I have been on a journey for years to find a way to keep my brain organized. I have tried every productivity system I can think of, but none have seemed to lock me in.
Everything from David Allen’s GTD system, to the intense Zettelkasten Method. By the way, who would want to take notes on index cards like a Dewey Decimal system is beyond me. But I digress.
Then I realized, similar to fitness and body types, we are all unique. What works for one may not work for another. Diet, fitness, we are all individuals and our bodies all function differently. The same goes for our brains.
I have always known, for example, that I learn differently. I learn faster from the visual medium rather than from text in a book. In much the same way, how my brain stores and organizes information is not commonplace. How do I wrangle information in my head into a way that enhances my productivity and effectiveness? I had to find my way.
Early in my journey I used planners, notebooks, or whatever to jot down my thoughts. But sorting, organizing, and finding what I need to reference was always a struggle. Enter the digital age. Applications like Evernote, Good Notes, Apple Notes helped, but finding a method to apply became the next struggle.
That’s when I stumbled across more customizable tools like Notion and a little-known tool called Obsidian. Notion was great, but I found myself going down rabbit holes in customization. Adding layers of complexity that took up more of my time than the value I was getting out of it.
Obsidian, on the other hand, allowed me to explore different ways to organize my notes that made sense to me. A simple Mark-down tool, it focuses more on the notes inter-operating with one another through links. Essentially relating thoughts in ways that my mind flowed. I then applied concepts of other systems and methods that worked for me into the structure of my Obsidian notes.
The other thing about Obsidian is the community. There are thousands of people who are creating plug-ins. Each to meet specific needs that you may want to incorporate into your note management workflows. Calendars, to-do lists, daily notes, tag management, just to name a few. But don’t go overboard or be distracted by the basic purpose of storing and recalling information.
Folders of text files with mark-up that connect or relate notes together in ways that work for me. I had found my own way of processing and organizing information. Today, I realize that what I have done is replicated the very way my mind works. My “Second Brain,” with routes and connections to quickly create or locate reference material I need when I need it.
I just wish I had a roadmap earlier on how to get to the point I am now. It would look something like this:
- Find a “tool” that you are comfortable with. This can be as simple as a analog notebook, or as complex as you like. Its important to keep it simple, and not overloaded it with features.
- Start taking notes.
- Adjust your personal system or methods to align with your own thought process(es). Then sit back and let your mind tell you what it needs.
Just remember, be forgiving and allow yourself to ease into what works for you. After all, you are essentially mirroring how your mind processes information. No one has a grasp of that going in. If you trust your own process, it will all work out in the end.
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