Revamping Your Obsidian Vault: Insights After Six Months
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Chapter 1: Introduction to Streamlined Workflows
Welcome! I'm Ellane, and this weekly digest highlights tools and strategies that simplify and enhance my digital-analog workflow.
When I need to convert spoken words into text, I often turn to Drafts. Its accuracy is impressive. Additionally, here are three more innovative audio note-taking applications worth exploring.
Drafts excels at seamlessly integrating text into your collection of files, whether they reside in an Obsidian vault or are accessed through another app that stores text files locally.
Section 1.1: My Transition to Minimalism
At the end of February, I made a significant shift from my luxurious Obsidian setup to a bare apartment in the countryside. I removed all my nested folders!
My goal was to retain only the essentials in a space solely filled with my words. While I haven’t deleted my previous vault—a two-year-old treasure trove of knowledge—I now see it as a playground for everything I’ve learned about personal knowledge management (PKM).
Subsection 1.1.1: Changes Over Six Months
Six months have flown by since those initial reflections. I've allowed life to influence my notes organically, without overthinking the process.
✅ The PARA method remains effective. It's straightforward and aligns well with my workflow.
✅ My journal is still organized without monthly divisions. I find no need to create 12 separate folders.
✅ Insights from others are gradually being incorporated into my vault, but only as I find the time to add my own thoughts. I utilize Omnivore as my read-it-later service, avoiding automatic imports. I take notes in Drafts for every book, transferring them to my vault after completion.
◀️ Recipes have made a comeback—only those I've loved and tried. Recently, I digitized my sister’s cherished 30-year-old recipe collection, complete with photos of each beloved, food-stained card. Each family favorite brings back a flood of memories!
◀️ The Must, Could, Should folders have been replaced. Now, I maintain a single file for all tasks, utilizing TaskPaper syntax and accessing it via TaskPaper, Taskmator, or Obsidian, depending on my device and desired features.
◀️ General notes have their own top-level folder (named ALL THE NOTES), as I found the extensive list distracting. Accessing these notes in The Archive remains easy by directing the app to my notes folder.
I am occasionally sifting through and cleaning up All The Notes. Each time I encounter a note, I evaluate it and decide whether to tidy it up or discard it.
Section 1.2: Reflecting on Personal Knowledge Management
How has your approach to personal knowledge management evolved over the past six months? Do you feel more or less satisfied with your current system compared to the beginning of the year?
The Plain Text, Paper-Less Productivity Digest delves into productivity through a future-friendly, text-centric lens, with a fondness for the essential paper.
Chapter 2: Resources and Support
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