There’s No “Right Way” to Take Notes. There’s Just Your Way.
After speaking with thousands of people about their note-taking needs and habits, I've seen some patterns.
For the past four years, I’ve been a moderator in the Obsidian community. This experience has let me connect with literally thousands of people worldwide – all with different needs and approaches. Some are just starting out, and some have notes in their system dating back decades.
One of the things I want to do with my writing is share what I’ve learned and hear your experiences. This is the first of many notes – so if you have questions about my vault (which I keep online) or my process, please drop them in the comments!
If you haven’t heard of Obsidian, it’s a highly customizable notes app that uses [[wikilinks]] to connect ideas. Writers, students, developers, tabletop role playing game masters and players — it works for all kinds of people, and that's barely scratching the surface of who uses it.
That said, Obsidian is just one tool in your toolkit. It works for my needs, but I use it in tandem with other software too. The key is finding the right tool for you. And we’re lucky — it’s a golden age of note-taking apps.
Some systems don’t fit your brain – and that’s okay
Whether neurodivergent or neurotypical, we all have different cognitive defaults, energy levels, and motivations. What clicks for one person can feel like friction for another. (Not all friction is bad – but I’ll expand on that another day.)
The trap is assuming that friction means you’re doing it wrong.
More often, it just means the system wasn’t made with your brain in mind.
And even if something did work for you once, that doesn’t mean it will always work the way it is today.
I wear many hats. I design airports and stadiums. I'm finishing grad school. I'm a design educator. I'm researching accessibility symbols. I'm prepping to run Call of Cthulhu's Masks of Nyarlathotep because apparently I'm a glutton for punishment (or my players and friends are…)
The reason I mention this: These are all different contexts and notes in my vault – and the templates I use for them are adapted to meet my needs. Within the 10,000+ notes in my vault, I cover a lot of ground.
The important thing – and something I always caution folks – is there isn't a one-size fits all solution.
Context changes everything – and your system should flex with it.
You don’t have to wait until it’s “ready.”
I see so many people stall because they’re waiting for the perfect file structure, tags, or aesthetic. I get it. I nerd out about structure something fierce, and continue to finetune the appearance of my vault – but they’re supporting players, not the main event.
Both structure and style take time to develop. For example, I still use organizing principles from my Evernote days in the early 2010s, and my visual style has evolved slowly over the years.
Notes don’t need to be optimized to be useful. They just have to work for you, right now. And you need to be able to find them again some day – but search helps with that too!
Start with what you need today. Adjust when it stops working – after reflecting on what worked, what didn’t, and what you want to try next.
That’s the real system.
Today’s question: What system did you try that didn’t fit – and, importantly, what did you learn from it?
After going from Roam research to Obsidian, I am now using Heptabase. I spent way too much time perfecting the folder structure, updating 46 plugins, etc., in Obsidian. Heptabase works the way I work, and I can't tweak it as much, which keeps the friction low. However, I still open Obsidian now and then, and consider whether to go back, since I agree with the fundamental mindset behind it.
I'm back in Obsidian after trying it a few years ago and not really getting on with it. I think I was trying too hard to make it perfect. David Kadavy's Digital Zettelkasten book helped make things feel simpler for me, and this time around I am just using it rather than obsessing over organising it.