Obsidian Quick Start Guide (2024)

Introduction

This tutorial will guide you through the essential steps to quickly get started with Obsidian, a powerful tool for personal knowledge management (PKM). Whether you are looking to capture notes, link ideas, or refactor your notes for better organization, this guide will provide you with actionable steps to make the most of Obsidian.

Step 1: Create a New Vault

1. Open Obsidian to the Vault management screen.
2. Click on "Create" to start a new Vault.
3. Name your Vault (e.g., "Effective").
4. Click "Browse" to select a location for your Vault on your computer.
   • Recommended: Create a folder under "Documents" for easy management.
5. Click "Select Folder" and then "Create" to finalize the setup.

Step 2: Switch to Light Mode

1. Open the command palette by pressing Control + P (or Command + P on Mac).
2. Type "light mode" and hit Enter to switch from dark mode to light mode for better visibility.

Step 3: Capture Notes

1. Create a new note by:
   • Clicking the "+" icon in the upper left corner.
   • Pressing Control + N (or Command + N on Mac).
2. Title your note (e.g., "Scratch Pad") and start jotting down your thoughts, ideas, and references.
   • Include links to articles, videos, or other resources you want to revisit.
3. Focus on capturing your personal reflections rather than just quotes or highlights.

Step 4: Link Your Notes

1. Highlight phrases or keywords you want to link.
2. Create a Wiki link by typing [[ followed by the title you want to link to:
   • Example: [[Bullet Journal Method]].
3. Click on the newly created link to generate a blank note for that topic.
4. Repeat this process for any other relevant topics to build connections between your notes.

Step 5: Refactor Your Notes

1. Identify sections of your notes that can be extracted into separate notes for clarity.
2. Highlight the text you want to move.
3. Right-click and select "Extract Current Selection".
4. Enter a name for the new note (e.g., "Personal Operations").
5. Use this new note to elaborate on the extracted content and create links back to your original note.

Step 6: Visualize Connections

1. Use the graph view to see how your notes are interconnected:
   • Click on the graph icon in the sidebar to open it.
2. For a more focused view, open the local graph view by:
   • Opening any note and clicking the three dots in the sidebar.
   • Selecting "Open Local Graph View".
3. Adjust the depth of connections to visualize relationships between notes.

Step 7: Organize Your Vault

1. As your collection of notes grows, consider organizing them further:
   • Create folders to categorize notes.
   • Use tags for additional context.
2. Start simple and gradually refine your organization system as you accumulate more notes.

Conclusion

By following these steps, you will be well on your way to effectively using Obsidian for your personal knowledge management. Remember to start small, focus on capturing and linking your ideas, and refine your organization process as you grow. For more in-depth learning, consider joining the free PKM Kickstart email course linked above. Happy note-taking!