I did not add backlinks. That was supposed to be the next step. The May 9 post said so explicitly. I had Obsidian pointed at the folder, the graph view was open, and the Zettelkasten people would tell you this is where the system comes alive. You start linking notes to each other. The connections…
I added Obsidian last. That was the right order. Most people building a personal knowledge system do it backwards. They install Obsidian first, configure a vault, explore the plugins, build a folder structure for notes they have not written yet. Then they discover that the system needs content to be useful, and content is harder…
The system runs on one folder. Insid that folder are plain text files, organized into directories. No proprietary database. No SaaS subscription that can change its pricing or deprecate a feature. The intelligence is not stored in the files. The files are context. The intelligence is in the AI that reads them before it…
I want to tell you what happened the last time I walked out of a back-to-back meeting block with three things spinning in my head. I took a screenshot of an email with a deadline in it. I sent a three-sentence voice memo to myself, half-formed, about a project that had stalled. I forwarded a…
I’ve been through every productivity system you’ve heard of and a few you probably haven’t. I’ve built Kanbans and Zettelkastens and cycled through Evernote, Obsidian, Roam Research, Notion. During my doctoral program I ran a paper planner alongside digital tools, alongside whatever else I was trying that year. Most of it worked. Which is what…
Embrace the power of interdisciplinary intersections. As a consequence of having three degrees in as many disciplines (long story), I’ve discovered that true magic frequently occurs at the intersections, where various disciplines overlap and intersect. Don’t remain confined to your own field; venture beyond and explore the peripheral areas. Extract the best elements from one…
