👑️ My 2021 Comprehensive Obsidian Zettelkasten Workflow 👑️ [Copious Timestamps] 🏷️

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0:00:00 Welcome
0:01:18 Intro
0:01:29 What We're talking about today
0:02:17 SUPPORT THE CHANNEL
0:02:37 An Important Caveat about the fluidity of a PKM system
0:03:56 WHAT IS A PKM SYSTEM
0:04:56 What is your end goal
0:06:27 quick capture
0:08:44 Status tracking
0:10:34 Search and filter how do you find anything
0:16:22 Association Traversal
0:18:35 How rigid of a structure
0:25:55 Temporal Components
0:28:41 Input Types
0:32:28 Curation
0:36:57 Aesthetics
0:40:40 Automation
0:42:54 Smart Lens
0:46:12 The how where what not the why
0:49:11 WHATS IN MY PKM SYSTEM
0:49:20 My Goals
0:58:25 My Quick Capture Workflow
1:00:06 Todoist
1:02:30 I externalize as much of my brain into software as possible
1:02:53 Note Templates
1:09:39 My meta Templater Template
1:12:22 Kanban Boards
1:13:55 The Dataview kanban board
1:16:00 Mobile quick capture
1:17:37 My Status Tracking Strategies
1:22:31 How I Search and Filter My Notes
1:36:18 How I Traverse My Notes
1:48:50 How I Leverage Temporal Components
1:52:54 LITERATURE NOTE PROCESSING
1:53:28 BOOKS
1:53:30 analog
1:58:59 pdfs
2:01:41 kindle ebooks
2:04:03 TWEETS
2:07:11 PODCASTS this one is a mess
2:16:00 VIDEOS
2:16:44 memex
2:21:59 ARTICLES
2:22:46 raindrop io
2:27:24 my raindrop binary tags
2:32:36 RESEARCH PAPERS
2:34:12 Research Rabbit magic to come
2:35:50 Zotero extension to get all your research papers
2:39:34 Zotero workflow
2:41:05 Zotero collections
2:47:09 Writing in Gingkoapp
2:49:20 academic networking services bonus
2:52:19 THOUGHTS
2:55:00 EVERGREEN NOTES
2:56:45 Atomic notes
2:58:25 evergreen notes
2:59:34 API note titles
3:01:25 external frameworks for thought
3:07:15 MAPS OF CONTENT
3:13:25 ZETTELKASTEN PKM ADHD AND YOU
3:22:01 WHAT PLUGINS AM I USING
3:22:15 add codemirror matchbrackets js
3:23:31 advanced tables
3:26:09 Better word count
3:26:41 calendar
3:27:32 copy code block
3:28:25 cycle through panes
3:29:55 Dataview
3:30:33 editor syntax highlight
3:30:43 extended mathjax
3:31:08 file explorer note count
3:32:04 full-screen mode
3:32:23 highlgiht public notes
3:33:11 kanban
3:33:35 kindle highlights
3:33:56 metatable
3:34:24 mindmap
3:35:36 NLP dates
3:36:10 pane relief
3:36:42 paste URL
3:37:21 periodic notes
3:37:44 recent files
3:37:59 relevant line number
3:38:33 show current open note
3:38:45 review
3:39:43 sliding panes
3:40:42 super charged links
3:41:11 random note
3:41:39 tag wrangler
3:42:22 templater
3:46:05 zoom
3:47:24 RECOMMENDATIONS
4:03:15 Closing
4:03:19 THANK YOU, SPONSORS AND PATRONS
4:04:05 outro

[BryanJenks]

Some men just want to watch the world learn 😊I hope you all enjoy this behemoth of a video!
I don't have it in me to do courses right now with all my priorities, but if you enjoyed the video and want to show some form of appreciation, these are the best ways:

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[pablov]

Dude 4 hours of pure productivity extasis. This man works so hard and releases all this info for free, thanks a lot Bryan

[paperlessmovement]

1:55:33 is pure gold. Key Takeaway: "Most people just listen to the author's passive voice in their head when reading a book instead of having an active thought process to what they are actually reading."

[e_f_o]

This video took me from "Obsidian looks cool, but is it useful?" to "I really understand how this works and what I am going to do" in 4 hours. Thanks, Bryan!

[alejofernandez]

This kind of videos are game-changer. This along with "How to take smart notes will definitely level-up your knowledge system as I think Obsidian is the most appropiate app to build bottom-up notes. I'm sure Luhmann will be proud of you :)

[chrisso]

Bryan, you are an absolute legend. Thank you for your skill, knowledge and generosity. This is a course in itself.
So, who the hell would give this a thumbs down?!!! Bloody trolls!

[nisheetpatel]

My man, you are an absolute beast! It makes me so happy to see people like you in the world. You are pretty much what every person with ADHD dreams to be someday. I cannot thank you enough for putting out such quality content for free.

[josepineda-yt]

IMO, Best video to learn Obsidian PKM... including pay courses. Great, great content... as usual.

[AlexPlatte]

I'm only mad at myself that I waited this long to check out this video. This is tremendously helpful, and I can't thank you enough, not only for sharing your own personal choices and sophisticated system, but giving so much background on *alternatives* and your *reasoning* behind the choices you've made. As someone early in building PKM inside of Obsidian, this is invaluable--even many months later.

[mwalderino]

This is my first YouTube comment...ever, but I had to leave it because as a young woman with AGRESSIVE ADHD, the fact that you were able to get me to sit down and watch a 4 hour video AND digest it. My elementary school teachers wouldn't believe their eyes. Thank you so much. Great work! Your commitment and passion for your work shows. This might actually be the first organizational system (in a long, long list of unfinished to-do lists, productivity apps, planners) that works for all aspects of my life. Thank you Bryan!

[StevenMichels]

There's so much wisdom here--a must-watch for anyone who uses Obsidian. When I was not learning something new, I was affirmed in my current practices. Many thank yous, Bryan!

[dannythedabbler]

I've been trying to get a foothold in understanding obsidian and how people use it for days with no luck until I found this video. It even has all the acronyms that I've been trying to get resolution on!

[gideon]

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation:

00:00 🎥 The video covers an updated comprehensive workflow for Obsidian and Zettelkasten note-taking system.
00:39 📚 The video introduces the personal knowledge management (PKM) concept and the importance of setting clear goals for your system.
01:21 📝 Quick capture of ideas is crucial for effective note-taking and productivity. Different methods like daily notes, task management software, and capturing prompts are discussed.
02:03 📌 Tracking the status of notes throughout the processing stages is essential. Different stages of processing and tracking methods are explained.
06:01 📂 The video compares rigid and less rigid note organization systems. It covers Johny Decimal, a method for structured folder organization, and the benefits of freeform folder systems.
07:41 📆 The importance of adding dates (ISO 8601 format) to note titles is emphasized for chronological sorting and tracking, aiding searches and temporal organization.
08:52 🧰 The video explains the benefits of using filters and saved searches to navigate and traverse your note collection effectively.
10:58 🔄 The presenter highlights the fluid nature of these methods and systems, emphasizing the need to focus on achieving productivity and meaningful outcomes.
12:49 🛠️ The video demonstrates the practical implementation of concepts like special symbol taxonomy, regular expression searches, and Johny Decimal in Obsidian.
18:28 📚 The benefits of a flexible note organization system are reiterated, where notes can be easily tagged, linked, and categorized without the limitations of rigid folder structures.
22:23 📚 Freeform vs. Rigid Structure: There's a preference for a freeform approach for idea connections, but rigid systems like JohnnyDecimal can be useful for certain needs.
23:04 🧠 Hierarchical Notes: Creating higher-order notes to group related content instead of connecting every note individually, providing a more organized approach.
25:08 🗃️ Folders vs. Freeform: While freeform note organization can work, having some level of structure with connections, indexes, and mock maps helps with scalability.
26:19 ⏰ Temporal Components: Utilize temporal components like daily notes or journal entries to create timelines and track progress through linked content.
28:54 💡 Thought Facilitation: Use techniques like ABC lists to generate associations and connections between notes, helping flesh out content and connections.
30:48 🔍 Curating and Reviewing: Strategies for curating your notes include randomly traversing your connections, reviewing notes at intervals, and focusing on specific topics for curation.
35:12 🛠️ Tool Selection: Choose tools and plugins that enhance productivity and align with your goals, rather than getting distracted by unnecessary features.
42:51 🚀 Iterative Approach: Start with a minimum viable product, build your system over time, and iterate based on your evolving needs and insights.
43:18 📅 Using Data View queries and smart folders for efficient note organization and tracking edits.
44:14 📊 Utilizing network graphs in Obsidian for visualizing note connections and relationships.
46:20 📚 Practical aspects of a Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) system, including organization and curation strategies.
48:12 🤔 Focusing on practical use cases rather than abstract theories of why a PKM system is beneficial.
54:07 💻 Migrating technical notes to specialized platforms while keeping Obsidian for creative and broader knowledge management.
56:01 📜 Separating different use cases within your Obsidian vault for better organization and focus.
58:36 📝 Utilizing Todoist for efficient task quick capture and organization, along with natural language processing.
01:04:53 📝 Purple tags indicate notes with information or citations requiring further research.
01:05:23 🌱 Different tag levels distinguish seedlings, ferns, incubators, and evergreen notes.
01:06:49 📅 Task management integrates with Obsidian and TODOist for specific knowledge-related tasks.
01:07:29 🗺️ Maps of content are created to visualize relationships between different subjects.
01:07:57 ⚙️ Utility notes help organize and navigate the Obsidian vault more effectively.
01:09:21 🏷️ Templates are used to automate note creation and categorization using the Templater plugin.
01:10:30 ✏️ Text expansions via Alfred App speed up tagging using specific shortcuts.
01:12:22 📊 The Kanban plugin helps manage processing stages and track note progress.
01:13:17 ⚠️ The Urgent tag is rarely used, as Obsidian and TODOist handle different urgency levels.
01:13:44 👥 People notes categorize individuals and notable figures in the vault.
01:14:11 🔗 Graph groupings and custom CSS aid visualization of note connections.
01:15:56 🕵️‍♂️ Search techniques involve combining symbol taxonomy, dates, and tags for efficient retrieval.
01:39:21 📝 Utilizing links and emojis instead of folders reduces cognitive load, friction, and facilitates organic growth while maintaining a flexible and easily scalable structure.
01:49:37 🌐 The speaker highlights the utility of organizing notes using a low friction, interconnected system, such as linking daily, weekly, monthly, and annual notes.
01:52:12 📚 The speaker outlines his workflow for processing books, which includes reading physical books with Obsidian, using Zotero for PDF books, and capturing Kindle highlights.
02:04:06 🎧 Air application, available on iOS and in beta for Android, allows users to record and transcribe podcast clips (called "air quotes") with added notes for efficient note-taking during podcasts.
02:09:24 📄 Sharing air quotes via long pressing the share button and sending as markdown via AirDrop.
02:16:18 📺 Using Memex browser extension to capture annotations and time-stamped links from YouTube videos.
02:20:06 📚 Storing and processing articles using Raindrop.io, capturing snapshot archives for web page content.
02:22:18 🗂 Organizing articles with nested collections and using tags, such as "0" for unread items.
02:23:50 📬 Transitioning items from the inbox to a focus area for detailed processing and note-taking.
02:30:17 🔗 Processed notes go into "Settle Cost and Inputs Archive" with proper organization, sorting, and tagging.
02:32:35 📚 Discusses research paper workflow involving tools like Research Rabbit, Zotero, and Ginkgo app.
02:47:15 ✍️ Recommends Ginkgo app for writing and organizing research notes with its card-based system.
02:49:38 🔄 Orchid and Lens.org for networking, identification, and sharing academic work.
02:50:36 📊 Use Lens.org and Orcid to track research impact and discover scholarly works.
02:52:02 📄 Workflow for processing research papers using Zotero and tablet annotation.
02:52:30 🎙️ Utilize voice assistants and Todoist for capturing quick ideas.
02:54:23 🧭 Create atomic notes, link them, and curate a framework for thought.
03:01:07 📝 Apply the external framework for thought to writing and creativity.
03:09:07 🏷️ Use tags and graphs to identify potential MoCs and refine your system.
03:11:16 🧩 Dataview in Obsidian doesn't directly connect links in data view to the notes themselves, but offers a lens into connected content.
03:12:09 🌐 Creating maps of content in Obsidian offers an organic and non-nested way of organizing information with higher-order views.
03:13:33 🧠 ADHD struggles can align well with Zettelkasten systems, using structure, top-level organization, and reduced decision-making to manage cognitive load.
03:18:02 🔌 Plugins like "Better Word Count, " "Calendar, " and "Copy Button for Code Blocks" enhance the Obsidian experience with useful functionalities.
03:18:30 ⚙️ ADHD management benefits from tools like Obsidian and Zettelkasten, reducing cognitive load by externalizing thoughts and utilizing software.
03:22:11 💻 Obsidian plugins such as "Advanced Tables, " "Cycle Through Panes, " and "Dataview" enhance organization, navigation, and content management within the software.
03:32:03 🧠 Obsidian has various plugins that enhance workflows.
03:33:43 📚 Kindle Highlights plugin aids in managing Kindle notes.
03:34:11 📋 Meta table plugin creates collapsible visual metadata display.
03:34:25 🗺️ Mind map plugin visualizes note structure.
03:36:05 📎 Plugins for paste URL, pain relief, and history navigation.
03:37:03 🔄 Periodic notes plugin facilitates creating monthly notes.
03:37:47 🚪 Sliding panes improve note visibility.
03:39:05 🛠️ Templater plugin for creating and using templates.
03:40:15 🔍 Zoom plugin for focused writing.
03:47:05 📚 Recommended resources include "How to Take Smart Notes, " Obsidian, Raindrop.io, Kindle, and more.
03:53:21 🐇 Research Rabbit is a paper discovery service that aids in finding research papers.
03:54:45 ✍️ Ginkgo App is a paid, versatile writing application with focus and card workflows.
03:55:14 📑 Memex helps annotate YouTube videos; Highlights is a PDF viewer for Mac.
03:55:39 📖 Highlights is a freemium PDF editor with useful features for research.
03:56:07 📃 Text Sniper is a Mac OCR tool for easily copying text from sources like PDFs.
03:56:50 📚 Speed reading with browser extension aids reading retention.
03:59:00 📝 Logseq, a free and open source app, helps organize technical notes and code.
03:59:40 ⌨️ Alfred App on Mac is a versatile app launcher and productivity tool.
04:00:20 ➗ Math Picks is useful for capturing and exporting math equations.

Made with HARPA AI

[carrieben-yisrael]

Gorgeous and right on time. As I am working toward completing my masters in instructional design for adults and a PhD in adult learning and leadership - this is GOLD on so many levels - from content and how to structure my learning environments for neurodiversity. Thank you!!

[dustinduits]

I am SO excited to have found another Heathen ADHDer who is using Obsidian to PKM. I was using Roam and am moving over to Obsidian now and your content is super helpful and I totally vibe with it!

[gsatwood]

I'll be honest, I let out an audible sigh when I say how long the video was, but I broke it up into chunks and watched it all (some parts more than once). Excellent walk through of how you process information and full of great suggestions for people (like me) who struggle with this. Some of it was over my head, but that's OK, because it's good to see how people have created more advanced systems even if even component isn't clear. There are lots of nuggets here for everyone to use, however. For example, I love the empty "tag" page (you called it "society" in your example) that can turn into a MOC later. I also liked the way you described using long descriptive names for your new notes. Thanks so much for taking the time to share. It's really appreciated.

[themaikimo]

Finally completed full 1st pass through. I can tell I'm making progress because more of your clever ideas make sense sooner. 😉 Thanks so much!

[enzorocha]

The points you've made here are real eye-openers. For example, that comment about folders and data being messy because they're not organized into said folders isn't really the nightmare we all were trained to believe from childhood. Mind blown! And that's just early in the video; what a goldmine. Thanks so much.

[diegos]

Seriously thank you. You have put an unthinkable amount of effort on this and content quality never drops through the video. Respect my man.

[Sterlingrose]

Watching this incredible video and not paying for it would be indecent. I joined your Patreon, hope others will too. What a generous act to share this, Bryan. Thank you.