Since the COVID-19 pandemic started and we were under various degrees and stretches of lockdowns, I have found myself exploring apps that help my workflow. In particular, I was drawn to apps that some have categorised as “personal knowledge management” (PKM), “second brain” or “tools for thought”. These are tools that facilitate things like task management and knowledge management (i.e. curating, sorting and categorising information, for the purpose of learning and generating insights/ideas).

My foray into the world of such apps started in August 2020, when I came across Notion. I was quickly drawn to its clean aesthetics and database functionality. I scoured the internet to find advice and resources that could help me get through the learning curve. Thankfully, there are lots of free advice out there. Over time, I built some databases and a “home” landing site that helped me organise my digital sources and work. I was happy with Notion and how it helped me get on top of things.

However, in early March 2021, Notion experienced an outage when users could not access their data. I became alarmed about having to rely on a platform service to access my work and data. What if the platform no longer exists or no longer performs to my expectations? Why would I want to deposit my data with a platform, and only be able to work on them online?

It was around this time that I started experimenting with Obsidian. While I had come across this app earlier, I didn’t delve too much into it as I was focused on Notion. As time went by, I shifted my data and workflow to Obsidian. Now, I use Obsidian every day.

There are many things to like about Obsidian. Some of the capabilities that Obsidian offer are crucial to me as a user. These are:

• Local first: all my data and files are saved locally on my device, not somewhere on some platform server
• Markdown: data is saved as markdown files, not in some propriety format that only Obsidian can read and edit. This means that I can use other apps to continue working on my files. (And I did experiment with other apps, such as Logseq, Nota, and Zettlr.)

Obsidian also offers other features and capabilities that are good-to-have. While not essential, these facilitate my workflow or make the note-taking experience more fun and enjoyable. These are:

• Extensibility: availability of community plugins that offer additional functionalities. I particularly like these ones: Dataview, Kanban
• Themes and appearances: availability of community themes and related style setting plugins, as well as css snippets that can alter the look and feel of the app to my preference and liking

I have revamped my vault a couple of times. I think this is inevitable, as I develop a PKM system that suits my needs. I have, for example, changed my folder system and tagging system twice. I have changed my preferred theme three times (currently using Sanctum). I have also experimented with community plugins to figure out which ones are essential to my workflow and which ones I could do without.

Graph view of my Obsidian vault

So far, I am happy with the vault and system I have built. However, I am continually learning and experimenting, to fine tune my workflow and make sense of the knowledge vault that I am building.

Which apps are you using for note-taking or PKM, and why?