Obsidian: Organize Your Info, Not Your Files

A lot of time and energy is spent on thinking about how to organize your notes into folders, and many people use Quick Switcher as the main way to both create and open notes, even to simply access some information. I started this way, too.

But none of this is necessary, because Obsidian is a non-relational (NoSQL) database containing information of a data type called graph. You don’t access information in a database by navigating to a table and opening it up, you use queries. In Obsidian, you can use filters.

Filters can be bookmarked, and the bookmarks can be organized any way you want. This way you can build an information tree instead of a file tree. You can easily move your information around, and even have the same information in multiple locations. With Hover Preview and Hover Editor, you don’t even need to actually open files except when creating or developing them.

I wrote a series of articles describing this system. It seems a bit scary at first, but the efficiency gain is considerable. You can read the articles here:

Website:

Substack:

Medium.com:

gelberhut,
@gelberhut@lemdro.id avatar

There is no one fit all way.

First, structuring you notes in s tree like structures using folders is a valid approach (independent on real files structure).

Second, some people, including me, expect that their notes can live longer that tools, in this case it makes sense to not rely on tool features too much.

biscotty666,

This is not for everyone, I agree. I don’t see how it ties my notes to any specific tool, however. It doesn’t impact the contents of notes. It’s just a different way of interacting with them.

EpiphanicSynchronicity,
@EpiphanicSynchronicity@pkm.social avatar

@gelberhut @biscotty @obsidianmd I agree with gelberhut. Folders are to organization as plaintext is to data, and are one of the keys to a files-first, future-proofing approach. could break and refuse to open, and I could still navigate my notes in any file manager and open and use them in any text or editor. That’s going to be a lot harder to do if you’ve dumped all of your thousands or tens of thousands of notes in root.

Colman,
@Colman@mastodon.ie avatar

@EpiphanicSynchronicity @gelberhut @biscotty @obsidianmd I do both: indexes and MOCs and individual projects are organised into directory structures, "cards" go into one folder with little organisation but only after they're tagged or linked into the indexes in ways I'm pretty sure I can access if/when #obsidian passes.

EpiphanicSynchronicity,
@EpiphanicSynchronicity@pkm.social avatar

@Colman @gelberhut @biscotty @obsidianmd I use MOCs, tags, etc., too. #Obsidian lets you link freely across folders, which don’t comstrain you from using other organizational methods concurrently.

Colman,
@Colman@mastodon.ie avatar

@EpiphanicSynchronicity @gelberhut @biscotty @obsidianmd the overhead of artificially assigning a directory to everything isn't worth it to me, so dump it in the card box once I'm sure I can find it.

EpiphanicSynchronicity,
@EpiphanicSynchronicity@pkm.social avatar

@Colman @gelberhut @biscotty @obsidianmd I don’t think assigning a directory to everything is any more “artificial” than assigning a tag or an MOC, but I do use several inbox folders for notes I want to process later.

austingovella,
@austingovella@pkm.social avatar

@EpiphanicSynchronicity @Colman @gelberhut @biscotty @obsidianmd several inboxes? That sounds interesting. How are they broken up?

EpiphanicSynchronicity,
@EpiphanicSynchronicity@pkm.social avatar

@austingovella @Colman @gelberhut @biscotty @obsidianmd I have a general inbox folder, but I also keep inbox folders for, say, big projects or general areas of interest.

ellane,
@ellane@pkm.social avatar

@austingovella @EpiphanicSynchronicity @Colman @gelberhut @biscotty @obsidianmd I use folders where it makes sense to me to do so. Where they add value to my workflow. Some sections of my vault have folders 2 or 3 deep, because that's what I need for those topics.

I also have a folder called ALL THE NOTES (my folder names are always in capitals, for easy differentiation from files) where everything else is dumped.

Works great for me! There's no true religion for organising your stuff.

ellane,
@ellane@pkm.social avatar

@austingovella @bowreality @EpiphanicSynchronicity @Colman @gelberhut @biscotty @obsidianmd I use folders where it makes sense to me. Where they add value to my workflow. Some sections of my vault have folders 2 or 3 deep, because that's what I need for those topics.

I also have a folder called ALL THE NOTES (my folder names are always in capitals, for easy differentiation from files) where everything else is dumped.

Works great for me! There's no true religion for organising your stuff.

Colman,
@Colman@mastodon.ie avatar

@ellane @austingovella @bowreality @EpiphanicSynchronicity @gelberhut @biscotty @obsidianmd that may be the only true religion. This stuff is very personal in the details. For me, assigning a folder to notes that don’t naturally fit in one is extra executive load I don’t need.

realz,

Thanks for writing and sharing this

biscotty666,

Your welcome!

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