I'm organizing my stuff using the LATCH system: Location, Alphabet, Time, Category, or Hierarchy. In Obsidian (notes) and Proton Drive (PDFs, images, etc) I have a simplified Johnny Decimal. What helps, is to keep a note with details about the system and where goes everything. For example in Obsidian I have a folder for Admin stuff (attachments, templates, tracking docs, tasks, etc), one folder for Zettelkasten, one folder for Projects, one for Clippings, one for Archives. As I'm working on creating a note for every book I own (digital & print) I have a folder for them, called Inventory. Here I add details about the book & links to PDFs.(in Drive). I started working on this system around 2017, when I read the first articles & books about Information Architecture & UX.
How long have you been organizing your files this way? Do you have any difficulty holding yourself accountable for keeping Obsidian up-to-date? My concern for myself would be slacking in terms of keeping things tidy because of the extra steps of keeping the note updated.
I made the first version around 2010 while I was at university. At that time, I was taking a course called the Auxiliary Sciences of History and got in contact with archival science and philology. The system evolved when I started using Evernote and the final version I made last year with Obsidian.
Getting to the accountability part: Sometimes, it can be hard, but other times, it is relaxing. I have blocked times for keeping Obsidian up to date. I dump what I want to save in the Clippings folder in Obsidian. (Using the Obsidian Clipper). Weekly, I go through them and decide what to do. As the clippings are organized by the saved date in folders, I try to finish at least one folder in one sitting. Also, I break the tasks into smaller tasks. (For example, add 50 tags to notes without tags. And another 50 tags tomorrow, etc). The notes that I'm using daily are bookmarked in Obsidian. This way, they are one click away. I have a note for Tasks (for them, I use the Tasks plugin & Archiver plugin), one that is a Jottbook( for fleeing ideas, links), and one for Journal. Dedicated notes for tracking (read books, books to buy, digital subscriptions, etc).
I try to keep the most important sections of Obsidian organized and let myself have the Clippings disorganized (not processed). Also, the folder with article ideas is a bit all over the place. :))
What I found helpful is to have a system for how you add new stuff into the mix, especially blogs, links, and social posts. I'm not bookmarking anything on social platforms, WordPress, Substack, Medium, etc. Everything gets shared in Pocket. I use tags for urgency or topics that I need to process quickly. A few times a week, I look over them, delete what is not interesting anymore, and save/make a note with what I want to keep/it's important.
To end, yes, you'll have a few months when you'll want to delete all, destroy the computer, and start growing avocados. But as you advance in organizing, keeping it up to date is easier. Hope my ramblings are a bit helpful.
Thanks for the tip on the AI blocklist. That was an instant install for me.
Honestly, I'm thrilled that I found something that you hadn't discovered and written about first :D
I'm organizing my stuff using the LATCH system: Location, Alphabet, Time, Category, or Hierarchy. In Obsidian (notes) and Proton Drive (PDFs, images, etc) I have a simplified Johnny Decimal. What helps, is to keep a note with details about the system and where goes everything. For example in Obsidian I have a folder for Admin stuff (attachments, templates, tracking docs, tasks, etc), one folder for Zettelkasten, one folder for Projects, one for Clippings, one for Archives. As I'm working on creating a note for every book I own (digital & print) I have a folder for them, called Inventory. Here I add details about the book & links to PDFs.(in Drive). I started working on this system around 2017, when I read the first articles & books about Information Architecture & UX.
How long have you been organizing your files this way? Do you have any difficulty holding yourself accountable for keeping Obsidian up-to-date? My concern for myself would be slacking in terms of keeping things tidy because of the extra steps of keeping the note updated.
I made the first version around 2010 while I was at university. At that time, I was taking a course called the Auxiliary Sciences of History and got in contact with archival science and philology. The system evolved when I started using Evernote and the final version I made last year with Obsidian.
Getting to the accountability part: Sometimes, it can be hard, but other times, it is relaxing. I have blocked times for keeping Obsidian up to date. I dump what I want to save in the Clippings folder in Obsidian. (Using the Obsidian Clipper). Weekly, I go through them and decide what to do. As the clippings are organized by the saved date in folders, I try to finish at least one folder in one sitting. Also, I break the tasks into smaller tasks. (For example, add 50 tags to notes without tags. And another 50 tags tomorrow, etc). The notes that I'm using daily are bookmarked in Obsidian. This way, they are one click away. I have a note for Tasks (for them, I use the Tasks plugin & Archiver plugin), one that is a Jottbook( for fleeing ideas, links), and one for Journal. Dedicated notes for tracking (read books, books to buy, digital subscriptions, etc).
I try to keep the most important sections of Obsidian organized and let myself have the Clippings disorganized (not processed). Also, the folder with article ideas is a bit all over the place. :))
What I found helpful is to have a system for how you add new stuff into the mix, especially blogs, links, and social posts. I'm not bookmarking anything on social platforms, WordPress, Substack, Medium, etc. Everything gets shared in Pocket. I use tags for urgency or topics that I need to process quickly. A few times a week, I look over them, delete what is not interesting anymore, and save/make a note with what I want to keep/it's important.
To end, yes, you'll have a few months when you'll want to delete all, destroy the computer, and start growing avocados. But as you advance in organizing, keeping it up to date is easier. Hope my ramblings are a bit helpful.