What I learned after 1 year of note-taking in Obsidian (3 Do's and 1 Don't)

Vicky Zhao [BEEAMP]
19 Apr 202309:42

Summary

TLDR本视频讲述了数字内容消费对现代人的影响,以及如何通过使用Obsidian软件来提高生产力和构建特定知识。视频强调了减少任务管理、最小化组织、跨设备同步和采用Zettelkasten方法的重要性,以帮助观众更有效地处理信息过载,激发思考和创新。

Takeaways

  • 📈 美国人平均每天消费数字内容超过8小时。
  • 🤔 面对海量信息,很多人感到不知所措和压力重重。
  • 💡 使用Obsidian帮助管理和整理信息。
  • 🚫 任务管理并不是提高生产力的最佳方式,特别是对于创造独特价值的思考伙伴。
  • 🌟 真正的生产力意味着投入产出比高,通过构建特定知识来实现。
  • 🛠️ 特定知识是通过追求个人兴趣和激情获得的,不可外包或自动化。
  • 🔍 使用Obsidian时,不需要复杂的组织结构,简化组织可以提高效率。
  • 📱 在所有设备上同步Obsidian是养成笔记习惯的关键。
  • 📝 使用Zettelkasten方法在Obsidian中创建原子化笔记,促进不同想法之间的连接。
  • ⏰ 在信息过载的时代,人们的注意力跨度缩短,Zettelkasten方法有助于简化笔记过程。
  • 🔗 通过视频链接可以了解更多关于Obsidian和Zettelkasten方法的详细信息。

Q & A

  • 平均美国人每天消费数字内容的时间是多少?

    -平均美国人每天消费数字内容的时间超过八小时。

  • 信息消费过量后,作者感到了怎样的情绪?

    -作者感到不知所措和压力山大,不知道如何处理所消费的大量信息。

  • 作者最初对Obsidian(黑曜石笔记)持怎样的态度?

    -作者最初对使用Obsidian持怀疑态度,不确定是否能持续使用。

  • Naval定义的生产力是什么意思?

    -Naval定义的生产力是指投入产出比高,即用更少的投入获得更大的回报。

  • 什么是特定知识?

    -特定知识是指无法通过培训获得的知识,它是高度技术性或创造性的,不能被外包或自动化。

  • 为什么作者认为Obsidian不适合用于任务管理?

    -作者认为Obsidian不适合任务管理,因为它会分散注意力,作者更希望专注于构建特定知识。

  • 作者为什么提倡最小化组织?

    -作者提倡最小化组织,因为他的思维方式更倾向于自由探索和交叉思考,而不是结构化的层级思考。

  • 在Obsidian中,作者推荐使用哪种笔记方法?

    -作者推荐在Obsidian中使用Zettelkasten方法,这是一种将笔记分为文献笔记、瞬时笔记和永久笔记的方法。

  • 为什么在多个设备上同步Obsidian很重要?

    -在多个设备上同步Obsidian很重要,因为它可以消除摩擦,帮助建立记笔记的习惯,随时随地记录想法。

  • Zettelkasten方法中的永久笔记有什么特点?

    -永久笔记的特点是它们是原子化的,即简短且能够与其他想法建立联系。

  • 作者如何描述现代人类的注意力跨度?

    -作者描述现代人类的注意力跨度正在缩短,从2000年的12秒降到了2013年的8秒,并且仍在下降。

Outlines

00:00

📚 消费内容与信息处理

本段讨论了现代美国人每天花费超过八小时在消费数字内容上,这相当于一份全职工作的时间。作者感到信息过载,不知道如何处理这些信息。在这样的背景下,作者开始使用Obsidian软件,虽然起初对是否能够继续使用它持怀疑态度,但一年后的今天,作者仍然非常喜欢这个软件。作者提出了一个问题,即在消费了大量信息后,我们的产出是什么,我们如何利用这些信息。作者通过自己的经历,引出了对生产力工具的探讨,特别是如何通过这些工具来建立特定的知识,而不是仅仅完成别人的任务清单。

05:01

🧠 组织最小化与思维自由

在这段内容中,作者分享了自己对Obsidian软件的使用体验,特别是最小化组织和跨设备同步的功能。作者认为自己的大脑不适合传统的层级结构思维,更喜欢探索不同想法之间的联系。因此,作者倡导最小化组织,通过搜索而非复杂的文件夹系统来管理笔记。此外,作者强调了在所有设备上同步笔记的重要性,这有助于养成随时记录想法的习惯。最后,作者介绍了Zettelkasten方法,并解释了这种方法如何帮助人们在信息过载的时代中快速思考和建立知识连接。

Mindmap

Keywords

💡内容消费

内容消费指的是个人或群体通过数字平台获取和使用信息的行为。在视频中,提到了平均美国人每天花费超过八小时在数字内容的消费上,这表明了现代社会中信息获取的普遍性和重要性。

💡信息过载

信息过载是指接收到的信息量超出了个人处理能力的现象,导致无法有效吸收和利用所有信息。视频中提到,由于每天消费的信息量巨大,作者感到不知所措,无法深入理解和应用这些信息。

💡Obsidian

Obsidian是一款知识管理和笔记软件,它允许用户创建、链接和组织他们的笔记和想法。在视频中,作者通过使用Obsidian来管理自己的信息和知识,从而提高了效率和生产力。

💡任务管理

任务管理是指规划、组织和监督任务的执行,以实现目标的过程。视频中提到,作者认为任务管理并不是提高生产力的关键,更重要的是能够跟踪想法和洞察力,以及随时间积累的知识。

💡特定知识

特定知识是指个人通过追求自己的兴趣和热情而获得的独特知识和技能,这种知识通常无法通过传统教育体系获得,而是通过实践和经验积累。视频中强调,建立特定知识对于提高个人的不可替代性和生产力至关重要。

💡最小化组织

最小化组织是指以最简单和直接的方式组织信息和资源,避免复杂的系统和结构。在视频中,作者认为不需要复杂的文件夹或标签系统,而是应该通过搜索功能快速找到所需的笔记。

💡跨设备同步

跨设备同步是指在不同的设备之间实时更新和共享数据和信息的过程。视频中强调,跨设备同步是建立笔记习惯的关键,因为它消除了在不同设备间切换时的摩擦和障碍。

💡Zettelkasten方法

Zettelkasten方法是一种笔记和知识管理技术,它鼓励创建文献笔记、瞬时笔记和永久笔记,并通过建立这些笔记之间的联系来构建知识体系。视频中提到,这种方法有助于处理信息过载,并促进深度思考。

💡原子化笔记

原子化笔记是指将复杂的思考和信息分解成最小、独立的单元,以便于管理和链接。这种方法有助于提高笔记的可访问性和可理解性,同时促进知识的整合和创新。

💡深度思考

深度思考是指对信息和问题进行深入分析和反思的过程,以获得更深层次的理解和见解。视频中强调,通过Zettelkasten方法和原子化笔记,可以促进深度思考,避免表面化的处理信息。

Highlights

消费内容已成为一项全职工作,平均美国人现在每天花费超过8小时消费数字内容。

我们每天消费的信息量相当于一本完整的有声书,这非常惊人。

面对海量信息,我们应该如何输出和利用这些信息?

作者感到不知所措,不知道如何处理这些信息,感到压力巨大。

作者通过使用Obsidian来解决信息过载的问题,并对其效果非常满意。

在Obsidian之前和之后,作者的生活发生了巨大变化。

作者认为,任务管理并不是提高生产力的最佳方式,而是需要一个能够跟踪思想和见解的伙伴。

生产力的定义是获得与你投入的时间和努力不成比例的回报。

特定知识是不可被训练的,它是通过追求你真正的好奇心和激情来发现的。

特定知识是高度技术性或创造性的,不能被外包或自动化。

使用Obsidian构建特定知识是保护时间和创造专注空间的重要方式。

在Obsidian中,最小化组织是关键,因为它减少了组织想法所需的时间。

作者认为,文件夹式的思考方式限制了跨学科的思考和创新。

在Obsidian中,所有设备之间的同步是建立笔记习惯的关键。

使用Zettelkasten方法在Obsidian中是提高信息处理能力的变革性方法。

Zettelkasten方法鼓励创建原子大小的想法,并将不同的想法联系起来。

作者通过视频分享了如何开始使用Zettelkasten方法和相关的模板。

Transcripts

00:00

consuming content is legit a full-time

00:02

job the average American now spends more

00:04

than eight hours a day consuming digital

00:07

content I mean eight hours a day it's

00:09

like nine to five if it's an audiobook

00:11

we read a whole book worth of

00:13

information every single day that is

00:14

crazy after all that we consume every

00:16

single day what is our output what do we

00:19

do with all that information honestly I

00:20

felt overwhelmed I didn't know what to

00:22

do with it there were all these great

00:24

information these insights but I

00:25

couldn't quite grapple with any of them

00:27

I just stayed on the surface it feels

00:29

like I was just swimming in circles I

00:31

was learning more but I felt more

00:32

frustrated and confused so out of this

00:35

frustration that's when I started

00:37

obsidian and to be honest at the

00:38

beginning I thought okay I don't know if

00:41

I can continue with this I mean with

00:42

Apple notes with Evernotes with whatever

00:44

knows or any sort of productivity app

00:46

that I was using I tried it and I

00:49

couldn't quite stick with it but I'm an

00:51

optimistic person so I went ahead tried

00:53

obsidian and a year later here I am and

00:56

I still freaking love it there's live

00:58

before obsidian and then there's live

01:00

after not to say they're more periods

01:02

where I wasn't using it as much but I

01:04

kept on coming back and it was so easy

01:06

to get started again so here's one thing

01:08

in obsidian that didn't work for me and

01:10

three things that did let's get to it

01:14

first the one thing that didn't work for

01:16

me which was task management I know it

01:18

sounds controversial but hear me out

01:20

what do you think you need more in order

01:22

to be more productive another task

01:23

manager or a thought partner who can

01:26

keep track of your thoughts help you see

01:28

connections between different seemingly

01:29

unrelated ideas help you keep track of

01:31

your insights over time and being

01:33

searchable so that at any point in your

01:35

life you don't have to rely just on your

01:37

memory and still see all the Amazing

01:38

Ideas you've built up over time so you

01:40

don't have to fall into this problem of

01:42

I read a bunch of books but I can't

01:43

remember anything from it now you might

01:45

be saying okay why are you comparing

01:47

apples with oranges what's the

01:49

connection here and I didn't see the

01:50

connection either until I saw this point

01:52

made by Naval his idea changed how I

01:55

view productivity now let's Define

01:57

productivity productivity to him meant

01:59

that getting outsized returns for what

02:02

you put in so for the time and the

02:03

effort you put in what can you get out

02:05

of it and of course like anything in the

02:07

world you need leverage to get outsized

02:09

results same for the knowledge worker so

02:12

Naval says if you have specific

02:14

acknowledge you have leverage they have

02:17

to pay you what you're worth if they pay

02:18

you what you're worth then you can get

02:20

your time back you can be hyper

02:22

efficient you're not doing meetings for

02:23

meetings sake you're not trying to

02:25

impress other people you're not writing

02:27

things down to make it look like you did

02:29

work all you care about is the actual

02:31

work itself so when you do just the

02:33

actual work itself you'll be more

02:35

productive far more efficient so in this

02:38

definition a task manager is productive

02:40

if it helps you build your specific

02:42

knowledge but if it's just a run list of

02:45

other people's priorities your

02:46

priorities then even if you take

02:48

everything off if they don't help you

02:49

build that leverage then how productive

02:52

is it really and so you might ask okay

02:54

but what is this specific knowledge that

02:56

Naval is referring to specific knowledge

02:59

is knowledge that you cannot be trained

03:00

for if Society can train you it can

03:02

train someone else and replace you

03:04

specific knowledge is found by pursuing

03:06

your genuine curiosity and passion

03:08

rather than whatever is hot right now

03:10

building specific knowledge will feel

03:12

like play to you but will look like work

03:15

to others when specific knowledge is

03:17

taught it's through apprenticeships not

03:19

schools specific knowledge is often

03:21

highly technical or creative it cannot

03:24

be outsourced or automated so all this

03:27

hype with is AI going to replace

03:28

everyone's jobs well yes if you're doing

03:31

something that can be automated but at

03:32

the same time if you have specific

03:34

knowledge then it can't replace you

03:36

because remember AI is great at going

03:38

let's say from 10 to 100 but taking

03:41

something from zero to one creating

03:42

something having specific knowledge

03:44

might be more crucial more urgent than

03:47

it was before okay coming back to

03:48

obsidian what does this mean for us

03:50

because specific knowledge cannot just

03:52

be taught with a course I am choosing to

03:55

use obsidian to build my specific

03:57

knowledge no one can do this for me I

03:59

can't Outsource it so the two things I

04:02

want to do is one protect my time and

04:05

create space where I can focus on

04:07

building specific knowledge and really

04:09

go deeper and two distinguish tasks that

04:12

are priorities for me and priority for

04:14

others and try to manage my time for

04:17

those two things task management for me

04:19

doesn't happen in obsidian because I am

04:21

focused I don't want to be distracted by

04:22

all the tasks I have to think about when

04:24

I am in obsidian and if you're curious

04:26

about my system you can check out this

04:28

video here

04:31

now let's move on to the three things

04:33

that worked for me in obsidian first

04:35

minimum organization in obsidian again a

04:39

little bit controversial I know everyone

04:41

likes to do mlcs everyone like folders

04:43

tags you know data view to create

04:45

awesome systems and I have built some of

04:48

those over time but especially when I

04:50

started there is no need for complicated

04:52

organization let me share why first I

04:56

don't have a notion brain and by that I

04:58

mean very hierarchical very structured

05:00

brain that works with a database so

05:03

Michael can't even write it within the

05:05

lines and so my brain is more of the

05:08

wandering type I like to explore what

05:10

are the connections between seemingly

05:11

unrelated ideas intersectional thinking

05:13

is something I really care about so all

05:15

those parameters make me feel really

05:17

constricted and I can't really think

05:18

within them so if you chose obsidian

05:21

you're probably attracted to more of

05:23

this wandering type of thinking than the

05:26

very structured thinking so it's

05:27

important to know whether you have a

05:28

notion brain or an obsidian brain then

05:31

we reason number two is I don't think in

05:33

folders because I have this wondering

05:34

brain you know in school let's say we

05:36

had folders for each of the subjects and

05:38

you would save notes within them but

05:39

actually that structure itself is top

05:42

down it doesn't help us think across

05:45

subjects to see connections between

05:47

different ideas even though they're all

05:49

connected so you know in my computer I

05:51

never save anything other than in the

05:53

downloads folder I just use one feature

05:55

and that is search it doesn't matter

05:57

where the note is hiding I don't have to

05:59

remember any hierarchies I just need to

06:01

search to find the note I'm looking for

06:02

so the result of minimum organization is

06:06

that I can spend more time thinking

06:08

about those ideas than organizing those

06:10

ideas I mean if I may quote Einstein

06:13

here if a clutter desk is a sign of a

06:15

cluttered mind of what then is an empty

06:18

desk assign if you want to see my

06:20

minimum organization to get started you

06:22

can check out this video here

06:23

all right moving on to the second thing

06:25

in obsidian that is a must and that's

06:27

syncing between all devices

06:29

I know this sounds really trivial but it

06:33

is the key to building a note-taking

06:35

habit this is the same as people saying

06:37

if you want to read you have to identify

06:39

the places in your house that you spend

06:41

a lot of time in and you put books in

06:43

those places I spend most of my time in

06:45

the living room in my office and in the

06:47

bedroom then I put books there so it

06:49

doesn't matter when I sit down I will

06:51

have a book in front of me which helps

06:53

me build a reading habit so the same

06:55

with taking notes and thinking through

06:57

ideas for me at the beginning I only use

06:59

obsidian on my desktop which meant that

07:01

if I was reading anything on my phone

07:03

consuming anything I had to go get my

07:05

laptop in order to take notes and

07:07

obviously I didn't do that which then

07:09

made me feel like okay well I'm already

07:11

missing out all these ideas yeah why

07:13

bother but when I got obsidian on my

07:15

phone then there was no excuse doesn't

07:16

matter what I was doing I was reminded

07:18

take notes in obsidian and luckily

07:21

syncing is free in obsidian you just

07:23

have to have a cloud drive that works

07:25

with your operating system I've also

07:27

done a video on how to sync this so you

07:29

can check this out of course if it's too

07:31

much hassle you can also pay that's an

07:33

option too so choose what works for you

07:35

removing all the friction is key now for

07:38

the third thing to harness the power of

07:40

the obsidian it is to use the zetocaster

07:42

method within obsidian this one truly a

07:46

game changer our brain in the era of

07:48

information overload is trying to think

07:50

quickly right just scan just skim just

07:52

bring up a little tidbits of stats like

07:55

Microsoft did a study in 2000 the

07:57

average human attention span was 12

07:59

seconds in 2013 it was eight and is

08:02

quickly dropping I can roll my eyes

08:04

blame it all on Tick Tock talk about as

08:06

Millennials how gen Z are kind of these

08:08

dancing aliens who use Emoji funny and

08:11

call it the end of the conversation

08:13

because I know there is no time to go

08:15

deeper on this topic so I don't need to

08:17

offer anything of substance right so I

08:18

just say the same same things that other

08:20

people say again I am swimming on the

08:22

surface in circles I'm not really going

08:24

anywhere so how can I offer something

08:26

that's not boring not judgmental not

08:28

cliche well that's where comes in I

08:31

covered zerocastan in detail in this

08:33

video here but if you're new a very

08:35

quick recap there are three types of

08:37

notes that you take which are literature

08:38

notes fleeting notes and permanent notes

08:40

and the goal of zetacastin is to put

08:43

these ideas into Atomic sizes and make

08:45

connections between different ideas a

08:47

crucial feature of the zetocaster notes

08:49

is that they are Atomic which of course

08:51

is great because you have to synthesize

08:53

different ideas but the key is that

08:55

because our attention span is so short

08:57

now I don't actually dread writing a

08:59

zerocaster note because I know it's

09:01

going to be short it's okay to be short

09:02

and because of that I don't

09:03

procrastinate I just get to it because

09:05

it's easy since we are building a habit

09:08

because it's not complex like other

09:10

systems The Habit sticks the steps are

09:14

so simple they're only three one pick an

09:16

atomic idea two write it down and three

09:18

connected to another idea and of course

09:21

you can get complicated with these you

09:23

can use the idea Compass or other

09:24

Thinking Tools to stretch your ideas to

09:26

expand on them but if you're just

09:28

starting it's more than enough to just

09:30

start with these steps if you don't know

09:32

where to start again I've made a video

09:33

on this you can check it out and if you

09:35

want something that's all done for you

09:37

I've got a template check it out in the

09:39

link in the description and I'll see you

09:40

in the next one bye