10 Reasons I Love Obsidian

Obsidian uses markdown files to create your notes and they are stored locally on your machine.

This means that even if Obsidian itself stopped existing, your notes can still be opened on any computer because they are simply markdown files.

This means you don't have to rely on Obsidian staying in business to keep your notes.

Obsidian is so simple to use that as soon as it's downloaded, you can use it and start creating notes. From there, it can become as complex as you need.

Once you've got used to using Obsidian, you can start adding some more of the complex parts of it such as templates and plug-ins to customise how Obsidian works for you.

The community plug-ins available for Obsidian make for unlimited customisation and ways of working.

Want to use Obsidian in a similar way to Notion? You can do that.

Need more flexible templates? You can do that.

Add a calendar, import your Readwise highlights or set up tasks the way that optimise how you work.

The fact that Obsidian encourages the use of folders, tags and back-links to keep your notes in order and to keep track of topics and ideas is amazing.

Creating a 'Zettelkasten' has never been easier by the simple use of back-links to build your library.

The forums are active and helpful and there are numerous YouTube channels dedicated to giving tips, hints and workflows for Obsidian.

Obsidian is available on PC, Mac, Linux and both iOS and Android.

Obsidian allow you to sync your vaults across devices using their paid service called Obsidian Sync.

If you'd rather use iCloud, OneDrive or another service you can also do that so you're not locked into their service to keep your notes up-to-date across devices.

Want to showcase your notes to the world?

Obsidian Publish allows you to do just that, again this is a paid service but one that can allow you to build a live digital 'garden' that other people can visit.

This is also a service that I am hoping to eventually use myself.

One of the features of Obsidian is the 'Canvas' feature which essentially allows you to create a 'mind-map' of ideas, notes and even different media such as images and/or video.

As a Graphic Designer and a visual thinker, this is an absolute joy to have.