The ability to take notes effectively is one of the most important and frequently used skills a student can have. We are always searching for tools that can help us record information from lectures and then retrieve that information later for studying. I recently started using one such tool called Obsidian, which has enabled me to elevate my note-taking to match a fast-paced program like the MSA. This guide will walk you through setup, tools to enhance your environment, and an example use case of Obsidian.
1. Be Familiar with Markdown
Before we get into Obsidian, you should be a little familiar with Markdown. Markdown is a simple plain-text format for drafting structured documents with predetermined formatting. In other words, you can input a minimal amount of plain text into a Markdown file and get a neat, consistent output in almost any format you like, such as HTML or PDF. In this article, I will assume you already have some basic knowledge of Markdown, but if you want an introduction or need to brush up, here is a startup guide on basic Markdown syntax.
If you are already familiar with Markdown and want to know what you can do with Obsidian in particular, you can take a look at the specification for Obsidian-Flavored Markdown.
2. Getting Started with Obsidian
First, we will go ahead and get Obsidian installed and set up for note-taking.
1. Install and download Obsidian. Osidian supports Windows, Mac, and Linux as well as iOS and Android. Find the appropriate download link for your system here and follow the installation instructions.
2. Open the app. You should see this welcome screen, where you can begin managing your vaults.
A vault is the highest level of organization in Obsidian, within which the application will look for your files. Create your first vault with your desired name and file location.
3. Create your first note. Click the “New Note” button in the top right and fill out the title for your first note. This will automatically save as a Markdown file with the same name (e.g. “Title.md”).
4. Start writing! Obsidian will save your notes as you write. It will also update any Markdown formatting as you write, such as headings, code blocks, images, or LaTeX math mode.
5. Try reading mode. Once you’ve finished writing a note, you can switch to reading mode using the book icon in the top right to view the fully formatted Markdown output for that note. You can always switch back to editing mode if you need to change anything.
3. Customize Your Environment
Obsidian’s true strengths come out more as you start to tailor it to your own preferences and workflows. Navigating to the settings provides access to a variety of customization options, such as:
1. Appearance. Just like any other text editor, Obsidian provides support for customizing the appearance of the program. You can install themes, change font and font size, and even create your own custom CSS snippets.
2. Plugins. These are the bread and butter of Obsidian that enable users to fine-tune and streamline their experience with additional features. Core plugins are provided within the base installation of Obsidian, while community plugins are developed and maintained by 3rd-party users. It goes without saying that you should use your best judgment with 3rd-party tools, and Obsidian has a small but passionate community that can help inform your decisions to use or not use particular plugins.
3. Hotkeys. Between Obsidian’s base functions and the endless combinations of plugins you can install, you will often want to run specific commands often. You can bind almost any command to a hotkey for easy future access. Regardless, you can always fall back to the Command Palette for quick command usage using Ctrl+P (Win)/Cmd+P (Mac).
3. Example — Daily Journal
The best way to understand Obsidian’s strengths is to look at a real example. I start every one of my days at the IAA with my daily journal in Obsidian. Here, I keep a list of tasks and subtasks for the day, a reference to any of the notes I create or work on that day, and a space for miscellaneous notes. I also keep references to the previous and next daily notes for easy access.
The core plugin Daily Notes plays the biggest role here, with the community plugins Templater and Dataview enhancing the setup. Every time I open Obsidian, it automatically opens up my daily note for the day. If one doesn’t already exist, it creates a new one with the given day formatted using a specific template and files it into my predefined file tree. The “From Today” section will also update dynamically as new notes are created or modified, serving as a single point of access to any of my work for that day.
Conclusion
Perhaps the most exciting thing about taking notes using Obsidian is that your experience is constantly evolving. As you write and organize your notes, you will discover new ways that your note-taking could be even more efficient and productive. Obsidian is a fantastic tool for turning those ideas into a reality.
Columnist: Chen Oliver