Why I might not keep daily notes in Obsidian any more

'I'm good at establishing routines for other people, especially children. I'm good at structure, especially when it comes to organization. But I genuinely believe that I am worse than most at establishing daily habits'.

I could have written these words. I'm a great planner, good at organisation but I struggle with daily habits. I'm glad it's not just me who has this challenge.

Eleanor mentions that her daily note habit fell foul of this personality trait. I have phases when I'm on top of my daily note, then I'm not. If I break my routine/streak, it's hard to get back on track. I'm also keeping a variety of different daily logs which replace the need for a daily note.

Daily notes are listed by date. It's great if you can remember which date you need to reference. And the search function is very good. But the date convention doesn't make the daily note immediately useful.

Eleanor says about search: 'the most prominent part of the result is the file name. When I'm browsing through links or folders or tags, I see file names. My graph displays file names. This is why I'm so careful about naming conventions ...'

I take her point.

Why did I not think of this before? I'm a list person - as well as NotePD, I've been using Twos and creating lists there. I'm on a mission to use Obsidian as my place for everything (pretty much) and like Eleanor's suggestion about themed notes. She logs the following:

• audiovisual media
• garden
• grateful for
• health
• reading that resonated

My version of these is:

• culture, daily, garden and gratitude logs

Eleanor talks about having a place for everything, and everything in its place. I'm very much like this. As it is in my physical environment, so it is in my digital setups. I can put my hand on information I need quickly because I created the organisation and file system.

I really like interstitial journaling. It suits the way I think and work. I have tried daily notes for this. But, without extracting that data, it sits in the daily note. I've got into a habit of using Napkin to log fleeting thoughts. That works really well, especially on the go. I expand on those notes in Obsidian. If I'm at my computer, I can add notes directly into Obsidian. I also keep a couple of online daily logs.

On the days when I do keep a daily note, I can always go through them later, extract what I need and then delete the note itself. This would be a good practice and keep my daily notes folder tidy.

Eleanor talks in greater depth about logs or themed notes and in the context of reviewing, keeping the process simple or easily retrieving informaiton. Specific logs make much more sense especially when you are aggregating relevant data in one place.

This is a key point. In many ways my personal style is similar to Eleanor's. Daily notes may work well for some people and not for others. It's always about finding what works for you.

'The best personal knowledge management system is, as always, personal'.