Hacking Your Learning With Obs

Obsidian is a powerful knowledge management tool that can significantly enhance learning and organization. This summary covers how to utilize Obsidian for effective note-taking, linking, tagging, searching, and automating tasks. It also introduces different types of notes (lecture, literature, fleeting) and discusses a system for capturing and processing information using specific Obsidian plugins like ReadWise and Quick Add.

How to use Obsidian for Above-Average Note-Taking #

• Start with a single note, without worrying about folders or categorization.
• Create links to topics not yet researched.
• Use tags to group notes.
• Build saved searches to track notes, modules, classes, and subjects.
• Utilize bookmarks for quick navigation.
• Learn and build your own hotkeys.

Links #

• Links are the foundation of any Obsidian system.
• Create links by surrounding text with square brackets (e.g., [[school]]).
• Obsidian dims links to non-existent pages but indexes them for future autocompletion and creation.
• Following a dimmed link creates the new page.
• This method helps identify knowledge gaps organically, like "desire lines."

Tags #

• Tags are used to group notes across different categories (e.g., #lecture_notes).
• They are preferred over folders for their flexibility in cross-referencing information.

Search #

• Obsidian's search is powerful, allowing searches by filename, path, tag, keywords on the same line, keywords in headings, or property metadata.

Automate #

• Automate any task done more than once.
• Use Obsidian's bookmarks feature to save frequent searches, files, multiple tabs, graphs with custom filters, headings, or even blocks of text.
• Bookmarks can be organized into groups (workspaces, graph views, hub notes, web links).
• The "Hotkeys for Bookmarks" plugin allows direct hotkey assignment to bookmarks.

Quick Switcher #

• Use Ctrl + O (or Cmd + O) to open the quick switcher, which fuzzy finds notes by filename.
• If a file doesn't exist, pressing Enter creates a new note with the searched title.
• The "Quick Switcher++" plugin enhances this functionality to search headings, links, and backlinks.

Advanced Features for Students #

• Obsidian supports advanced LaTeX and typed notation for reports.
• Easy markdown tables are available.
• Obsidian is designed around hotkeys for efficient note-taking during lectures or under time pressure.
• The command palette (Ctrl + P) allows mapping every command to a hotkey.
• A vast community has created over 2,630 plugins for extensive customization.
• The system is customizable to fit individual cognitive styles.

The FLAP System (Capture, Process, Write) #

• Capture: Take notes on lectures, literature, and fleeting thoughts.
• Process: Transform captured notes into an interlinked network of atomic notes.
• Write: Compose clusters of atomic notes into outlines, revisions, or other forms of writing, with a lightweight project management system.
• This section focuses on the "Capture" phase.

Learning to Learn #

• Note-taking is crucial not just for passing exams but for developing the skill of learning.
• Relying solely on intelligence without structured learning can lead to difficulties later.
• The "real test" (per John Green) is lifelong, measuring civic engagement and critical thinking.
• Note-taking augments the "first brain" by offloading information.

Three Types of Notes for Capture #

1. Lecture Notes:

   • Traditional note-taking during class for active listening and memory reinforcement.
   • This is typically only the start of the learning process.

2. Literature Notes:

   • Highlights from textbooks, PDFs, and websites.
   • Initially, this process helps identify important sections but doesn't guarantee retention.

3. Fleeting Notes:

   • Spontaneous thoughts, reminders, and ideas (like scraps of paper, emails to self).
   • They are temporary and discarded once their purpose (remembering something) is served.
   • Represent highlights from one's "internal monologue."
   • Crucial for capturing new, existing, or blended ideas.
   • The "temporal contract" dictates storing all fleeting notes in a trusted system and reviewing them daily.

Implementing Capture in Obsidian (with Plugins) #

• ReadWise Plugin:

  • Revolutionizes literature note capture by syncing highlights from various sources (e-readers, PDFs, webpages, YouTube videos) directly into Obsidian.
  • The "ReadWise Reader" app enhances this by consolidating research materials.
  • Recommended template changes: Tag pages with literature/unfiled and make each highlight a separate heading for deep linking.
  • This allows searching for unprocessed literature notes, processing them, linking back to the source, and then tagging them as literature.

• Quick Add Plugin:

  • Used for capturing fleeting thoughts into new notes with a set template.
  • The template tags the note as fleeting and includes the original thought in a callout block, ensuring a paper trail.
  • Integrations like Telegram and REST API plugins allow capturing notes away from Obsidian.

• Spaced Plugin:

  • Used for resurfacing snoozed fleeting notes, aiding in spaced repetition.

Homework and Further Reading #

• Read "A System for Writing" by Bob Doto.
• Read the first few chapters of "Getting Things Done" by David Allen.

Support and Resources #

• Patreon for early access, private Discord, and mentoring slots.
• Sci-fi audio fiction podcast, "Lost Terminal."
• "The Phosphine Catalog" and "Modem Prometheus" audio dramas.
• Transcripts and markdown source code available on namar.com and GitHub.