Organize Everything With The LIFT principle
In this article, I will introduce the LIFT principle for organizing digital information.
This content is part of my Obsidian Starter Kit
I also cover it in my courses:
Sebastien DuboisWhat is the LIFT principle?
The LIFT principle was introduced by Google as part of the AngularJS and Angular style guides. It is a code organization best practice for software developers. But in reality, this principle applies really well to Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) and Information Management (IM) in general.
LIFT is an acronym for:
- Locate
- Identify
- Flat structure as long as we can
- Try to stay dry
This principle's goal is to ensure that we keep files and folder structures as flat as possible in order for us to be able to quickly locate and identify what we need. Also, it recommends applying the "Don't Repeat Yourself" (DRY) principle and thus avoiding duplicating information as much as possible.
Whenever you organize information, whether it is code, personal or work information, try to keep the LIFT principle in mind.
Sebastien Dubois
Conclusion
In this article, I've introduced the LIFT principle, a recommendation to keep your organization systems as simple and as flat as possible in order to always be able to quickly locate and identify what you need.
LIFT is about locating things quickly. If you want to apply that idea to Obsidian, from vault structure to search operators to AI search, I wrote The Obsidian Search Handbook.
Sébastien Dubois
Free cheat sheet. Just want a quick reference for finding notes? The Obsidian Search Cheat Sheet has the search operators and the search escalation ladder (which tool to try first, depending on what you remember) on 13 pages. Enter your email and I'll send it right away.
Sébastien Dubois
Get the free Obsidian Search Cheat Sheet. 13 pages to keep next to your vault: the search operators worth remembering and the search escalation ladder. Enter your email and I'll send it right away. You'll also get a few short follow-up emails about finding notes in Obsidian, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
That's it for today! ✨
References
- Angular LIFT principle: https://angular.io/guide/styleguide#lift
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