How to Take Smart Notes in Obsidian

by Joshua Duffney

Learn how to take Smart Notes in Obsidian to boost your productivity and improve your ability to think.

Collecting is rewarding. It feels productive to ingest information and unproductive to spend time digesting it. But a body that doesn't digest is malnourished and a mind that doesn't process its input is starved.

By taking smart notes you slow down your rate of consumption, reduce information overload, and ensure you extract the nutrients of wisdom from the information you consume.

Genres: Productivity, Nonfiction, Self Help, Writing, Reference

35 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 15, 2022

Reviews

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was very excited to see this guide since I've recently read 'How to Take Smart Notes' (must read) and have spent a considerable amount of hours learning Obsidian and working on my own process. Unfortunately, this short guide is little more than a few basic principles from the source material and a short explanation of Obsidian features.

I think everyone approaching Obsidian and Zettelkasten will do it a bit differently, because it's what works best for you. That said, I really disagreed with many of the steps he lays out: naming notes with numbered IDs instead of topic, using tags as keywords, using a separate markdown editor. It seems a bit like the author is still figuring out his own process, or maybe just has different uses than me.

What I'd love to see is: a more detailed explanation of how a fleeting note develops into a permanent topic, how best to take literature notes and build references, tips for utilizing templates to their full potential, and best add-ons. Maybe I need to write my own guide.

There are of course excellent resources like the Obsidian guru Bryan Jenks and Martin Adams on YouTube, or even the Obsidian documentation. Smart Notes and Obsidian takes a lot of trial and error to perfect, but this doesn't add much beyond a very basic starting point.

[Glen Hoshizaki · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Smart Notes" refers to notes as described in a book by Sonke Ahrens; that in turn describes what has been described as a personal knowledge management system called zettelkasten, which in the end produces written products from these notes. Obsidian is (as far as I can tell) one of the most popular approaches to a digital zettelkasten. As author Joshua Duffney explains in his blog The Knowledge Worker, this book is a direct product of his attempts at learning and operationalizing a digital zettelkasten in Obsidian, and is a brief step-by-step description of his first Obsidian zettelkasten. (See https://theknowledgeworker.substack.c...)

I'm undergoing a similar process of trying to learn both the zettelkasten system as well as the use of Obsidian, so I found this Kindle book useful and worth at least the few bucks it cost. I did find it a little obtuse in places, and suspect that it could use some editing. Also, I've learned that implementation of the zettelkasten system can be quite personal, so some of Duffney's methods might not appeal to everyone.

And finally, according to the author's blog, it appears that he has decided to do things a bit differently since he wrote the book. (See https://theknowledgeworker.substack.c...)

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Needs proofreading but excellent manual for actually starting

I’ve recently read a lot of books on Zettelkasten and taking smart notes and this was finally the one that got me started. All of the others (including Ahrens’s How to Take Smart Notes) were more theory based and descriptive towards the question of why, which was helpful, but I was looking for a quick guide to get me started with using the system. Now that I’ve read Duffney’s short manual I’m all set up in Obsidian and can go back to Ahrens to put the smart notes in obsidian to the test. I’ve knocked off a couple of stars because 1) It needs some serious proofreading. It seems like he put together his permanent notes quickly once his structure note was in place, and never went back to proofread the final manuscript. That would only cost one start except 2) In some cases the meaning or instructions suffered because of the errors, and in other cases there could have been more elaboration on how to get something done in obsidian (which is how the book is titled, and therefore I expected that was what the book was supposed to be about). I think if it is updated with those changes it would get five stars. I wish I had turned to this book first before reading five others first.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written by a geek for a geek

I have been trying to figure out, upsetting him for the past six months. I have watched every video and still walked away feeling confused. And I have a PhD. I know you try to walk through your eyes and experience, but I still left somewhat confused. Not how you described it, I was able to enter that OK but how to use it for my purpose. I did like the fact that you said a project folders. That didn’t make sense to me. I finally gave up thinking that obsidian was going to be workable for me. I always saw myself as a geek, including the fact that I build my own computers, and have for the past 15 years.. I’ve now gone back to making my own slip boxes by paper/index cards. I think I’ve always been an analog person. And that could be just me. I’m hoping I can fix my thinking with the analog version. Maybe that will transfer over to it the digital version and obsidian afterwards. Who knows. I’m just in the development area at the moment. I only gave your book 3 for the reason that I couldn’t understand how to transfer my already made index cards over to obsidian. I hope other people get what you written. I do must say that it’s a heck of a lot better than all the CH__that I’ve been watching on YouTube.

[Chris Shimmin · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a decent beginner's guide of how to take a Zettelkasten approach to Obsidian! Considering it is only 35 or so pages, a decent amount of information is given in a fairly well thought out approach.

However, I don't think it was particularly helpful for those who already have a foundational understanding of both Obsidian or have read the book How to Take Smart Notes: One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning and Thinking – for Students, Academics and Nonfiction Book Writers.

I would say give this book a quick read if you are at the very beginning of your Obsidian journey. Just know that regardless of what books you read, what YouTube videos you might watch, blogs you may read, all Zettelkasten approaches are going to be highly personal and may or may not resonate with you.

[Amber Morrone · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book Smart Notes by Sönke Ahrens introduces a note-taking method called Zettelkasten, which was developed by a German sociologist named Niklas Luhmann. The method involves writing different types of notes and linking them with unique identifiers to create a personal knowledge base. Obsidian is a tool that can help implement this method by allowing users to create and link notes in markdown format. However, Obsidian can be challenging to use for people who are not familiar with coding languages or markdown syntax. The book could have benefited from more editing and clearer explanations of how to use Obsidian effectively for basic users. The author assumes that the reader has some prior knowledge of the tool. This can make it difficult for some readers to follow the instructions and apply the method to their own learning process.

[John_P · Rating 5 out of 5]

Practical guide to implementing the Zettelkasten method in Obsidian

I have become intrigued in using the Zettelkasten note-taking method to inspire writing projects. To date, Duffney has been the most complete and practical guide that I have read to do just that. What I appreciated was the examples and screenshots in this guidebook and the author’s offer to share his digital zettelkasten to further explore how the author created this very tome using this method of note-taking. I have found the work well thought out and presented and certainly worth my time. I will re-read this book again. Well done and thank you for this contribution!

[Y · Rating 4 out of 5]

My comments are pretty much similar to few other folks - it's more like a long blog rather a 'book' book, the title's a bit misleading, has typo and needs some proof reading. But it's a quick capture of the author's notes of reading the original book, and I did resonate with some of the comments/usage from the author at the end.
Still worth reading if you are new to the topic since it's a quick read.

[Ash · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
Not a whole lot of useful info in this book or manual (it’s quite small with very less pages). Most of the info in the book was just reiteration of Sonke Ahern’s book. The part about using Obsidian was quite disappointing as the author talks about very basic features which anyone can figure out after tinkering with the app for few hours. I wish he had spoken more about the markdown syntax or about some cool features of the software which isn’t quite obvious.

[thaís · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was straight to the point and it did help me to grasp the concept of Zettlekasten, since I didn't read S. Ahrens' book yet. I'll probably need to revisit this one later, but it did a good job giving me a visual on what my Obsidian should look like. I'll implement some things and make sure to transform some insight into permanet notes.

[Brian Balser · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was curious after reading "How to take smart notes".
I respected the author's approach, but in the end we just had some personal preference differences on how to implement a PKM in obsidian. Not that mine is any better. Just different.

It was enlightening though to see such a descriptive overview of how someone else does the same.

[Tom · Rating 2 out of 5]

A note taking lesson

This is well laid out however it is totally tied to the obsidian program which really did not work for me. If you are interested in using obsidian it is a worthwhile read.

[Christopher Moura · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a practical guide to improving note-taking skills using the Obsidian app. Joshua Duffney provides clear instructions and templates for readers to implement his suggestions and develop their note-taking system. Recommended, as a “first step”, for those who are new Obsiand users.

[Dayo Samuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

short and straight to point

Thanks Joshua for this book. I’ve only begun to use Obsidian (April this year) so I wanted to understand how to transfer my physical notes (10 years worth) to digital and this book was useful for me

[Derran Stokes · Rating 4 out of 5]

A useful guilde to getting started with the Zettlekasten system of notetaking

The overall principle of the Zettlekasten system of notetaing is very well explained by Joshua.

A few more worked examples would be useful for anyone new to Smart Notes.

[Kevin Kabeya · Rating 5 out of 5]

good overview

Joshua created a Simple quick overview. I especially appreciate the exact setup instructions they provided. I would recommend it to anyone interested in setting up obsidian for smart note taking

[John Vanek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall alright but not a whole lot of applied text

Not bad for an overview. Not a whole lot of context that can be used immediately. I would prefer less definition of the system and actual real world examples. Something to start building from.

[Tobias · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good introduction, especialy since I didnt read Ahrens' book, but I feel like it could be a little more than that.

[Fabián Sanhueza · Rating 1 out of 5]

Title is misleading. I first thought it as a complement to How to take Smart Notes by Sönke Ahrens, and although the author pretends it is, I think it's not. It's pretty much a piece of rubbish. I've just wasted 3 bucks. Don't buy it.

[Aleksandr]

not at library yet

[Kelvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good summary on using Obsidian notetaking

[Ryan Tuleja Sr. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was my first kindle book, and it was ok. I didn't take many, if any, new ideas away from it, though it did help reenforce some old ones.

[Srinivasan Nanduri · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good beginner read

[Darryl L. Rowe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like it.

Reading Smart Notes and picked Obsidian as my note tool. So I think this helps me get a basic feel for use.

[Jose L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is barely an explanation of the zettelkasten using obsidian, not that it is bad but after reading digital zettelkasten from Kadavy i was expecting something more from this.

[Cesar Martinez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me hubiera gustado ver mas ejemplos, pero es buena guia.

[Marlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very quick read - 35 pages. I wanted to get a quick feel for the Obsidian software and this helped.

[Simon Mendoza-Agostini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book

I learnt a lot from this book and keep it as a reference for my obsidian note taking, I give high praise to this work

[Les Shorter · Rating 5 out of 5]

ZttelKasten & Obsidian made easy.

A simplified look at setting up a zettlekasten in Obsidian.
A simple and easy to follow, step by step guide.

[Ricardo Cossich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buen material introductorio

Lo directo de lo escrito y el repositorio em GitHub ayudan a tener un primer entendimiento básico de un sistema práctico para tomar notas y poder indexar conocimiento