OpenTube

Obsidian: The King of Learning Tools (FULL GUIDE + SETUP)

Odysseas

3,351,883 views

Obsidian has been the centerpiece of my self-education for 10 months now, proving itself as the perfect outlet for my reading, writing and thinking.

By combining mini-essays with the Zettelkasten system, I've created a workflow which fits my learning like a glove, and I hope it'll work the same for you.

Here, notes go beyond mere online post-it notes.

They're opportunities to learn, to practice writing, to store big ideas and to serve your future projects in any creative endeavor you love.

Follow up video:
How to Become an Expert with Obsidian (FUL...

Download Obsidian:
https://obsidian.md/

Atomic vs Literature Notes Video:
Effective Note-Taking to Remember More + C...

Mini-Essays Video:
Mini Essays: The Ultimate Learning Tool

For more Obsidian (some of the resources that helped me set up my own):
My simple note-taking setup | Zettelkasten...
Solving The Folder, Tags, Links Debate Wit...
Watch This to Finally Understand The Zette...

Try Audionotes for free with https://audionotes.app/?aff=7wjen

00:00-00:16 Intro
00:16-2:23 Avoiding Toxic Perfectionism
2:23-2:53 My Testimony
2:53-4:22 The Zettelkasten
4:22-5:12 The Value of Being Slow
5:12-6:25 Instant Feedback
6:25-9:14 Perfect Idea Storage
9:14-10:22 The Power to Remix Ideas
10:22-14:00 Your Personal Writing Assistant
14:00-20:34 Folder Setup + How to Tag
20:34-22:30 Important Settings
22:30-24:03 Note Template
24:03-24:58 Creating a New Note
24:58-35:38 Writing a Note (Start-to-Finish)
35:38-36:26 Ask Me Anything

20 Comments

@odysseas__ Creator 2 years ago Pinned

Quick note:

To get relevant links to show up at the bottom of each page:

1. Make sure the 'backlink' core plugin is turned on, as well as the 'backlinks in document' toggle within it.
2. Exit the settings and press Ctrl + P
3. Search for and select 'Backlinks: Toggle Backlinks in Document'

@prem-iz2jv 1 year ago

Came here from Anna Howard's video "Creating a Digital Garden" and am so excited to use your tips to grow my own. Thank you!!!

@MrBitsy 1 year ago

my google docs are flooded with random ideas, my phone's notes app is flooded with random ideas, my notepad, my sketchbooks, my physical notebooks, back of any book that i was reading...

good god, thank you for this man. i feel like an ancient scribe trying to collect all my scattered notes in a single place

@maria2 1 year ago

Man.. I'm AuDHD recovering from a long overdue burnout and currently struggling to finally get through my abandoned master's thesis... I feel like you just saved my life. Thank you, thank you, thank you

@Shwetakhari070 2 years ago

now this video is like a genuine helping hand in the swarm of deceiving ones ...
-No bs
-No exaggeration
-No irritating aestheticism
just pure minimalism and pragmatism. Also i really appreciate how you pulled off such a technical task with such simplicity. I am not a native english speaker but i can understand each and every bit of it ...keep it up dude.

@danyukhin 1 year ago

ATTENTION: DON'T FOOL YOURSELF INTO THINKING YOU'RE BEING PRODUCTIVE WHEN YOU'RE TWEAKING YOUR PKM TO NO END

@MohammadAhnaf-c3f 9 months ago

This guy makes me feel like I am gaining +1 intelligence

@Esch-a-ton3 2 years ago

the potential for this is really mind-blowing. research papers and other papers could be completed in hours rather than days with a highly sourced vault

@sjgfkldawre 1 year ago

There's no way I'm watching this for free

@shareefmohammd-zy4jj 1 year ago

Been struggling with note-taking perfectionism myself. Olovka helped me focus more on learning rather than obsessing over note layout. Anyone else tried it?

@autodidact-d 2 years ago

I had never heard of Zettlekast or Obsidian until this morning. Every so often, YT's algorithm nails it. I'm excited to get into all of this. Thanks for being concise and sharing what you've learned. 🙏🏾

@DrEstherAyodele 1 year ago

Can't believe I'm 26 minutes in and im lost in awe on how my life is going to change

@SomeoneSomewhereSomSom 1 year ago

So far people have spoken about this app's uses for book writing and STEM based ideas.
Personally, I see this as an AMAZING system for biology! The way the tags and notes work will help you make a note about EVERY species, and connect them by family, class, food source, etc. This is fascinating!

@pkd1911 1 year ago

I am only 8 minutes in but I am in love with the framework of this video. You start with a problem, give the solution, explain the solution, and argue why the solution works (by stating a claim, providing a strong real-life example, and convincingly linking the example back to the claim). So clear. Beautiful!

@shriyanpoovanna3160 1 year ago

I don't know how I ended up here but it feels like fate. I'm starting my phd prep from tomorrow and I can't think of anything other than obsidian. Thank you my man.

@johanneswohler5476 1 year ago

Did I just join a cult? Thank you man! I appreciate you for sharing this. This came to be a blessing. I'm in the middle of organizing my notes, my things, my life basically.

@GabrielCarusetta 2 years ago

One of the YouTube videos you just HAVE to watch all the way through, trust me.

Incredible job with this video. THIS is what I go on YouTube for.

You sir, are a gentleman, and a scholar

@Timy_tim 2 years ago

Quick tips for creating concept notes from books. To avoid doing it “manually” I use the Note Refactor plugin. In a large Obsidian “name of book” note, I write down all the insights I had while reading. At the very end, I go over it again and give a title (e.g. H3) to each “concept” in the book. So that they become independent notes I launch Note Refactor which will automatically separate my concepts into different notes. The advantage is that each note is automatically linked to my large book note.

@nixi7688 1 year ago

I love this software. As someone with ADHD, thoughts are pinging around in different directions and it makes it so hard to keep a chain going to map out what you want to do. It's like mental minestrone, chunks of ideas emerge then slip away before you can identify what it was. This just results in constantly jellyfishing through life. It really lets me lay out a problem and think about solutions but keep writing and just create a link whenever I have something I want to come back to and research more without disrupting the flow of the thought.

@SeanThomasCross 2 years ago (edited)

I've been using obsidian for 2 years on and off. I say "on and off" because of these common hangups I continued to get annoyed by. I go through phases of switching between MS word, notion and obsidian over and over never feeling fully comfortable in any them.
After watching this it's time to go again into Obsidian, but fresh.

This is by far the best Obsidian video I've seen because it is simple and exactly how to use it PRACTICALLY. You are quickly becoming one of my favorite channels on all of youtube and just joined the newsletter.

THANK YOU.