I use quite a few plugins

AidenLZ's Folder Note: Allows you to give a folder a note so when you click on the folder it's note appears. I use this especially for projects. When I start a new project I create a folder for it. I then give it a folder note so when I click on the folder, the note appears. I use this as my MOC for that project and the note page has queries that show all related notes to this project, all to do's associated with the project etc...

Banners: I put banners at the top of all my note templates.

Calendar: The single best obsidian plugin, gives you a calendar on the screen

File Color: Allows you to set colors for notes and folders

A few others
Hotkeys for Templates
Hotkeys for Specific Files
Natural Language Dates

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Posted by Korkstand

Member since Nov 2003

28996 posts

Posted on 8/15/24 at 3:43 pm to Korkstand

quote:
A lot of times starting with a strong structural foundation can help, but other times maybe the structure is too rigid and it holds you back.

I had to re-learn this lesson.

I've been doing GTD for several years, and it works remarkably well for me. That is, when I use it for its intended purpose - managing tasks.

Obsidian is obviously far more than just task management, but I tried to shoehorn everything into the rigid GTD model. It did not go well. I spent more time thinking about where to put a note than I did just writing the note. And, ultimately, with Obsidian it hardly matters where you put the note. Search, links, and tags (particularly tags) cover all the bases as far as finding and categorizing notes.

The location of a note is so irrelevant that some Obsidian users just use a single flat folder with no subfolders.

I couldn't go that far, I need at least a little bit of structure. So I came upon the PARA Method, which calls for just 4 top level folders:

Projects - current, active projects with clear goals and deadlines (even if the deadline is arbitrary and self-imposed). It's important to determine and define what your actual projects are. A "project" without a goal is a hobby, and a goal without a project is a dream.

Areas (of Responsibility) - long-term responsibilities, whether for work or home or personal development or whatever. These are the roles you have in life, ongoing things where you need to maintain a certain standard. Parenting, product development, health, finances.

Resources - topics that interest you, but that you don't necessarily have to work on or maintain any kind of standard. This is where you put your hobbies and dreams.

Archives - inactive things from the other 3 categories.

And that's it. These 4 buckets can contain anything in your life. I have only an introductory understanding of the idea, but it's important to note that the contents of these buckets is very fluid. Items can and often do move around from bucket to bucket.

You can think of them as an order of importance, urgency, or actionability. Everything in Projects is quite urgent, these are the things you are actively working on right now. This is where most of your daily tasks come from. When a project is complete, it moves to the projects subfolder in the archive. Or, if a project is canceled or otherwise goes inactive, push it down into Areas.

Areas is where most of your projects come from. You collect notes and info about your responsibilities until a clear actionable goal becomes apparent (or is assigned), then you move it into Projects. Or, if you are no longer responsible for something, move it into Resources if it still interests you, or put it in the Archive.

Resources is kind of just everything else that is your life. Dreams, hobbies, whatever interests you that doesn't demand any action from you. And of course if you end up turning a hobby into something more, move it into Areas so it can start spawning projects.

Archives are to be kept around for the future. Think of it as your "back burner".

And maybe most importantly, don't think too hard about where things should go. Don't devote any blocks of time to organizing things. Instead, organize as you work (if necessary). Rely on tags, links, and search to find things. If it takes a while to find what you want, move it to a more discoverable location, add tags, or link to it from elsewhere. Don't make any subfolders ahead of time, just make them as the need arises. Let the notes tell you where they should be.

And true to my belief:

quote:
Obsidian makes it really easy to reorganize later.

I turned my earlier clusterfrick of a folder structure modeled after GTD into something more sensible in very little time. With only 4 buckets to drop things in, those drag-and-drop decisions can be made in almost no time just by the note title, and all my links and tags still work. I only had to change a few hard-coded file locations in some plugins and scripts.

So now I think I have a workable system that will stick with me for a long time. The projects folder will have the most turnover, so I just throw a note in there for a new project and start writing. If it gets big and accumulates several notes or additional files, then and only then do I give the project its own folder. My Areas folder currently has 9 or 10 subfolders which correspond to the various broad roles or jobs that I have, and in those folders I've started accumulating notes related to those roles. I'll keep recipes and a workout log in my "Health" area, for example.

And my set of GTD-style scripts in my Dashboard note dutifully sucks out any tasks that I've made anywhere and presents them in the way that I'm used to, with reminders and links to encourage me to refresh things when necessary to ensure I'm making progress.

Absolutely loving this shite!

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