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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

#81

Post by gauchojs »

msamwald wrote: post #76

I tried using Obsidian, but I could not resolve the uncertainty of what should be a separate note file vs several items inside a note file. I then tried various 'outliner' applications (Dynalist, Roam, Workflowy). With these kinds of apps, there is hardly any friction between document and content granularity levels; everything can be just one big tree / directed graph. I finally settled with Dynalist [1] -- it recent…

While I love Dynalist design, their forum and the simplicity...

Roam is evolving quickly and has (what appears to be) little features that make it much more useful to me. More like a living, organic thing.

Eg: I really enjoy [[doing this]] to a concept and turning it into a page in less than a second...

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

#82

Post by qmmmur »

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'm writing a PhD which is a three year project. There is no way I can memorise everything I need to know.

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

#83

Post by neuronic »

jakeva wrote: post #19
ffpip wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. Offline notes in markdown. So cross-platform. Great UI, 'Mind-mapping' thing that everybody wants, backlinking to other notes, markdown, offline (so private notes). Other alternatives - roam research, notion, etc

I've tried it, I liked it. But I can't help but feel like I'm one of the only people who doesn't need an app for 'mind-mapping'. Am I missing something? Asking honestly, this comes up at work a lot. I feel like I can access things in my mind at will. Why should I need to transcribe it in some way?

Be careful. It's unlikely that you remembered what happened during your second day in university without me bumping your neurons a bit.

What I am saying is, that often we need an access trigger first even if the memory is technically there. Mindmapping is a way to rewalk the thoughts you once had and reenter a specific state of memory and mind.

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

#84

Post by O_H_E »

msamwald wrote: post #76

I tried using Obsidian, but I could not resolve the uncertainty of what should be a separate note file vs several items inside a note file. I then tried various 'outliner' applications (Dynalist, Roam, Workflowy). With these kinds of apps, there is hardly any friction between document and content granularity levels; everything can be just one big tree / directed graph. I finally settled with Dynalist [1] -- it recent…

Btw, obsidian is from the same makers of dynalist.

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

#85

Post by refresher »

phre4k wrote: post #68
refresher wrote: post #40

I tried Obsidian but prefer Foam[0], just because I enjoy using VSCode. Once it gets materialized backlinks I suppose it will be similar enough. [0] https://foambubble.github.io/foam/

Can't you already navigate with the tree view instead of materialised backlinks? What's the benefit? I prefer to link my sites organically inside of text in the page. E.g. on a page about Linux I'd write GNU/Linux is an [operating system](../os) based on the Linux [Kernel](../kernel). Tada, two backlinks without having to list them. If there's no link on the page it's not important. Do you see problems with that appr…

I actually do like the 'explore backlinks' pane for Foam so it would be of some navigational use for me. They list reasons for adding it as:

> Make every link two-way navigable in published sites

> Make Foam notes more portable to different apps and long-term storage

(via https://foambubble.github.io/foam/materialized-backlinks)

Though I may be getting confused between the backlink differences that Foam, Obsidian, and Roam offer. A list of forward links per document would actually be useful as well, which IIRC neither Foam or Obsidian offer at the moment. Obsidian also shows the user 'unlinked mentions' along with explicit backlinks, which is also a nice feature that Foam lacks.

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

#86

Post by tonyarkles »

smabie wrote: post #46
read_if_gay_ wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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 aro…

What about org-mode?

Org-mode is fantastic. Org files on Dropbox has been my standard note keeping and task management tool for close to a decade. But... it definitely has a learning curve as you simultaneously adapt your workflow to org and customize org to match your own desired workflow.

For me, it is undoubtedly the best task and knowledge management tool I’ve ever used. But, I accepted a long time ago that the Emacs requirement is going to be a deal breaker for a lot of people.

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

#87

Post by capnorange »

tbabej wrote: post #41
capnorange wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 te…

Happy to hear you find it useful!

thank you for you work!

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

#88

Post by rymurr »

read_if_gay_ wrote: post #33
myrandomcomment wrote: post #27

Canceled Evernote a month ago. To many bugs. Using VIM at this point. Honestly thinking of going back to a notebook. Only issue is I cannot read my own handwriting sometimes ;)

Look into vimwiki.

2nd that. I keep coming back to vimwiki after forays into other tools. It isn't perfect but its reliable and I can find my notes when I need them

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

#89

Post by wittyreference »

I was initially skeptical of Obsidian, but...

(1) It’s not proprietary - it’s a browser +/- IDE for markdown files. I point it at the folder in my Dropbox directory where I already keep all my md files. It’s a new front-end, but doesn’t lock me into anything.

(2) As an extension of 1, I can continue using NotePlan as my calendar/todo on my phone (which builds everything into md files), and Kiwi to access all of the above on my phone as a personal wiki.

(2) was already my workflow and knowledge base; Obsidian just made for a nicer editing/browsing tool on PC.

The key is that, as what is essentially a wiki, both the files/notes and their interrelationships are conserved/non-proprietary, regardless of what happens to the chosen software in the future. No lock-in for any part of my calendar, workflow, or knowledge base, and all three can point to one another because it’s all just md in the same folder.

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

#90

Post by tehbeard »

tonyarkles wrote: post #86
smabie wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What about org-mode?

Org-mode is fantastic. Org files on Dropbox has been my standard note keeping and task management tool for close to a decade. But... it definitely has a learning curve as you simultaneously adapt your workflow to org and customize org to match your own desired workflow. For me, it is undoubtedly the best task and knowledge management tool I’ve ever used. But, I accepted a long time ago that the Emacs requirement is g…

The learning curve and attitude of the old guard are what pushed me away from org mode. I loved the structure and the promise of being able to code/adapt workflows.. and being able to merge config and comments (literate programming, is it?) to document the few changes I managed to make. But learning Emacs around it, especially on a Windows system just isn't worth it :/
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