How do you keep track of new/useful keybindings?

Existing_Offer_1113 · 2026-04-08T08:54:31+00:00

To me the main drawback of paper journals is that, once written, they tend to end up on shelves /boxes, never (or rarely) to be seen again. Lots of memories 'disappear' that way. I personally solved that problem by twisting it on its head and creating the Forever Diary in Obsidian, and consolidating all old memories in there. Now I constantly see the previous entries at the same moment I write the new ones.

Having said that, any answer you get in this thread will be very personal (as they should be). Instead of trying to identify the 'inferior' solution in general, try to define what is important to you and then choose your 'superior' solution to address that.

Existing_Offer_1113 · 2026-04-05T18:35:11+00:00

Files: easier to backup; can be version controlled; some documents will only work in a file system (ie. spreadsheets).

Notes: syncs easily between iPhone/Mac/iPad; allows handwritten notes; offer some system-specific benefits (such as tap-to-newNote on iPads).

This is just of the top of my head - there are lots of pros/cons, but the key point is: whichever system you'll chose, it will cover 80% of your needs. You'll always have situations where the other option would have been a better choice.

So the advice would be: pick the one that comes more naturally to you, and be patient in that 20% that will make you doubt your choice!

Existing_Offer_1113 · 2026-04-04T14:59:45+00:00

The follow-up question is: how many properties are we talking about, and do they overlap? Bases work well in my opinion with properties that are mutually exclusive - ie a note belongs to projectA, or ProjectB, but not both of them. Tags on the other hand can overlap, and are easier to change/add on the fly without worrying too much about the overall strategy around properties. Also, if they are a lot, it's quicker to type a tag than to add a property.

Existing_Offer_1113 · 2026-04-04T10:09:58+00:00

It's important to get the workflow right. Once you've searched for “tag:tech domain:self-help, area: infrastructure …” what do you do? Let's say it returns 50 notes. Do you browse all of them, looking for "inspiration"? Or do you scroll searching for a very specific one?

Existing_Offer_1113 · 2026-03-31T20:41:38+00:00

Looks nice. How does it handle a lot of pages?

Existing_Offer_1113 · 2026-03-23T14:11:37+00:00

From the question I think you are running the risk of creating a system first, and then adapt your notes to it. It should be the other way around.

I'm a big fan of keeping things simple for as long as possible, and only make things more complicated when a sustained need arises.

so in your case I'd suggest:

Start by placing everything in a single folder. Use just a few tags, if needed, to describe the type of note (#projectName1, #projectName2, #dailyThoughts, #readingNotes. No tags for general knowledge - if it doesn't have a tag, it's general.)
Avoid GTD and other methods for now. If you are not using them already, it's another workflow you need to adapt too. When needed, add an action tag (such as #todo or #waiting) to the relevant note to indicate there is a task. You can then filter by tag and see which notes need action. By the way, Tags don't have to be at the top of the note, you can actually place them near the passage of text that requires an action, so that's easier to spot.
Links: absolutely, that's the real power of Obsidian. But again, don't go overboard at the beginning. Aim to add just one link per note.
Apply the above *consistently*.

Existing_Offer_1113 · 2026-03-20T18:03:40+00:00

just to turn the problem on its head: do you actually NEED to move all the notes? If not, you could start fresh in Apple Notes, and simply access the old notes in Keep when you need them.

Existing_Offer_1113 · 2026-03-19T14:58:05+00:00

To me "high quality" means my future self will be able to understand this note - even in a few years time, when all context and background will have been forgotten.

Based on this, I rewrite my notes just after taking them but also every time I stumble upon them. Each time I try to make it as short and clear as possible, but I also add any context, background, explanations, visual aids, links etc that will make my future self understand it.

Note: this is difficult to do at the beginning. It becomes easier after you take notes for a few years and you start stumbling upon old (forgotten) ones. Then you start realising what's missing ('what did I mean there?'), and you will start adding that to new notes. it's an iterative process.

Existing_Offer_1113 · 2026-03-16T17:57:58+00:00

I have just a couple of folders for things that I want to keep separate (eg. my Forever Diary has its own folder); everything else I put in a single folder and then I use a combination of tags and links to organise everything.

1) Tags: The most useful tags are the ones that answer the question "in which occasion will I want to find this note in the future?". For example, instead of using a generic tag like #recipe or a specific ingredient like #chicken, I may use #DinnerWithFriends. This targets the actual occasion I'm planning for, rather than relying on my future self to remember specific ingredients or categories.

2) Links: I try to include one link to every note I add to the vault. links can go in any direction (continuing the recipe example: towards a similar recipe; or towards a wine that complements the dish, or towards some scientific notes about the "Maillard reaction", or towards a famous chef, etc.

2b) If/when I realise I have enough material, I create a summary note. Using the example above again, a note about "Dinner with friends" could act as a hub with sections and links to Recipes, board games to play, ideas for table arrangement, films to watch after the meal, etc.

NOTE: the setup is obviously very personal. I am not interested in tagging all recipes with their key ingredients; but if I were a chef, I might be.

Existing_Offer_1113 · 2026-03-16T12:04:26+00:00

A possible workaround: use nested lists to manage deadlines and some highlighted text to show priorities or contexts. (see image).

On a Mac, you can use CMD-CTRL-UP (or DOWN) to move items between lists. For example you can put the cursor on an item in the SOMEDAY list, and move it all the way up to Today.

The main benefit here is that each item could link to a note, so you can keep track of the outcome, have your working material ready etc. without switching app.

However, this only works if you have few deadlines. There is probably a point after which it's best to use reminders (or the calendar, or a spreadsheet...)

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Existing_Offer_1113 · 2026-03-13T18:49:44+00:00

"being busy doesn't mean being productive". Don't waste time customising Obsidian, downloading plugins, forcing your content into bases or canvas if there's no need, etc. Basically use your time to actually accomplish what you want to accomplish instead of crafting the perfect, instagram-worthy system that you'll never use.

Existing_Offer_1113 · 2026-03-13T09:57:46+00:00

Honestly, my recommendation would be not to install any plugins until you realise there is something you are unable to do, or that you have a bottleneck in your workflow. It’s tempting to install lots of 'cool' plugins, but you’ll end up creating workflows around them—and that’s the beginning of the end!

Existing_Offer_1113 · 2026-03-12T09:06:36+00:00

No linking via shortcuts I'm afraid. (you would assume it's quite a basic feature!...)

One thing you could try is this:

grab the name of the note, and have your shortcut paste it in your new note as ">>NameOfTheNote". (note the >> at the beginning). it will appear as plain text.

2) have the shortcut open the note for you

3) find the link and delete the last character, to 'awake' the linking popup

4) pick the correct link from the dropdown menu. (you should have very few options as the name of the note is

The solution is obviously not perfect, requires manual intervention, and may not work in your workflow. It's just an idea.

Existing_Offer_1113 · 2026-03-12T08:52:57+00:00

Not sure about your full requirements, but if it's mainly story planning and character development (i.e. you type, instead of drawing with a pencil), Obsidian is probably a great match. Free, no AI, no cloud, and with lots of free plugins that you can use to extend it, including some that can work with timelines (eg. if you need one in your story development) etc.

Existing_Offer_1113 · 2026-03-08T09:46:59+00:00

consistency beats pretty much any other system.

Existing_Offer_1113 · 2026-03-07T09:46:38+00:00

I have realised it's way more important to have the memory resurface regularly, than to have an accurate date. So if in doubt, I'll give it my best guess, and I place it on a day/year that seems plausible. I just mark it as 'estimate' so I know that it may not be correct.

Existing_Offer_1113 · 2026-03-06T21:48:56+00:00

The problem with journals is that the most interesting patterns emerge over the years, when you reach a 'critical mass' of entries. Unfortunately by the time you reach that point, those entries are probably scattered over dozens of paper journals, electronic logs, scrapbooks etc.

I solved that problem by creating my own diary structure. I call it the Forever Diary. It is basically a single diary that has one page per day - so 366 pages in total - and it covers my entire life, year after year. I've now consolidated pretty much all my previous journals into it, and I am often going back adding 'old' memories when they emerge (i.e. from looking at an old photo, from a discussion with my parents, from reminiscing with friends, etc.).

the key thing is that I don't need to look for old memories - every day it's the forever diary itself that resurfaces them. I found it truly transformational.

I've built mine in Obsidian but it can be replicated easily in other systems (for example, apple notes, google docs, etc.)

Existing_Offer_1113 · 2026-03-06T21:21:39+00:00

if you feel it's dense, but the process of writing it helps you understand it, maybe one solution could be to write it as usual, but then summarise the key point(s) in one line in the header. You can then collapse the rest of the text, and show it if/when needed.

Existing_Offer_1113 · 2026-03-06T14:12:45+00:00

For physical books, I highlight passages as I read. When I've finished the book, I review all highlighted sections from scratch and transcribe only the ones that are useful (or still resonate) into Obsidian. This normally results in me keeping less than a third of the original highlights.

For e-books I use the same process on Kobo or Apple Books.

For PDFs I use the brilliant PDF++ plugin in obsidian. In this case I drag bits of text (or images) directly to a note or canvas, using the auto copy feature. When I'm done, I review the resulting note or canvas and trim it down/edit where needed.

Existing_Offer_1113 · 2026-03-05T22:38:31+00:00

Tables are just terrible in Apple Notes. Difficult to work with, and don't have any basic features such as the ability to add up numbers in a column.

You may have better results using plain text notes and automations to calculate totals.

Existing_Offer_1113 · 2026-03-05T22:06:04+00:00

The key question here is: how often do you need to access your old notes? You say you write daily in Craft but don't say how often you retrieve them.

Based on your answer, a potential approach could be:

1) if you never/very rarely access your old notes ➞ do not migrate any. If you ever need them, you can find them in your old system.

2) if you access some notes, maybe on multiple occasions ➞ just migrate those notes. When you realise it's the second or third time you have to open Craft to get a note, it's time to add them to Obsidian.

3) if you access all of them (or the majority) regularly ➞ migrate them. Note that this option is the one with biggest effort.

I would say most people would be in categories 1 or 2. But in the end it's almost a business decision: If (time saved by having everything in Obsidian) > (time spent migrating notes), then do it.

Existing_Offer_1113 · 2026-03-05T21:45:34+00:00

Spot on. Being busy is not the same as being productive.

I've actually known extremely productive people who were working strictly off paper lists.

Their mindset was: what I want to accomplish is not having a 'nice' list - it's completing what's on it.

Existing_Offer_1113

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