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Using Obsidian to manage goals, tasks, notes, and software dev knowledge base

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Re: Using Obsidian to manage goals, tasks, notes, and software dev knowledge base

#31

Post by read_if_gay_ »

gorgoiler wrote: post #14

After having used Bear, Notable, and Atom + plugins, I’m realizing I don’t really want an app to manage my notes. I just want the notes, plus a tool to traverse them that’s got a bit more beef to it than Finder.app. I’d like to use a more powerful app like the one promoted here, but I feel desperately uncomfortable tying my notes [in] to a piece of proprietary software . I feel like that was a mistake I made already,…

> but I feel desperately uncomfortable tying my notes to a piece of proprietary software

Obsidian is proprietary, but Markdown isn’t. And there will always be Markdown personal wikis. I guarantee it.

> What about if I want to style a real PDF in Asciidoc?

Pandoc can export MD to PDF, HTML, .doc, anything. And you can style with CSS.

But once you add spreadsheets and sketches into the mix, there’s basically no way around proprietary software.

Re: Using Obsidian to manage goals, tasks, notes, and software dev knowledge base

#32

Post by input_sh »

sadok wrote: post #30
gorgoiler wrote: post #14

After having used Bear, Notable, and Atom + plugins, I’m realizing I don’t really want an app to manage my notes. I just want the notes, plus a tool to traverse them that’s got a bit more beef to it than Finder.app. I’d like to use a more powerful app like the one promoted here, but I feel desperately uncomfortable tying my notes [in] to a piece of proprietary software . I feel like that was a mistake I made already,…

Have you tried Roam Research? https://roamresearch.com/

The comment you're replying to says:

> but I feel desperately uncomfortable tying my notes to a piece of proprietary software.

Re: Using Obsidian to manage goals, tasks, notes, and software dev knowledge base

#34

Post by travbrack »

gorgoiler wrote: post #14

After having used Bear, Notable, and Atom + plugins, I’m realizing I don’t really want an app to manage my notes. I just want the notes, plus a tool to traverse them that’s got a bit more beef to it than Finder.app. I’d like to use a more powerful app like the one promoted here, but I feel desperately uncomfortable tying my notes [in] to a piece of proprietary software . I feel like that was a mistake I made already,…

I'm using VS code and the markdown preview plugin, with a private repo on github. Works pretty good and would support other filetypes besides MD.

Re: Using Obsidian to manage goals, tasks, notes, and software dev knowledge base

#35

Post by read_if_gay_ »

fn1 wrote: post #24

One question for all users of knowledge-bases like this: How often do you write something down and look it the next day and realize it's not relevant anymore because of reasons like: • you memorized it • it's not as important as it seemed yesterday • it's a todo and having it there actually nags you and prevents you from completing it • it creates some other kind of mental load: while skipping over it, it grabs your…

I mostly use my wiki as a place to store actual information and use a different system for managing todos. I would agree that wikis aren’t really fit for that, if that’s what you’re saying, but that’s also not their intended purpose.

Re: Using Obsidian to manage goals, tasks, notes, and software dev knowledge base

#36

Post by capnorange »

gorgoiler wrote: post #13
capnorange wrote: post #11

this is the setup I keep going back to(I've tried Roam, Obsidian, Tiddly) - VimWiki + TaskWarrior + TaskWiki.

Could you elaborate as to why?

The reason is mostly I couldn't replace my current workflow using other tools.

1. open-source. 2. One command away from my editor(I only use desktop for taking notes), also synced to my dropbox in case. 3. Amazing extensibility with plugins and custom scripts. Eg: bugwarrior + pomodoro(using Timewarrior, I've used this a lot when freelancing, not so much now) + some custom scripts. 4. Journaling - custom generated template of what I need to records/daily tasks etc. 5. Viewports in taskwiki are amazing, eg: for any project related notes I can do write `# Task | project:Pro1 and +PENDING` to list pending tasks in Pro1, you can also configure to use tags like development, bug reports etc.

I couldn't find another tool that is as extensible. The downside is you need to dedicate a weekend to understanding and setup!

Re: Using Obsidian to manage goals, tasks, notes, and software dev knowledge base

#37

Post by dmytton »

I moved my notes out of Apple Notes and into Markdown inside text files last year due to the bugs I encountered. This means I can sync them with whatever product I like (currently OneDrive) and open them on any system (currently macOS) with any app that can parse Markdown (currently iA Writer). It also means whenever any new app comes along, I can play around.

Usually what I want is something that loads very quickly and has a minimal UI that allows me to focus on writing, but also allows me to search all files quickly. iA Writer ticks all those boxes, and also has support for simple #hashtags so I can organise the notes.

Where things become more difficult is if the app adds a lot of custom functionality that is either specific to that app or adds lots of custom metadata to the files. Then you start to lose some of the above benefits, particularly cross-platform.

I looked at Obsidian but found the UI to be heavy and slow, and lots of extra functionality I wasn't interested in. I've tried a lot of apps[1] but always come back to iA Writer.

[1] https://davidmytton.blog/the-best-note-taking-apps-for-mac-m...

Re: Using Obsidian to manage goals, tasks, notes, and software dev knowledge base

#38

Post by sasaf5 »

gorgoiler wrote: post #14

After having used Bear, Notable, and Atom + plugins, I’m realizing I don’t really want an app to manage my notes. I just want the notes, plus a tool to traverse them that’s got a bit more beef to it than Finder.app. I’d like to use a more powerful app like the one promoted here, but I feel desperately uncomfortable tying my notes [in] to a piece of proprietary software . I feel like that was a mistake I made already,…

I do something like that using org mode in termux. It has really improved my note taking and personal information management. I do my workout logs, nutrition logs, language study, work task management, agenda, all in the same environment, and the format is open. Versioning and syncing is done with git.

Re: Using Obsidian to manage goals, tasks, notes, and software dev knowledge base

#39

Post by raytracer »

xzel wrote: post #16
gorgoiler wrote: post #14

After having used Bear, Notable, and Atom + plugins, I’m realizing I don’t really want an app to manage my notes. I just want the notes, plus a tool to traverse them that’s got a bit more beef to it than Finder.app. I’d like to use a more powerful app like the one promoted here, but I feel desperately uncomfortable tying my notes [in] to a piece of proprietary software . I feel like that was a mistake I made already,…

boostnote.io might be a good tool for you. Its basically a markdown renderer + code coloring with some extra search and other features. The first version is open source and I believe the second version also will be (but not positive). you can also store your folder of notes in a dropbox folder and get decent syncing out of the box. I've been using it for two years now and don't have any complaints. I will have to adm…

Obsidian is basically a "markdown renderer + code coloring with some extra search and other features" too.

Notes in Obsidian are just regular markdown files that sit in a directory on your hard-drive. The notes can be version controlled with Git, synced with Dropbox, etc.

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