Sébastien Dubois
Advice for people getting started with Knowledge Management and Writing
Many people quickly become overwhelmed when they get started with note-taking and knowledge management. Here's how to avoid that.
Having used Obsidian for a few years extensively, creating products (e.g., the Obsidian Starter Kit), and coaching people about Knowledge Management, my recommendations would be:
- Avoid spending too much time researching the topic. The first step is to create the habit, get used to the tool, and WRITE. All the rest is just procrastination in disguise (really!)
- Start simple: Avoid complexity like the plague. Structure and plugins can come later, once you reach a critical mass of notes
- Prefer a dead simple folder structure (e.g., one folder for everything!), tag your notes, and choose good names
- Avoid long notes. Create "atomic" ones: short, focused on a single idea, and connected with other ones
- Create a journal in Obsidian, and use it as the entry point: add your notes to your daily notes, and create separate notes only afterward. That helps focusing on WRITING, instead of having to worry about organizing, tagging, etc. Again, organizing can come over time, as needed
- Don't consider your notes as final: they're forever drafts
- Don't give up. Knowledge Management has a "startup problem". It takes time to reach the return on investment
Again, ignore the theory for a while, it won't help you now. You can always explore PARA, Zettelkasten, Johnny Decimal, and other things later on.
If you really reach the point where you feel overwhelmed with your notes, then maybe take a look at something like my Obsidian Starter Kit. Hundreds of people are happy with it. It's a 1:1 copy of the system I use for myself. It's powerful, but simple, and it stays out of the way. Its goal is to let people focus on writing: https://developassion.gumroad.com/l/obsidian-starter-kit
Useful resources
- Obsidian tutorial: https://www.dsebastien.net/the-ultimate-beginners-guide-to-obsidian/
- Note naming tips: https://www.dsebastien.net/the-art-of-note-naming-keys-to-effective-knowledge-management/
- Avoid long notes: https://www.dsebastien.net/how-to-split-long-notes-into-atomic-notes-a-comprehensive-guide/
- Atomic notes: https://www.dsebastien.net/the-value-of-atomic-notes/
- How to connect ideas: https://www.dsebastien.net/how-to-connect-ideas-together/
- How to tag: https://www.dsebastien.net/2022-05-17-why-and-how-to-tag-notes-in-your-pkm/
- Evergreen notes: https://www.dsebastien.net/continuous-note-taking/
- Gradual return of PKM: https://www.dsebastien.net/the-gradual-return-on-investment-of-pkm/
- How I use daily notes: https://www.dsebastien.net/how-i-use-daily-notes/
- How to structure daily notes in Obsidian: https://www.dsebastien.net/my-daily-note-template-in-obsidian/
- My public notes (thousands of examples): https://notes.dsebastien.net/
- My newsletter (I write about PKM all day long): https://www.dsebastien.net/tag/newsletter/
About Sébastien
I am Sébastien Dubois. You can follow me on X 🐦 and on BlueSky 🦋.
I am an author, founder, and coach. I write books and articles about Knowledge Work, Personal Knowledge Management, Note-taking, Lifelong Learning, Personal Organization, and Zen Productivity. I also craft lovely digital products . You can learn more about my projects here.
If you want to follow my work, then become a member.
Ready to get to the next level?
To embark on your Knowledge Management journey, consider investing in resources that will equip you with the tools and strategies you need. Check out the Obsidian Starter Kit and the accompanying video course. It will give you a rock-solid starting point for your note-taking and Knowledge Management efforts.
If you want to take a more holistic approach, then the Knowledge Worker Kit is for you. It covers PKM, but expands into productivity, personal organization, project/task management, and more:
If you are in a hurry, then do not hesitate to book a coaching session with me:
