of the paper), "literature notes" (ideas you didn't create; what you extracted from the source, annotations, things that interested you from a piece of media and page numbers, etc), "permanent notes" (ideas you created processing previous information and making the connections to previous notes) and "fleeting notes" (ideas you get throughout the day and have to check later to either discard or save)
For example, I only write things I feel are worth writing down and classify everything under a single folder named "notes", I add a reference footnote if the idea has a source and that's it. I prefer to stick to the basic idea of zettlekasten because I would get overwhelmed clasifiying and making notes for everything; I prefer keeping it simple.
This is the first time i've heard about Obsidian -- it sounds really exciting but also very daunting. Writing things down is so much slower, but I remember them better that way. I do think though, that i'm more likely to look at entries again if they're on my phone rather than in a book. Having once place to save snippets of information as well as links, articles to read, etc sounds very appealing. Thanks for this video! ❤❤
this has revolutionised everything for me!!! thank you. i also like to hyperfocus on specific subjects and often spend hours trying to find things i previously read on reddit 😅
oooh, I love love love your thoughts on the commonplace books! digitalizing is a great idea - it makes the “encyclopedia” more accessible for sure! the process of writing down the “someone else’s thoughts” and analyzing, coming to your own conclusions and creating concepts that are relevant to you is so inspiring to me - and also adding YOUR structure on top of that…so cool and so useful to those of us who consume A LOT of media!
dataview was so convenient that when i opened the graph, i realized that i neglected what i was in it in the first place, making connections. I ended up going with what i was used to, listing information like a folder. So as a roundabout person who tends to work best in scratch, i keep renewing my vault to go through each note and subconciously filter which notes actually matter to me 😅. Notebooks still work best for my ideas, tho. So it's really great to use both analog and digital commonplacing to always update myself with the notes i keep with me. Also, the aliases property is a godsend so i could avoid a lenghty internal link while also being able to manually choose which unlinked mentions to link. I've also avoided having too many folders and rely on tags, which helps in seeing the node sizes differ according to frequency.
This is amazing timing, just yesterday I was looking for a video about transferring a commonplace book to obsidian!😮
Must be something in the water 😁 happy to help!
i got this video right after your first commonplace book video haha
same
this video made me realize that i've been using the apple notes app on my phone as my commonplace book for years without even knowing ! i've been wanting to find a way to organize information more efficiently so i'm definitively going to try obsidian out. thank you for sharing your methods !!
these journal covers are so aesthetic, I love it ☺☺
I'm really loving your channel and content!
Can you please tell what theme you have? I want one of these, it looks amazing!!!
The video itself is so clear and comfortable, please don't stop, you're great!
I have the AnuPpuchin theme with the “Style Settings” plug in! The style settings plug in is how I have the rainbow folders!
love this video. you provide great information. and proof you don't need to show your face in order to make great videos :) I love that you are showing us your obsidian set up. makes me wanna get started instantly, def. inspiring :) thank you! just subscribed :)
I use a filofax and that solves the linear nature of books. You can change the order of the pages. :)
For some reason I really dislike writing in those 😭 left hand struggles!
@@NotebookOverloadd same for left pages and righthandeds
Thank you, this is so insightful, I feel inspired now :D ! I've been using Anytype for digital journaling, it looks pretty similar to Obsidian, but I don't think it's as customizable. I'm a Notion girlie but needed an alternative specifically because of the offline functionality.
This was a really great, straightforward video! I use Obsidian for Commonplacing and thinking as well, even though I use physical notebooks and planners for many other elements of my life and work. I found the theme and color scheme you used particularly calming - can you share what theme you are using and any visual plugins you have for the folder colors? Thank you again for such a lovely video that makes a really nice connection between analog and digital and focuses on the WHY/purpose of what you are trying to do rather than just getting distracted with a new toy/tool :)
looking for the folder plugin too. Looks so much better than the ones that just colour the text itself
actually just found it in a lower comment. Style Settings is the plugin
This video makes me want to go back to school just so that i have an excuse to set up a cool note taking system
Such a great overview of your system - good food for thought for my own!
I was just thinking about you the other day (wondering if you had gotten your Cousin back and how you were dealing with the Weeks) and lo and behold, a new video! I use a different app but in a similar way, so it's nice to see another way to use the digital Commonplace.
Do you have plans to make a video on your obsidian set up? Yours seems very aligned to how I would set up mine!
I downloaded Obsidian and was overwhelmed with the options and then closed it and didn't go back. A video of your setup would be very much appreciated! Love your videos so far thank you for creating!
I still use an analog commonplace book and just digitize it to my note taking app once I’m done. OCR is so good now your handwritten notes show up in search.
OMG please I need to know what obsidian plug ins you are using
Helpful video indeed, thanks! It seems that if I need to link to an external source, it needs to be a public URL. Can I link to a file which is not shared publicly? Also, what's the theme that you're using?
Hi! I noticed you said Obsidian is offline and stores your files locally to your device. That said, I highly highly recommend a scheduled, automated backup system to an external storage device such as an SSD and/or to a cloud service. I would hate to see your computer or its storage die, and you lose your notes.
Oh yeah, backing up is SO important. Right now I’m backing up 1-2x week, once in the cloud and once on an external storage device. I do it manually though, but I should set it up scheduled because I’m forgetful. Will look into that!!
@@NotebookOverloadd Whew! Ok great! I misunderstood and thought the files were solely stored on your computer currently!
Oh no, I’m a little antsy about my back-ups actually 😆 but I like that I can use the program offline. In programs like Notion you can’t use it without internet access because they store all your files in *their* cloud. I have spotty internet at best so that wouldn’t work for me.
What theme are you using? or how do change the color of your folders? Thanks for the video
I use the AnuPpuchin Theme with the “Style Settings” plug in! The plug in has a section for rainbow folders which you can turn off and on :)
@@NotebookOverloadd Thanks
Thank you for this video. I just love notebooks and I have a lot of them and also I am using Obsidian.
Have you thought about using a mixed method? I've seen notebooks convertimg handwritten notes into digital text while you are writing, but I did not try it
Hi again! I started using Obsidian after watching your video and have become more than a little obsesses with it. 😅 I'd love to know how you're using yours, if you're interested landing to make a video about it?
P.S. I'm planning on writing a blog post about my system soon, I hope it's all right to refer to your video?
Of course it’s totally fine to refer to this video ❤️ I will do a “vault tour” soon 🥰
I use handwriting recognition to get the benefits of writing with the ease of digital
What stand do you use to hold your camera and what kind of camera is it? I’ve always been interested in doing these kinds of videos. Yours are very well made!
Thank you! I just use my iPhone to film! I did buy a “overhead camera mount” online, you can find a lot of different ones if you type that into google. And I use a USB mic for the audio because otherwise it sounds really echo-y
Do you turn on / activate core plug in "Unique Note Creator"? You're using zettelcasten right?
Wonderfully presented video, thank you.
YAAAAAAAY NEW VIDEO!
Thank you so much for being excited/patient with my low output 🥹🥹 I appreciate it ❤️
@@NotebookOverloadd it makes it more special when one does drop! You are so busy with work you have more than enough reasons to take your time! :)
@@NotebookOverloaddWe appreciate & enjoy your videos so much! No pressure ...just when you're able. We get it ❤
How do you get the quick bolded timestamp that you do in your daily notes? great video by the way
You may have found this already but I managed to get bold timestamps by:
1. Install Natural Language Date plugin.
2. In the Natural Language Date plugin settings, set the time format to **HH:mm :**
3. In a note, type @time or you can assign a hotkey in the hotkeys section of settings.
May I ask what Obsidian theme you're using?
Mocht je willen schrijven en willen linken, zou je ook GoodNotes op de iPad gebruiken met een pencil :)
thank you! i was looking for some papers yesterday that i had been working (therapy homework) and went through 4 different binders before remembering which one had what i was looking for. my external drive is the same way. somethings can fit into several different folders/binders that i often forget where they are at. do you know if i can scan my handwritten notes into PDF and save them on Obsidian too? again thank you!
I’d love to know what ways you utilize the information you’ve put in your commonplace?
I use Google Keep for my commonplace. Not structured but perfect for textual search, free and automatically synced on all your devices
I find that app helpful too, especially when researching topics.
Thank you!
I use obsidian at work this is going to be so helpfull!