- Obsidian
- I know a lot of people use obsidian for life and project management, but I am not so inclined. I get a little overwhelmed with the idea of trying to optimize this system to be my calendar, task list, and beyond. I watched a video in which someone said Obsidian is not their life, it's their garden, and they enjoy tending to it, but their house won't come crumbling down without it. I appreciate this greatly and try to take a similar approach. It is where I tend to and connect my ideas, but I have existing systems for task management that work okay. I will note Tasks Consolidated that arise as a result of my note-taking, but the plan is to externalize them from here and into my planner.
- I am also learning that Obsidian can be used to make slides and even zines, which might be a huge help as I try to figure out a workflow for externalization and sharing.
- Passion Planner
- I like my Passion Planner because it takes what could be a miles long to-do list and forces me to choose what various projects and responsibilities align with my larger goals. I also like that it's analog and serves as a way to see snapshots back in time, not unlike a line-a-day notebook, such as Great Aunt Louise's Diary
- Each week, I sit with my Outlook/Google calendars, project lists, and Obsidian to narrow down that week's priorities.
- Outlook/Google Calendar
- Outlook is what my workplace uses, and Google calendar is what I use for managing recurring events, appointments, and meetings with others. I appreciate it because it allows me to put things on other people's calendars (assuming they use them).
- are.na
- are.na is like Pinterest if Pinterest wasn't full of AI slop and ads, which is to say, it's awesome. It's people connecting ideas, writing, and art as "blocks" which they then collect in "channels." This is where I collect things I find across the internet (and the world - I also include photos in some hyperspecific are.na archive channels) to expand on themes I'm considering. Some people use Obsidian this way, but I appreciate the social aspect of are.na, and what a peaceful platform it is. It seems like it's inhabited by really thoughtful people.
- I embed some of my are.na channels in this notebook using iframes to share the resource pool I might be pulling from on a given topic.
- Obsidian has a tool called Clipper which might also be helpful for collecting, but it then lacks the social aspect. That said, I can see how copying entire webpages to a markdown handbook can be important for archival purposes.
- Morning Pages
- 3 handwritten pages that I write each morning as a part of The Artist's Way. I've used these with varying consistency throughout my life. I can honestly see a concerted hour with Obsidian replacing these, but I do think there's something to be said for hand-writing versus typing.
- Paper Notebook
- I often feel torn between the indexability of digital notes, but struggle with how they operate in an ephemeral space. I like writing by hand. I am now trying to institute the Medium method of transferring paper notes to Obsidian.