I left Google Maintain for Obsidian and eventually discovered a be aware system that works

Google Maintain has been my go-to note-taking app for years. Options like pinned notes, checklists, photograph assist, and color-coded playing cards made the app really feel like the proper house for all my notes. Over time, I discovered myself always digging by means of dozens of playing cards, looking for what I wanted. I had notes, to-do lists, bookmarks, quotes, procuring lists, and random ideas all squashed collectively.

I’d been listening to whispers of Obsidian, a markdown-based note-taking app generally known as a “second mind,” for months. At first, it felt like a wild leap from easy notes to a information administration system. However after utilizing Obsidian completely for a couple of weeks on my telephone, I finished lacking Maintain.

Why I outgrew Google Maintain and switched to Obsidian

Obsidian shortly grew to become my major note-taking app

Google Maintain is nice for shortly capturing concepts, but it surely wasn’t simple to prepare. Though labels assist, the system is clunky. Upon getting greater than 50 notes, discovering something turns into a chore. Different drawbacks embrace the absence of backlinking, restricted formatting, and lack of construction. I wanted a extra versatile system that might assist me manage my concepts as a substitute of burying them in an infinite sea of playing cards.

Obsidian had been on my radar for a while, however its complexity initially deterred me. I wasn’t attempting to jot down a thesis or ramp up my productiveness. I simply wished to take notes that I might use later. However what satisfied me to provide it a shot was the promise of bidirectional hyperlinks between notes, folders, and plugins for personalisation.

So, I backed up my Google Maintain notes and used Takeout to export all my Maintain knowledge. Lastly, I imported the .zip file into Obsidian utilizing the Importer plugin. It’s value noting that I put in the official Obsidian Importer plugin from Group Plugins underneath Settings.

Establishing my cellular workflow

I bought my notes organized in a jiffy

Obsidian shops all of your notes as plain-text markdown information in a folder referred to as a vault. I created a brand new vault inside my telephone’s inside storage and synced it utilizing Google Drive through the FolderSync app (although Obsidian’s sync service can also be obtainable). You should utilize Obsidian Sync (a paid service) or one other software akin to Syncthing.

As soon as I had the vault on my telephone, I arrange a couple of fundamental folders, like Inbox (for fast notes), Duties, Writing, Every day Notes, and E-book Notes. I additionally put in a couple of mobile-friendly plugins, like Duties, QuickAdd, Every day Notes Viewer, and Calendar.

How Obsidian modified my note-taking habits

The app compelled me to decelerate and replicate

Initially, adapting to Obsidian was difficult. The interface was fully totally different from that of Google Maintain, and I used to be overwhelmed by all the brand new options. The Markdown syntax took some adjusting. I couldn’t simply scribble random notes: I had to consider the place the be aware was going, the way to tag it, and whether or not it wanted a backlink.

However by the top of the primary day of utilizing the app, I had captured every part I wanted. I famous down a couple of article concepts, a grocery checklist, and a reminder to name my financial institution. After a couple of days of tinkering with the app, I began linking my concepts with notes I had jotted down earlier. For example, I might hyperlink a pitch with one other be aware about productiveness instruments. My working checklist of writing prompts grew to become a hub, linking out to half-formed ideas I’d jotted down earlier. Once I opened a be aware, Obsidian confirmed me what else it related to, which was one thing Maintain might by no means do.

I used the QuickAdd plugin to jot down my concepts. I set it up in order that it routinely provides a brand new clean be aware to my Inbox folder and prompts me to provide it a title. Though it wasn’t fairly as quick as Maintain, it helped me manage my ideas so I might course of them later. Additionally, typing in Markdown grew to become second nature shortly. I began utilizing #tags, [[links]], and – [ ] duties so as to add construction to my notes.

What I missed about Google Maintain (and the way I tailored)

Obsidian isn’t the proper substitute

For somebody used to Maintain’s simplicity, there are some things I miss. Nonetheless, I nonetheless discovered a couple of methods to work round some shortcomings. For example, I might use Maintain’s Drawing function for sketching layouts or concepts. In Obsidian, I exploit the Excalidraw plugin for doodling. I additionally missed reminders. Obsidian doesn’t have built-in notifications, so I needed to depend on my calendar or a process app like TickTick for time-based alerts.

Obsidian made me a greater note-taker

At first, transferring from Google Maintain to Obsidian felt intimidating. I frightened it could be too technical or inflexible. However after a few weeks, I finished lacking Maintain completely. I might join assembly notes to venture outlines, hyperlink concepts throughout classes, and construct one thing that felt like greater than a digital junk drawer.

In the event you use Maintain strictly for fast grocery lists or reminders, Obsidian may really feel like overkill. However for those who’ve ever wished your notes have been extra searchable or higher organized, Obsidian is value attempting.