✅ Obsidian for Minimalists will be a great fit for you if…

✅ You want to build a minimalist note taking system in Obsidian to organize text notes

You want one organized place to capture all your written notes, ideas, outlines, lecture notes, meeting minutes, travel plans, lists of gift ideas, novel drafts, thesis ideas, exam prep notes, and everything else that’s floating around a half-dozen different apps on your computer right now.

✅ You’re ready to listen to your intuition and ditch the overwhelm

You’ve spent more evenings and weekends than you’d like to admit going down the rabbit hole, searching for inspiration to find the best Obsidian note taking system setup. Still you end up with more questions than answers. You see people describing complex systems with endless plugins, automations, backlinks, knowledge graphs, and tags, and you’re starting to doubt yourself. You’re pretty sure that you don’t need those features… but what if you’re wrong? What if they will instead save you hours of time and make you “effortlessly productive”? Listen to your intuition. Say with confidence, “good for them– not for me.” Obsidian doesn’t need to be complicated. Obsidian for Minimalists will give you a quick, streamlined system so you can spend your time thinking and writing– instead of tinkering with plugin settings.

✅ You’re a linear thinker

You like organizing your thoughts in lists and outlines. You’re most comfortable using nested folders to organize your files on your computer.

✅ You’re comfortable storing your notes locally (with a sync/backup option)

You’re happy to store your notes on your computer– and in fact appreciate the security benefit.

✅ You’re a reader

You’re a text-based learner. You enjoy reading, and find that you process information best by highlighting, making notes, and revisiting written text.

✅ You’re an independent learner

You’re an independent, self-motivated learner. You have a full, busy, unpredictable schedule with many existing commitments— you don’t have the ability to just clear your schedule for a group Zoom call in another time zone. You value the flexibility of asynchronous, self-paced learning.

✅ You’re a busy person who values simplicity & efficiency above complexity

You’re a busy person looking for a streamlined, efficient approach to digital note taking. You don’t want to add unnecessary complexity to your system, though you’re happy to add in details that actually make your life easier. You’re looking for a minimalist, “less, but better” approach to personal knowledge management. You want to design a customized, tailored personal knowledge management system in Obsidian that fits your life.

❌ It wouldn’t be the right fit if…

🚫 You want to organize non-text content in Obsidian

Obsidian does have the capacity to embed and organize non-text content (including files such as PDFs, audio files, or images). However, Obsidian for Minimalists is designed specifically to organize text-based notes, and doesn’t include support for adding and managing PDFs or other documents. The Obsidian for Minimalists course is designed to give you a simple, basic Obsidian setup to get you started.

🚫 You want to use tags and backlinks to organize your Obsidian vault

Obsidian offers many different ways to organize knowledge– there’s something for everyone. The Obsidian for Minimalists course deliberately does not include use of tags or backlinks, instead using solely a note and folder system. This choice was thoughtfully made since the concept of folder and note feels familiar and intuitive to many people (similar to the way that file managers work, or even binders and paper) in a way that tags and backlinks don’t. Tags and backlinks are wonderful features for those who enjoy them, but aren’t a part of the Obsidian for Minimalists setup.

🚫 You want to use Obsidian Canvas or the knowledge graph/graph view

The Obsidian for Minimalists setup intentionally and mindfully opts out of all but the most essential Obsidian settings. In the setup, we turn off the knowledge graph and Canvas settings, to create more blank space and fewer distractions.

🚫 You don’t have administrator privileges to install Obsidian

If you want to use Obsidian on your work computer, you’ll need administrator privileges that allow you to install new software. Obsidian is a local-first note taking software, not a web app, so you’ll need to be able to install local software.

🚫 You’re looking for a video-based course

The Obsidian for Minimalists self-paced course is intentionally designed as a text-first course, with content delivered on a text-based course platform, supplemented with annotated screenshots and downloadable PDF checklists.

🚫 You struggle with self-paced learning

If you have trouble staying on track while working independently, this course might not be the best fit for you. It’s designed to be self-paced, so anyone can fit it into their schedule (no matter their time zone or other commitments).

🚫 You’re looking for personalized coaching or individual tech support

The current version of the course is designed to be an affordable self-study option for independent learners. Unfortunately, we’re therefore not able to offer individualized tech support, Obsidian trouble-shooting, or personalized coaching or recommendations to students enrolled in the course. We may opt to offer personalized coaching in the future at a higher price point: please do join the newsletter to be notified if/when this service becomes available.