Obsidian Mastery: Build Your Second Brain with Zettelkasten

1. Welcome: Hey, everyone. Welcome to this class on Obsidian. I'm really glad you're here, and I want to thank you for choosing to learn with me. Out of so many classes available on the platform, you decided to spend your time here, and that matters. If you don't know me yet, my name is Matthias. I'm a digital entrepreneur and an online instructor, and for the past few years, I've been teaching practical systems focused on organization, productivity, and learning. In this class, I'll guide you step by step through a tool that completely changed the way I think, study, and organize information. Obsidian is much more than a simple note taking app. At its core, it's a tool designed to help you connect ideas, organize knowledge, and build clarity over time. Instead of storing isolated notes, you'll learn how to create a system where your thoughts, projects, and learnings actually talk to each other. This is why many people describe obsidian as a second brain. Throughout this class, we'll explore obsidian from both a practical and conceptual perspective. Learn how the tool works, why it's different from traditional note apps and how to structure your notes in a way that supports thinking instead of just storage. Everything you see here is designed to be applied, not just understood in theory. As the class progresses, I'll show you how to create meaningful links between ideas, how to organize your notes clearly, and how to use obsidian in a way that fits your personal or professional routine. You'll also be introduced to useful features and extensions that can enhance the experience always with a focus on simplicity and clarity. This class is not only about learning software. Be using obsidian together with the ZettlkastN method, a proven approach for organizing knowledge and developing ideas over time. You'll understand what this method is, why it's so effective, and how to apply it inside Obsidian to build a system that grows with you. The goal is to help you think better, learn more efficiently, and create with more intention. By the end of the class, you won't just know how to use obsidian. You'll have started building your own personal knowledge system and you'll complete a practical project that reflects how you want to organize and connect your ideas going forward. This project is an important part of the learning process because Skillshare is all about learning by keep the lessons clear, direct and focused. Your time is valuable and everything here is designed to respect that. If questions come up along the way, you can use the class discussion area to ask, share insights, or show your progress. This lesson was meant to give you a clear overview of what we'll be working on together. In the next lesson, we'll start from the foundation and look at what obsidian really is, how it works, and why it's such a powerful tool when used with the right mindset. I'll see you in the next lesson. 2. What Is Obsidian and How It Works: In this lesson, I'm going to explain what obsidian is, what it's used for, and how it works. Obsidian is essentially a text based tool where you can take notes and organize information. But it's not just a note taking app. The idea behind obsidian is to help you build what many people call a digital brain, a place where you can store ideas, notes, references, and thoughts, and most importantly, where you can connect everything together, while most note taking apps work like isolated blocks, one note here, another there. Obsidian is built around connections between nodes. In other words, you can clearly see how one node connects to another. This is especially useful if you're studying a topic and linking one idea to the next. This process helps you think in a more structured and active way. From a technical perspective, obsidian is a software that fits into the low code category. In some cases, it can also be considered a no code tool. That means you don't need to know how to program in order to use obsidian. However, if you want to customize the tool more deeply, it supports automations, scripts, and advanced configurations. In other words, obsidian is an open, highly flexible and highly customizable tool. Inside Obsidian, you can shape everything to fit your own workflow from the visual appearance to keyboard shortcuts, plugins, and even integrations you want to use. So when was Obsidian released? Obsidian was officially released in 2020. Since then, it has grown rapidly, especially among researchers, writers, journalists, content creators, and students. That's because it's a lightweight application. It's free to use, and it works 100% offline. This means that everything you create inside Obsidian, whether on your computer or your phone, is saved locally. This is one of Obsidian's biggest advantages. Does not depend on external servers or cloud based systems to work. You can do everything completely offline. Of course, Obsidian does offer optional features that allow integration with external services. But in its native form, it is an offline first tool. In other words, your files are fully yours. You have complete ownership and control over your data. If you want, you can also set up manual backups using services like Google Drive, ICloud or Dropbox. Additionally, Obsidian offers a paid feature. This feature allows automatic backups and synchronization across all your devices. What is Obsidian actually used for in practice? Obsidian is an extremely useful tool for anyone who works with information. If you're a student, you can use Obsidian to write summaries, take class notes, create book notes, and organize everything you study by topic. If you're a professional, you can use Obsidian to plan projects, create internal documents, track learnings and organize tasks. If you're a content creator, obsidian can be used to script videos, develop content ideas, and connect references. Even for personal use, if you enjoy studying, reflecting, and taking notes, obsidian can become your personal thinking space, a place where you can bring everything together in one environment and take full advantage of note connections. To create these connections, Obsidian offers a feature called the graph. The graph is a visualization that works like a map. It allows you to see each note and how they connect to one another. Over time, you'll notice your knowledge literally growing inside this space. This is exactly where a concept we'll explore throughout the course comes in. The ZetlkastN method. This method is based on creating connections between nodes and building a network of thought. Obsidian was designed precisely for this purpose. When you combine the two, the result is an extremely powerful system. To summarize, obsidian is a productivity software. It can be used as both a no code and low code tool. It's a text based system for creating personal and professional notes. For building a complete knowledge organization system, it's free, lightweight, and fully customizable and it allows you to connect ideas in a much more logical way, whether you're studying, writing, creating or planning. Obsidian helps you think more clearly and productively. In the next lesson, we'll move into a more practical session. I'll show you how to install obsidian and how to set it up to use throughout the course. See you in the next lesson. A big hug and thanks. 3. How to Install Obsidian: So everyone. In this lesson, I'm going to show you how to install obsidian, both on your computer and on your mobile phone. I'll walk you through the entire process step by step. So you can do it easily. In practice, it's very simple, especially considering that obsidian is a free software. It works on virtually any system if you use Windows, MacOS, or Linux. Can download Obsidian without any issues, if you're using a mobile device, whether it's Android or IOS, you can also download it normally. Let's start with the computer. To install Obsidian on your PC, the process is very straightforward. You'll access the link I've made available in the course resources. By clicking on that link, you'll be taken to Obsidians official website. The website is obsidian dot md. Throughout this course, we'll mainly use Obsidian on the computer. That's because it offers more features. It also makes it easier to explain the concepts, but don't worry. The layout on the computer and on the mobile app is very similar. Once you're on the website, you'll click on the Download option. The site automatically detects your operating system. If you're on Windows, you'll see Download for Windows. If you're on MacOS or Linux, the Download option will match your system. Scrolling down the page, you'll also find the mobile download options on IOS, through the app store, on Android, through Google Play. There are also alternative versions like APKS, Universal Builds, and even a web. For now, the option we care about is the Windows version. So just click to start the download. Once the file is downloaded, double click on it. This file is the Obsidian installer. When you open it, the installation process will begin. Here, you can choose whether you want to install Obsidian for all users on the computer or only for the current user. I'll leave the default option selected and click next. After that, the system will ask where you want to install obsidian. You can leave the default folder, then click Install. The installation is very fast. Once it's finished, keep the option checked to launch Obsidian and click Finish. Done. Obsidian will open here, you'll see some initial options. Create a new vault, open a folder as a vault, connect to Obsidian sync, and also change the interface language. If you don't yet know exactly what a vault is, don't worry. We'll cover that in more detail in the next lessons. For now, let's create one together. I'll click on Create New Vault. The vault name will be one. This will be the vault name on the computer. I'll choose any folder and click Create. Done. This is the main Obsidian panel on the computer. From here, we can already start work. Now, let's see how to install Obsidian on your phone. In my case, I'm using an iPhone, so an IOS device. To install obsidian, open your Appstore. On IOS, that's the Appstore in the search bar type Obsidian and Tapsearch you'll be taken to the apps page. Select Obsidian and start the installation process. Once the app is installed, tap open. Obsidian will start for the first time. Just like on the computer, it will ask whether you want to use an existing vault or create a new one. Here I'll create a new vault. I'll leave synchronization disabled. The vault name on the phone will be class. Then I tap Create Volt. Done. This is the obsidian interface on mobile. The layout is a bit different from the computer. The core features are very similar. Here you can also access the graph view, quick search, and the main obsidian tools. Even so, the desktop version is more complete. That's why throughout the course, we'll focus more on it. Now, I'll create a new note. The note name will be class. From here, we can already write any content we want. That's basically how you install obsidian, both on your computer and on your phone. In the next lesson, we'll dive deeper into the Obsidian interface. We'll understand each area of the screen and how to use these tools in your daily workflow. See you in the next lesson, a big hug and thanks. 4. What Is the Zettelkasten Method and Its History: Welcome to another module of our course, where we will cover the ZetlkastN method. This module is one of the most important because ZetlkastN is exactly what makes obsidian so powerful. Understanding this method is understanding how your digital second brain truly works. And more than that, it's about understanding how to turn information into usable knowledge. So what is Zetlkastn? Zettel Kasten is a knowledge organization and development method created by a German sociologist named Nicholas Lumann. The word Zettelkasten comes from German and basically means box of notes. The word Zettel means note and Kasten means box. Lumann started developing this system around 1950 while he was still working as a public servant. He wasn't yet a major academic researcher. He created this method as a way to think better meaning, not to rely on memory and to reason based on the connections between his ideas. The result was impressive. Lehman wrote more than 70 books and over 400 research articles. He did this alone, and interestingly, he claimed that the author of his work was the Zettelkasten method itself. This shows that the method is not just a way of taking notes but a thinking tool, a tool that helps produce new ideas from old ones. How did Zettelkasten work in practice? That time, there were no computers, so he did everything manually. He used paper cards, the size of blue index cards. Each card contained one idea, a single unit of thought. He wrote almost everything by hand. He called this a permanent note. These notes represented an idea that he had understood, reflected on, and put into his own words. These notes were not copies of books or summaries of lectures. They were personal interpretations based on what he had learned. In the top left corner of each card, he placed a unique identification number. Number was used to link the note to other related notes. These numbers created a network of interconnected ideas, exactly what Obsidian does today, but in a digital format. At the bottom of the card, he added cross references, something like see also note 352. This pointed to other ideas that also dialogued with that note. Over time, he formed a living web of knowledge where each note naturally led to another. It was as if each note had a life of its own and could call another depending on the context. To navigate all of this, he used a thematic index, a summary with the main topics and the numbers corresponding to specific cards whole process was manual but so well thought out that it became more efficient than many current systems. And let's face it, Luman's Zettelkasten method was like his personal Internet. It worked like a Google decades before the Internet even existed. The great insight of Zettelkasten is the principle of thinking by note. Each note should contain only one complete idea written in a clear, concise and understandable way out of context. This ensures that if you revisit this note in two or three months or even a year, it will still make sense on its own without needing to reread everything that came before it. This is the point that transforms Zetlkasten into something bigger than a simple note taking system. It's a thinking system, a place where your reasoning is built and improved over time. Luman wrote his notes with such clarity and structure that when he needed to write a new article 0R book, he just had to navigate through his collection of notes and connect everything to existing ideas. The hardest work of thinking, synthesizing, understanding and writing clearly was already done. Why this method is so powerful. It turns study into production. Through Zetlcasten you don't just learn. You create knowledge from your learning. Think with me about the current context. We live in an age of information, surrounded by content all the time, videos, articles, posts, books, and more. The problem is that most people consume a lot, but integrate very little. Zetlcasting solves exactly this problem. It teaches you how to turn passive information into active knowledge. In other words, something you understand, connect, and can use in the future. What Luman did with paper and pen, today we can do in a much more practical and automated way. We have many personal productivity tools like obsidian, for example. Used to require drawers and thousands of index cards now all fits into a digital vault with notes, links, tags, back links, and a graph visualization showing how all these ideas connect. But the main thing remains the same, organizing knowledge in a living, connected, and ever growing way. When you apply the right method inside obsidian, you are creating your own thought ecosystem. It's a space where your ideas don't stay stagnant. They cross, evolve, and create new connections. Over time, you'll realize that obsidian will stop being just a simple note taking app, and it will become a complimentary extension of your mind as if you had an intelligent external memory capable of relating old thoughts to new ideas. The more you write, the more powerful your system becomes. Knowledge stops being fragmented and begins to behave like a living organism, growing, adapting and expanding with you. This is the essence of Zetlcstin the method to think better, not just store information. In the next lessons, we'll see how to apply this method practically obsidian, step by step. Learn how to create your permanent notes, how to connect ideas, and how to build a true personal knowledge system. When you master this, you'll realize that studying will never be the same because each new idea you record will connect with old ones, forming your very own digital second brain. 5. Why Zettelkasten Increases Productivity: Now that you understand the history and origin of the Zetlkasten in this lesson, you'll learn why this method increases productivity so much and more importantly, why it changes the way you think. There's one thing I want you to understand. Zetlkastin is not just a strategy for storing information. Above all, it's a thinking tool. Most people today take notes simply so they don't forget. They write a summary, a sentence, or a highlight, and then they never return to it. That's just storing information. But Zetlkasten goes beyond that. It transforms information into active knowledge. In other words, every note you write inside the system is a living idea. It connects with other notes, it interacts with other notes through these connections, it generates new insights. This means you're not just saving information, you're thinking and writing because you're building a system that thinks together with you. The human brain was not designed to store everything. It's excellent at creating connections, but it's weak when it comes to retaining details. You use Zetlcastin, you're creating an extension of your mind, an external memory, a place where your ideas are stored in an organized and interconnected way. This frees your mind to think more clearly because you don't need to remember everything anymore. You only need to know where to look. It's as if you've created a system that thinks alongside you, helping you make connections. Your brain alone might never. Another powerful aspect of Zetlcastin is that it turns thinking into a continuous process. Every new note you create, every connection you make. All of this evolves your reasoning. You don't need to start from scratch every time you study or develop a project. Your system already contains the history of your ideas and the connections between them. You just need to continue exactly where you left off. That's why people who use this method consistently rarely face the blank page. Because you're never starting from nothing, you're always continuing a thought that already began at another moment. Over time, ZetlcastN becomes your personal thinking system. Every note you write, review, or connect makes your mind clearer. You stop being someone who only consumes information and you become someone who creates. Is where real productivity happens. It's not about doing more things, it's about thinking better and acting with greater clarity. To summarize, ZetlkastN is not a drawer for notes. It's a thinking tool. It works as an external memory, one that frees your mind to think more creatively. It eliminates the blank page problem because you never have to start a project from scratch and it turns learning and creation into a continuous light and natural process. 6. Writing to Think: How Writing Creates Mental Clarity: Now we're going to dive into one of the most important ideas in this module. The idea that writing is thinking. You may have never stopped to reflect on this, but the way you write directly influences the way you understand things. Writing is an act of comprehension. Many people think they write only after they understand something. But in reality, understanding happens while you're you try to explain an idea in words, you often realize you don't fully understand it yet, and this is the true power of Zettelkasten. It makes you think while you write because every note is a small conversation with yourself. You take an idea, you try to put it into simple words, you connect it with other ideas. And through this process, your thinking becomes clearer and clearer. When you write, you transform something abstract, a loose thought into something that can be seen, reviewed and improved. It's exactly in this process of bringing the idea out that it truly takes shape. Many times, you believe you understand a topic until the moment you need to explain it. Then you realize there are gaps, holes in your line of reasoning. That's where Zettelkasten becomes a space for mental clarity because it naturally forces you to write in order to understand. You're not just recording information, you're decoding what that information means to you. The more pieces you have, the easier it becomes to connect them and to build bigger ideas. The act of writing is what solidifies learning. Out it, knowledge stays loose, floating only inside your head. But when you write, that knowledge becomes grounded and starts connecting with other concepts you already understand. It's as if each note were a brick of understanding and each connection where the cement that holds everything together. The more you write, the more your thinking evolves, you begin to realize that ideas don't come from a magical insight. They come from refining what you've already written before. That's why in Zettelkasten, writing is not the end of the process. It's just the means you write to think, you think to connect, and you connect to create. Over time, you realize you no longer need to wait for inspiration because the entire system works in your favor. Each old note inspires you, guides you, and pulls you toward new reflections. Clarity is the result of effort. There is no clarity without mental effort and writing is that effort. It's the exercise of making your thinking clear enough to exist outside your head. The most interesting part is this, when you can explain something complex in simple words, you lock that knowledge in much more deeply. It becomes almost impossible to forget something you've translated clearly for your own mind. Why I often say that Zettelkasten is not a note taking system. It's a thinking system, and writing is what makes that thinking happen. In the next lesson, we'll understand how to structure ideas using different types of notes. Be inside Zettelkasten, not every note is the same. You'll learn how fleeting notes work, how literature notes work, and how permanent notes work, and how each one plays a fundamental role inside your Zettelkasten. 7. Zettelkasten Mental Structure: Fleeting, Literature, and Permanent Notes: Zettelkasten is a method designed for people who want a clearer mental structure. It's based on three main types of notes. Understanding this difference is what allows you to maintain an organized and functional system in the long run. These three types of notes are flitting notes, literature notes, and permanent notes. Each one plays a specific role in your learning and creation process. Let's start with flitting notes. These are notes that appear out of nowhere. Spontaneously. During a reading session, a conversation, or even in the shower, they are quick thoughts, loose notes, and small insights that you want to capture before they disappear. Here, the goal is not to organize. The goal is to capture. For this, we use a space called the inbox inside Obsidian. It exists specifically for this purpose. At this stage, you don't need to worry about structure, formatting or clarity. These notes are temporary. They exist only to get ideas out of your head and make sure you don't lose them. Later on, you'll review them. Refine what makes sense. Discard what doesn't or transform them into permanent notes. Think of flitting notes as the raw draft of your thinking. Now, let's move on to literature notes. These notes are created while you're consuming content, books, videos, articles, and any other source of information. Idea here is to write in your own words, what you understood from the source, not to copy, but to translate your understanding, you record the most important points, the core ideas, and whatever stood out to you from your own perspective. These notes become your reference base inside Zettelkasten. They show where your knowledge came from and which source it was extracted from. And most importantly, the goal is not to save everything. It's to save only what truly makes sense. Finally, we arrive at permanent notes. This is the most important part of Zettelkasten. These are notes you create after reflecting on what you've written. Here, you take ideas from your flitting notes and your literature notes. You reflect on them, you cross reference ideas, and you write them in your own words in a clear and complete way. Each permanent note should contain only one idea, and it should be written in a way that still makes sense months from now. Even a year later. Even with the time passing, you should still fully understand that note because a permanent note represents your real understanding of a piece of knowledge. These notes are connected to each other through links, forming a network of thought, forming your Zettelkasten. So how does all of this connect? Over time, permanent notes naturally start linking to one another. That's when the system begins to think alongside you. You start seeing relationships between topics that once seemed unrelated, and this is exactly the process that turns information into wisdom. So to summarize, fleeting notes capture quick and temporary ideas. Literature notes record what you learn from external sources, and permanent notes represent your consolidated knowledge. In other words, what you truly understand refined into clear connected thinking. 8. What Is Worth Keeping: In this part, we're going to talk about something fundamental inside Zettelkasten. What is truly worth keeping. A very common mistake is thinking that productivity means accumulating information. But in reality, it's exactly the opposite. Information is not knowledge. Today, we consume content all the time, videos, podcasts, posts, books, and many other things. But consuming is not the same as learning. You only truly learn when you process information, when you understand what it really means. This is where Zettelkasten comes in. It's not a place to store everything. It works as a filter, a system that forces you to think before storing anything. Every time you create a note, Deci Ukrainian ask yourself, does this really add something to what I already know? Does this idea connect to one of my goals or to something I'm studying right now? If the answer is no, it's probably not worth keeping. Capturing is different from accumulating. Capturing is a conscious act. It's when you read, reflect, and decide to record only what makes sense to you in the long term. Accumulating is the opposite. It's saving everything, thinking you might use it someday. The problem is that this someday almost never comes. Over time, excess information turns into noise, and noise steals your focus, your clarity, and your time. The key here is to be selective. Store and think more about what you're actually keeping. But how do you decide what to keep? Here's a simple way to think about it. First point, keep what makes you think. If an idea triggered reflection, if it made you change your opinion or if it connected with another note, it's worth keeping. Second point, keep what you intend to use. If it's something you want to apply to a project, to a video, to a class, or to a piece of writing, keep it. Third point, keep what repeats itself. If an idea shows up in different contexts, it's probably important. That usually means it's a core concept, something that connects multiple areas of your knowledge. Everything else that doesn't pass this filter can be let go because information that connects to nothing becomes dead weight inside the system. Another essential point is understanding that keeping is not copying. You don't need to paste an entire paragraph from a book to understand an idea. Just write the essential part. In your own words, that's already enough to reactivate your memory and automatically trigger reflection when you reread it. The strength of Zettelkasten is not in the number of notes you have. It's in the quality of the connections between them. The more you synthesize, the easier it becomes to connect. Everything here requires balance. Balance between consumption and creation. Over time, you'll notice that the way you consume content starts to change. You begin to consume more intentionally, already thinking about what you'll extract from it and how you'll apply it later. This is the point where Zetlcastin stops being just a storage system and becomes a creation tool because everything you consume starts generating something new. You stop accumulating ideas and you become a producer of knowledge. 9. How to Connect Ideas and Build a Knowledge Network: In this lesson, we're going to talk about something that in practice, is what truly brings your Zettelkasten to life. Up until now, you've understood what the method is, how it came about, why it increases productivity, and how to create the three types of notes. Now it's time for you to understand how your notes start to talk to each other. In Zettelkasten, it doesn't matter how many notes you. What really matters is the connections you make between them. Each idea on its own is just an isolated point. It may be interesting, but alone, it won't get you very far. But when you start connecting these points, when one idea leads to another, your thinking becomes more alive. It's at this point that your system stops being just a place to store information and becomes a living organism of thoughts, an organism that expands and grows along with you. When ideas start to relate to each other, you begin to see patterns and connections that weren't obvious before. An insight emerges here, a connection suddenly, you realize you're thinking on a deeper level. At the end of the day, connecting is thinking associatively. It's about making your brain and your digital system work together. When you create a link between two nodes in Obsidian, it's not just a technical connection. It's a connection of meaning. You're essentially saying that one idea connects with the other in some way. It could be because they address the same theme, they compliment each other, or they even contradict each other and that's okay. What matters is recording these connections. Over time, something curious happens. Your brain starts to function this way as well. You begin to think in a more associative way, and you notice that ideas flow more naturally. So how do you create good connections? A good connection starts with a good question. Whenever you're writing a new note and realize it connects with another one, ask yourself the following question. Does this idea complement the other? Is it a practical example, or is it a counterpoint or a different perspective? Ask yourself these questions. These questions help your brain reason in layers, and from them, you'll create the link. But the most important thing here is to note the reason for that connection. It could be a short sentence. For example, note connects with X because both address the same topic. This small context will help you when you revisit the note later. You'll understand exactly why you link those notes. Over time, your Zettelkasten will turn into a true network of knowledge. Each new note will naturally find its place within the structure. The more you write, the more your knowledge expands. Clearer your thinking becomes. Eventually, your system will start working for you. You create a note today. Two or three weeks later, it will automatically connect with another note you didn't even remember. That's when the magic happens. Zetlkistin will reveal connections you hadn't noticed before and learning will stop being linear, it becomes organic. Here's a simple example for you to understand. Let's say you have a note called focus and attention and another note called physiological distraction. Writing about focus, you'll realize that the physical environment has a big impact on distractions. So you create a link between the two notes, both in the focus and attention note and in the physiological distractions note, which talks about physical distractions later. Then you learn about neuroplasticity in the brain and you decide to link that to your focus note. The result, gradually, you create a web of ideas. The more these links grow, the more you start to see how your brain truly thinks, but it's not enough to just create random connections for the sake of having links. The secret is to review and refine them over time. Go back to your Analyze if those connections still make sense. If a connection no longer adds value, you can delete it or create a new one. Slowly, you'll be adjusting everything because Zettelkasten is not a dead archive, it's a living system, a system that grows and changes over time. The more you interact with it, the clearer it will make your thinking. 10. Input and Output: Turning Consumption into Real Production: There is no point in having a Zettelkasten full of notes, full of ideas if none of it turns into action. In the end, what really makes a difference is not how much you write down, but how much you create based on it. The whole purpose of this method is to transform what you consume into something you produce, into something that truly generates value. Up to this point, you have learned how to capture ideas, write with clarity, connect thoughts, and build a living network of knowledge. But now it is time to understand the final point of this process, transformation everything you have learned so far is part of a simple yet powerful cycle, a cycle that defines the difference between someone who merely consumes content and someone who truly learns, connects and creates. It works like this, you consume. This is the input. The moment when ideas come in, you reflect, write, and connect. This is the processing stage where knowledge begins to take shape inside you and finally, you produce something new from it. This is the output, the concrete result of everything that was absorbed and transformed. Is the natural cycle of intentional learning, not of someone who only accumulates information. It is active learning, the kind that turns studying into something productive and creative. But what happens to most people is exactly the opposite ptaa tree cdiatiu which is a Ducite. They stop halfway, they consume, they even take notes, they understand the concept, but they never reach the transformation stage. Ideas get stuck on paper or forgotten inside an app, and this is exactly where Zettelkasten changes everything. Creates a real bridge between consumption and creation. Between I learned this and I built something with this. It forces you to think actively, to question, to relate ideas, and most importantly, to do something with what you learned. So what are input and output? Let's make this very clear. Input is everything you absorb. Books, videos, podcasts, courses, lectures, conversations, observations, everyday experiences. Output is what you do with that. It can be a text, a video, a lesson, a project, a better decision, or even a new way of seeing something. In the end, you are not what you consume. You are what you produce from what you consume, and that is exactly what Zettelkasten teaches you to do. Convert information into wisdom and wisdom into creation. Think of your brain as a knowledge factory. Input is the raw material that comes in. Zettelkasten is the machinery that processes it, and output is the final product, the result of your thinking. But here is the secret. What matters is not the quantity of raw material, but the quality of the processing. If you dump tons of information inside without reflection, the system clogs. It is like dumping truckloads of raw material into a factory with no organization. Nothing useful comes out the other side. Now, if you feed this factory with intention with attention and process each idea with clarity, the result is clean, structured and creative knowledge, and that is what Zettelkasten does. It transforms the chaos of information into something usable. This is where an important point comes in. The problem is not consuming too much. The problem is consuming without intention. It is not about watching ten videos a day. It is about extracting one good idea from a single video, reflecting on it, writing it in your own words, connecting it with what you already know. Turning it into something that is yours. When you do this, learning stops being scattered and starts having direction. This is exactly where Zetlcasting changes the game. It forces you to think before writing and to reflect before storing. How do you transform input into output using Zetlcasting? In practice, the process is very straightforward. You capture the idea, this is the flieting note, the quick note. You rewrite and reflect, this is the literature note where you absorb and understand. Turn it into your own concept. This is the permanent note, the heart of the method. You connect it with other notes creating meaning and relationships, and finally, you generate something new from it. It can be anything, an article, a video, a course, a decision, a business insight, or even a new perception about yourself. A book you read becomes a note. That note connects with another one you wrote months ago and from that connection, an entire project can be born, a new lesson or even a shift in how you think. This is how you turn information into knowledge and knowledge into creation. Everything in life is a matter of balance. You need to consume to build repertoire, but you also need to create to consolidate learning. It's like breathing. Inhaling is consuming. Exhaling is creating. If you only inhale, you suffocate. The ideal scenario is to find a point of harmony, consume with purpose, and produce with clarity. It's not about consuming less, it's about consuming better. As a result. When you start living this way, everything changes. You begin to see the world as a constant source of ideas. E reading, conversation, experience, or observation becomes raw material for your thinking. Obsidian and ZetlcastN stop being just tools and become your mental environment for continuous growth. You stop being an accumulator of ideas and become a creator of meaning, and the most beautiful part is that the cycle never ends. Everything that comes in goes out differently. It comes out transformed. It comes out as something original, something yours. When you learn how to turn consumption into production, knowledge stops being something you have and becomes something you are. And that is exactly what Zettelkasten represents a system that doesn't exist to accumulate ideas, but to transform you into someone capable of creating from them. In the next module, we're going into the practical part. How to bring all of this into Obsidian and see on the screen your own thinking connecting in real time. 11. Creating Your First Vault in Obsidian: Now that obsidian is already installed, in this module, I'm going to show you how to navigate through the obsidian interface and understand where each function is located. Before we actually start using obsidian, we need to understand what a vault is and why everything starts from it. Here we are on the computer screen. When you open obsidian, some options appear right away. You can create a new vault or open a folder as a vault. But what exactly is a vault? The vault is one of the first things you see even before accessing Obsidian's main is basically the space where you store all your notes, your ideas, your connections, your files, and your projects inside Obsidian. Think of a vault as a notebook. Everything you write stays inside a single specific notebook. That notebook is the vault. Inside Obsidian, you can create multiple vaults. You can have a personal vault, a professional vault, a study. This follows the same logic as physical notebooks. Some people don't mix a personal notebook with a study notebook. In obsidian, vaults follow that same logic. Each vault is independent. For example, if you're starting a new project, you can create a vault dedicated only to that project. This way, it doesn't get mixed with other areas of your life. One big advantage is that each vault has its own settings. Each one can have different plugins, different themes, and even different preferences. Obsidian works this way to give you more flexibility. This means you can create as many volts as you want. Without being locked into a rigid structure, by default, obsidian works offline. That means a vault is basically a local folder on your computer or on your phone. Everything you create inside a vault, notes, links, images, documents, and other files. Are stored as text files inside that folder. This brings a big advantage. The files truly belong to you. You don't depend on external servers and you don't need an Internet connection to access your notes. Even though Obsidian is an offline tool, it does support synchronization. You can turn this local storage into Cloud storage. That way, you can sync Obsidian between your computer and your phone. Obsidian itself offers a sync plan. It costs around $4 per month. But if you want to do this for free, you can also use services like Google Drive or ICloud. Throughout the lessons, I'll show you how to do this step by step. To summarize, a vault is the storage system where all your notes live. It works like a notebook. It's a local file system. It works offline, and you can create as many vaults as you want. Let's see how to create a vault in practice. When you open obsidian, this screen appears. In my case, on the left side, I already have some volts created. Here you can see all the volts you've created and the folders where they are stored. These volts are fully local. They are not synced to the cloud. To create a new vault, you click the Create button. Then you choose a name for the vault. The name will be Cursoobsideian. Below that, you select the location where the vault will be created. You click on Select Folder and choose the folder where you want to store the vault. In my case, I'll choose a folder called Obsidian. It's located inside the documents folder on my computer with the folder selected and the name defined. You just click Create. Done. The vault has been created. This is the main Obsidian panel. We briefly saw it in the previous lesson. If you want to create another vault, just click the vault Management button again. That initial screen will appear once more. From there, you can create as many volts as you. Depends entirely on your needs. You can create a vault for projects, another one for studies, another for specific topics. It all depends on how you prefer to organize yourself. Now, I'll create a variation. I'll name this vault my studies. I'll select the same folder and create the vault. Done. Now I have two vaults if I want to switch between. Totally possible. To do this, just click on the name of the current vault and choose which vault you want to switch to. For example, I can switch back to the curso obsidian vault and the change happens instantly. You can have multiple volts, each with a different purpose and all completely independent. In fact, I recommend using this approach. Creating different volts helps avoid clutter and prevents data from getting mixed. Now inside the vault, you'll find some important interface areas. The first area is the file list. This is where all your notes and folders are when you select a file. It appears in the central area of the screen. This is where you write and edit your content. Another important area is the graph view. This is the famous Obsidian graph view. It visually shows how nodes are connected. To demonstrate this, I'll open a vault I was already using a vault called Zettelkasten. Inside it, there are many nodes. When I open the graph view, you can see all the nodes. Connections between them. Some notes are isolated, others are connected to each other. These connected points represent related ideas, and this is exactly what brings the system to life. In addition to that, obsidian has many other features. 12. Markdown in Obsidian: A Basic Guide to Writing Notes: Now that you have created your vault, it's time to learn how to write inside obsidian. Obsidian uses a language called Markdown, and don't worry. It's not complicated at all. Markdown is simply a fast and simple way to format text. It was created to help you write with more flow without relying on buttons, menus, or formatting toolbar. Idea is that you use Obsidian mostly through the keyboard. You don't need to use the mouse very much. This is very different from most productivity software, and the reason for that is exactly the use of Markdown. Obsidian's goal is to increase your productivity while you write, and Markdown helps with that. Instead of interrupting your thinking to click Bold, Italic or heading buttons. Everything directly from the keyboard using simple symbols and you keep writing without breaking your writing flow or logical reasoning. Another important point is that the files are very simple. They use the dot MD extension. That means you can open your notes in any text editor. Even outside obsidian. This ensures that your knowledge is never locked into a single application. Now, to start using obsidian in practice, let's look at the basic format these are the formats you will use most in your daily work. This here is a note created by default. We're going to delete everything inside it and make a few changes. The name of this note will simply be note, the name is already changed. This field at the top is where we define the notes name. Now, if you want to create a title inside the note, a highlighted title, you can use a hashtag. A single hashtag creates a larger title. I'll write note. Now let's add another title. Use two hash tags, space and write node two and the third format works like this. The hashtags, space, node three. These are three heading levels you can create. The fewer hashtags you use, the larger the title will be. This is very useful when you're creating larger documents and want to organize content into sections. Now let's talk about bold text. Here we have a normal text. To make this text bold, you use two asterisks before and after the word. I'll write text done. The word is now highlighted in bold. If you want to use Italics, it's even simpler. You just use a single asterisk before and after the. And press Enter, and the text will be formatted in Italics. You can also combine headings with Italics, using a hash tag and then italic text. Now I'll create another example to compare. This one is normal text, and this one is bold. Another very useful feature is task lists. They allow you to create lists and markers inside obsidian. To create a simple list, you can use a hyphen followed by a space. This automatically creates an item. I'll write item one, item two, item three. Is also another way to create lists using the asterisk. You type an asterisk, then space and create another type of list. I'll write again, item one, item two, item three. To create a numbered list, the process is very simple. You type one, dot, space, and start writing. First item, second item, third item. All of this is done using only the keyboard. No buttons, no menus, no external tools. This is very different from other software. Now let's move to a very important feature. The checkbox. It's used to indicate whether a task has been completed or not. To create a checkbox, you type a hyphen. Then space open square brackets, add a space, close the brackets, add another space, and that's it. The checkbox is created. Now I'll write a personal task. Read a chapter of a book. I'll create another checkbox. Review the welcome lesson. In this case, I'll keep just these two tasks. When the checkbox is empty, it means the task is not completed. When you click it, it becomes checked. For example, if I finish reading the book, the task will be marked as completed. That's how checkboxes work. Unchecked means pending, checked means completed. This is the same format that data view automatically recognizes. Later in the course, we'll explore this in more depth. But from now on, you can already create task lists inside your notes. You can also create quotes and you can also create links. Quotes are used to highlight phrases from authors or important ideas. Create a quote, you use the greater than symbol. Then you write the phrase. I'll add a quote from Steve Jobs. Focus is the art of saying no, Steve Jobs. Now I'll adjust the text. I'll add quotation marks to indicate it's a quote, and I'll put the text in Italics. That makes it look even better. And that's it. This is how the quote looks. Our quote now looks like this. Now, to add links, the process is very simple. You can add a link directly. In this case, the link stays visible or you can add a link inside a text. To do that, you just follow this structure. I'll write. I am a content creator. Now I open square brackets and I write YouTube. Next, I move to the second part. I open parentheses and paste the link where this text should point to. After that, just press Enter, done. This text now works as a clickable link, and it can be any link. Now, talk about images. There are two main ways to add images in obsidian. The first one is using Markdown. To do that, you start with an exclamation mark. Then you open square brackets and define a name for the image. Next, you open parentheses and specify exactly where the image is located. You also need to include the filename and the image format. For example, this image I have is located inside my Obsidian folder. The filename is image dot PNG, so I inform the full hard drive, user folders, sub folders, and the exact file name. Done. The image now appears inside the note. That's one way to add images. The second way is by using a direct link from the Internet. You copy the image link, then you use the exclamation mark again, open square brackets and pass the image link inside the parentheses. The image now appears inside the note. That's one way to add images. The second way is by using a direct link from the Internet. You copy the image link. Then you use the exclamation mark open square brackets and paste the image link inside the parenthesis. If something looks strange like duplicated brackets, you just adjust it manually, delete the extra parts and keep only the correct structure. Done. The image now appears normally inside the node. There is also an even simpler method. You can just drag the file directly into obsidian. Drag the image, drop it inside the node, and it appears automatically. For many people, this is the most practical method. Now let's talk about code blocks. If you want to write a piece of code, a command or any text that should not be formatted, you use three Bactis at the beginning, and at the end, you open with three Bactis, optionally define the language or view type, write the code, and close with three Bactis again, done. The code block is now highlighted. This is great for showing examples, commands, data view blocks, or any technical content that needs to stay separate from normal text. Another very useful feature is divider lines. They help visually separate sections of content. To create a divider line, you type three hyphens and press Enter. Horizontal line is created. You can repeat this as many times as you want. This helps a lot when organizing larger texts and separating content blocks inside a note. Now, what's the logic behind markdown? The idea of markdown is simple. You don't depend on the interface, you depend on writing. That gives you more speed, more practicality, and more productivity. Obsidian works in the opposite way of many traditional tools, which rely on lots of buttons and often break your thinking. Obsidian, markdown is interpreted automatically while you write. In edit mode, the text stays clean and simple. When you switch to reading mode, everything appears fully formatted. In other words, markdown exists to make your thinking clearer. No more complicated. One more important point. If you ever need to open your notes in another application, Markdown ensures everything remains readable, even outside obsidian. If the app doesn't interpret markdown, the text still appears clean without strange symbols or let's move to a practical example. I'll create a new note together with you. The name of the note will be focus. The title of the note will be a question. What is focus? Right below, I'll add a quote from Steve Jobs. Focus is the art of saying no. Steve Jobs. I'll put this quote in Italics to improve the visual style. Now I'll write the definition of focus. I'll make it bold. Focus is the ability to direct attention to a single task. Now I'll write another sentence. Distraction is anything that competes with that. Next, I'll create another section, how to develop focus. Now, I'll use a numbered list. First, eliminate physical distractions. Second, reduce digital interruptions. Third, define short and intense work periods. Done. The note is now organized and well structured. You view this note in reading mode, it appears exactly like this, just like in other text editors. Now, let's go back to edit mode. Overtime, we'll explore more advanced features, plugins, tables, columns, extra blocks, visual themes, and even custom shortcuts. But for now, the most important thing is to master the basics because once you understand the basics, you understand the entire logic behind how obsidian works. 13. Folder Structure in Obsidian: When to Use It and How to Organize: All right. In the previous lesson you learned what markdown is and how to format your text. Now, in this lesson, we're going to talk about folder structures in Obsidian and what folders are within obsidian. Folders help organize your notes in a more visual way, like a file explorer. You can separate your notes into different themes and project folders however you want. While other tools often require you to organize everything into a single folder, Obsidian lets you connect your knowledge through links. So think of it this way. Folders will help you with personal organization, but the connections you make will create a smarter organization. When should you use folders and when should you not? People prefer having a well defined structure through folders, and that's fine. It's great for those who work with separate projects, different clients or topics with a clear beginning, middle, and end, all with the idea of more organization. For example, you can have a folder structure like this. I'll open the folders and I have a folder for studies and personal ideas and another for projects. You can absolutely make this type of organization separate all the nodes related to these categories. But if your focus is on working with more free flowing and spontaneous ideas, it might be better to use fewer folders in obsidian. Why? Because when you categorize too much, you risk stiffening your organization and making it harder for your ideas to connect. Knowledge is linear. It mixes and expands. Obsidian works better when you give space for these connections to form naturally. Here's the tip. If your use is more operational, use folders to organize. But if your goal is more conceptual and free, use fewer folders and let the connections do all the work. Now, how do we create a folder in practice? Well, to create a folder, the process is simple. First, we create a new node and click the button to create a new folder. We can also right click and insert a new node, a new folder, a new canvas, or even a new database. Let's add a new folder here. I'll click the button. Name of this folder will be daily notes. You can also create sub folders within folders, just like I did here in this option. So in daily notes, I can create a new subfolder, a folder for a specific month. Let's create a new folder for January, another for February, and so on. Inside these folders, the daily notes will be organized within each respective. You create your folders, be careful not to overdo it. The more folder levels and sub folders you have, the harder it will be to navigate. So the key here in your vault is to keep the structure simple and functional, something that you can look at and immediately understand in an objective way. And how would the organization of the folders I created look? I'll drag this daily notes note into my folder group, and inside your folder use each one for a specific purpose. For example, in my studies folder, I can place all my notes related to notes, research, and many other things. In the ideas folder, I can put ideas I had about business, projects, and many other things. In my daily notes, I can treat it like a journal. In the projects folder, you can put everything that involves both personal and professional matters such as actions, planning, and many other things. This structure already gives you a solid base to develop your vault. Over time, you'll notice that the system will mold itself to your style. For example some folders will stop appearing while others will naturally emerge. This happens with the help of some plugins we'll use throughout the course. Another important point is that the structure you create today doesn't have to be the structure you'll use forever. The important thing is to start simple so you can understand how the app works. Over time, you'll find the balance between personal organization through folders, and a more logical organization that comes through the connections, which we can visualize within the graph itself. When this happens, obsidian adapts to your workflow. Summarize, folders in obsidian serve to visually organize your notes, but they are not mandatory within obsidian. If you prefer a more organized structure with everything divided into specific categories, it's highly recommended to use folders. But if your style is more free flowing, based on the connections between ideas in Obsidians graph, it might be better to avoid folders and let things flow naturally. And remember, obsidian is a completely flexible tool. It should adapt to your thinking style, not the other way around. 14. Backlinks, Tags, and Links: Connecting Notes in Practice: So now that you've already learned how to create a vault, how Markdown formatting works, and how the folder structure works inside Obsidian, it's time to understand how nodes connect and what really makes Obsidian a productivity tool that is different from the others. When we talk about connections, they happen when nodes talk to each other. This process happens through the Zettelkasten method where each node represents a Links are the lines that connect those points. The more connections you create, the more depth your system gains. To do this, we use links, backlinks, and tags. But what exactly are links inside Obsidian? Links are the most fundamental feature of Obsidian. They are what transform isolated nodes into a true interconnected knowledge system. Now, how do we create a link in practice? How do we make this connection inside a node? We are here inside Obsidian. And in practice, the process is very simple. I have this note here explaining what focus is. Inside it, I've written some notes, and I can create a link directly within this content. To create a link, you type two square brackets and then select the node you want to connect. This moment, Obsidian shows all the existing nodes. If the node doesn't appear, you can search for it manually. There are basically two ways to create this connection. Here, for example, I'm going to connect this note with another node, and the link will look like this. When I click on this link, I'm redirected to the related note. In this case, it's the note where we presented Markdown formatting. Of course, this is just a test, a simulation. But imagine we're talking about the topic of focus. Within this topic, we can create connections with other related subjects. For example, I want to create a note about distraction. I write the word distraction. I add two square brackets, I close the brackets. Obsidian automatically suggests creating a new node. I delete the asterisk that appears, and that's it. The link mentioned has been created. If I click on this link, Obsidian automatically creates the new node. Going back to the focus note. Connection already appears there and when I click it, I'm taken to the newly created node. This system expands as you create new nodes and new connections. Here, for example, we have the main connection with focus and focus is linked to distraction, which is linked to other nodes that I developed. The more you develop this, the more your knowledge map expands. It can reach a point where it looks visually like this. All of this happens naturally. You create nodes and connect ideas. Now what are backlinks? Backlinks are returning connections. Every time a node is mentioned in another node, Obsidian automatically creates a connection back. In practice, it's as if each node is aware of all the other nodes that connect to it. Here in Obsidian, we can use the backlinks feature. The process is simple. You click on the three dots of the node. Select the document backlinks option. Obsidian shows all the notes that mentioned that note. In the case of the focus note, it hasn't been mentioned in any other note, so no backlinks appear. That happens because it is the main note, but when we open the distraction note, it already shows the mentions coming from the focus note and we can visualize all these connections. This helps a lot with organization and also with building more connected thinking. Over time, you start noticing relationships between ideas that you hadn't noticed before. This strengthens your neural connections and as a result, improves learning, improves professional performance. And many other areas of your life. Now, I'm going to create some notes together with you and create connections between them to better illustrate this. I'm going to create a note called focus and attention. I'll create another one called neuroplasticity, another one called productivity, and another one called work environment. Now I want to create connections between all of them. How do I do that in practice? Inside the focus note, I start adding more content. I make some adjustments and expand the note. Now, right at the beginning of the text, I can create a mention. Remove the bold formatting and create a link to focus and attention. I close the brackets, done. This is my first connection if I find another mention of focus and attention in the text. I do the same thing. I repeat this process whenever it makes sense. This way, I create a network of connections inside the note. Here, the work environment note also appears, which is an interesting topic. I create a link to it. We also have productivity habits. The word that matters here is productivity. I create the connection. Other important word is neuroplasticity. I create that connection as well. Done. Inside this text, I've connected all the related notes. Now I know exactly which topics relate to the main note and inside the other nodes, I can also create connections back. For example, I open the neuroplasticity node and add content. Neuroplasticity is the brain's ability to structurally change according to repeated stimuli and habits over time. Here, the term biological mechanism appears, which is an interesting topic, so I can create a new note from it. I select the term. Create the note and it's already born connected. Now I go back to the neuroplasticity note, analyze new possibilities, and continue creating connections in the focus and attention note as well. We can also create another connection. Here, I've already connected one subnode with another subnode. I kept the main connection, but I also connected this note to another subnode. In addition to that, I created one extra. Is basically how our knowledge starts to expand through the process of connections between nodes inside Obsidian. Besides direct links, Obsidian also has a very important feature called tags. Tags work like a kind of filter. They function as a grouping system, and they help separate nodes by topic, content, context, and many other possibilities. This type of separation can be done even when nodes are not directly connected to each other. Example, you can create a tag. I'll add a few tags here. You press the hash tag key and write the name of the tag. I'll add a tag called focus. In the neuroplasticity note, I'll add another hash tag. I'll use the tag brain because this topic is related to a neurological approach, while the other one is more related to focus and productivity. In the focus and attention note, I can add another hash tag. I'll use the focus tag again. In biological mechanism, I can add the brain tag. You do this process gradually. You can use as many hash tags as you want inside your notes. Tags work like labels. They help you group and organize content. Example, imagine you have a personal note. This note is about books. Inside it, you can mention several books. The first book could be Rich Dad Poor Dad. The second could be the alchemist by Paolo Quello. And the third could be any other book you want to add. These book notes can receive the tag book. Inside each page, you add the hashtag book. Book here as well. These notes can be used as a record of what you learned from each book, and you can connect the topics covered in those books with other notes in your vault. This is something very powerful. If you want to see only notes related to books, you just filter by the book hashtag. Obsidian will show all notes in that category. If you want to go further, you can separate books by categories like fiction, business, philosophy, and others. This makes the organization and grouping process even easier. Now, a very common question comes up. When should I use links and when should I use tags? My recommendation is the following. Use links when you want to create a real connection between ideas, a direct connection within your line of thought. Even if the topics are not in the same category. Links are meant to connect concepts. Tags, on the other hand, are ideal for grouping. You can use tags when you want to organize notes by topic to make future searches even when there is no direct connection between ideas. In summary, tags help you navigate content through grouping. Now, I created new notes. I made connections between them. I separated them using some tags, and now I'll show you a very interesting feature, the Obsidian Graph, the diagram that was opened before. Now let's view it in an organized way. To open the graph, you click on Open Graph View. The graph will open like this. Now, I'll create a new tab. In this new tab, I'll select a specific folder. I'll keep this folder selected and place the graph wherever I want. It can be here or here. It will look something like this. This is my graph. It's already well organized. Very clear that the focus node connects to several other nodes. These nodes create connections between themselves, and overall, they all relate back to the focus topic. The connections created by links are not just for visualization in the graph. You can also filter these connections using tags. How do you do that? You click on the gear icon. Select the option to group by tags. Obsidian organizes the graph according to tag groups. This greatly improves visualization. You get a clear sense of the relationships. You can zoom in, move notes around, click on specific nodes, open content directly from the graph. In addition, you can use the search bar. For example, search for the focus tag. Obsidian will show all notes that have that tag. This is basically how links, backlinks and tags work in Obsidian. Now, a practical tip. When creating links, don't overthink it. If ideas relate to each other, even slightly make the connection. It's much better to have an organic network of connected thoughts than a rigid and stiff structure if over time, a connection stops making sense. Just delete it. Obsidian handles that naturally, and remember, the goal is to create a system that follows your line of thinking. Links, backlinks, and tags are what truly give Obsidian its power. They transform your vault into a living thinking ecosystem where each note talks to the other and knowledge starts to form in a broader and deeper. 15. Graph View: Understanding Your Idea Network: In the previous lesson, I showed you how to create links, back links, and tags. And in this lesson, we're going to continue. Here, I'm going to talk to you about the graph, which is one of the most interesting parts of obsidian, because this is where your system stops being just a list of notes and starts becoming a living system of interconnected ideas, where you can literally see the Zettel Casten in front of your eyes. But what exactly is the graph? The graph is like a visual map of your Zetlkstn inside Obsidian. It works as a visual representation of your thinking system. Each dot represents a note and each line between them represents a connection you create. In other words, each line is a link between two nodes. The graph visually shows how your thinking is being structured inside obsidian. Over time, you start to see how nodes connect naturally. So how do you access the graph in practice? To open the graph inside Obsidian, go to the left side bar and select the option open graph view. When you do this, the graph diagram will appear. It shows all the interconnected nodes, along with the connections you've already created, and you begin to see how your Zettel casting takes visual shape. Do you remember when I said that Zettelkasten is based on connection? Link you create between nodes in obsidian is visually represented by a line in the graph. That specific line represents a connection between two nodes. These connections are a direct reflection of associative memory in the brain because the brain builds bridges between ideas, bridges that strengthen over time, and the more you write and connect. The more this system grows and the more connections emerge. How do we use the graph to think better? The graph is not just a nice visual element. It's a reflection tool. When you observe the connections in the graph, you start to understand how your knowledge is organized, and the most interesting part, you begin to notice new ideas, ideas that emerge from connections you never imagined before. For example, one idea might be close to another called motivation. By seeing this visually, you realize there's a possibility of creating a third note, one that connects both ideas. That's exactly how etlcastin works in practice. It stimulates creative thinking and makes knowledge multiply through association. Inside obsidian, you can also customize the graph's appearance. To make it more functional for your workflow, when you open the graph settings, you'll find several customization options. Filter section, you can choose which elements you want to visualize. For example, I keep the tags option enabled because that allows me to see nodes separated by tags. If you want to visualize attachments, such as documents, images, or other files. You can simply enable that option and the attachments will appear connected to their related nodes. Personally, I usually keep this option disabled. There's also the option to show only existing files and the option to show orphan notes. But what are orphan notes? Orphan nodes are nodes that have no connections. They are not linked to any other node. For example, this specific note here has no connections at all. Another interesting feature is the group's option. With it, you can separate the graph by tags and customize the visualization using colors. For example, can create a group called hash tag focus and set the color red for all nodes that have the focus tag. I can create another group for the book tag and set those nodes to yellow. I can do the same for the brain tag. This way, all nodes with that tag are visually separated. This helps a lot with reading and understanding the graph. In the appearance tab, you can adjust aesthetic details, for example, enabling arrows on the connections. Personally, I don't usually use this option. You can also adjust text opacity, the size of the nodes, which are the dots and the thickness of the lines. Like to make the lines slightly thicker because it improves visibility, there's also an animation option, which is purely aesthetic. It shows the graph forming with animation. Nodes appear and connect gradually. Another important set of options is graph forces. These forces work like a kind of gravity. You can adjust the center force. The higher the value, the closer the nodes get. The lower the value, the more spread out they become. By default, the value is balanced. There's also repulsion force, which controls how much nodes push away from each other and link force. Controls the tension of the connections. You can increase or decrease the distance between notes. I usually leave everything at the default, but this is completely up to you. You can also open a specific note alongside the graph. Just select the note you want and drag it to any side of the screen, to the left, to the right, downwards, or to any corner you prefer. This depends on your workflow. Personally, I like using the graph in this viewing mode, and that's actually how you've seen the graph throughout the course. The beginning, when you're still creating your first notes, the graph will look simple with few notes and few connections. But as you write, think, and connect ideas, the graph grows and it grows naturally. The most beautiful part is that this growth reflects your own learning process. In summary, the graph is a visual representation of the Zetlcastan. It shows what's happening behind your notes, how ideas are organized, how they intersect, and how they strength. Using the graph is literally seeing your thinking in motion, and as you continue writing, connecting, and revisiting ideas, this system becomes your own continuous learning network, a mirror of your intellectual growth inside obsidian. 16. Properties in Obsidian and Metadata Usage: Now that you already know how to connect ideas and visualize everything in the graph, it's time to understand one of the most powerful parts of Obsidian. Properties, also known as metadata. Properties work as complementary information for your notes. They do not appear as part of the main text. They are used to organize, filter, and better understand the purpose of each note. But what exactly are properties? Properties are blocks of metadata that appear at the top of a they are structured fields that describe characteristics of the node, such as context, origin, status, category, importance, dates, relationships with other notes, tags, and many other types of information. In other words, while the body of the node stores ideas and thoughts, properties store structural information about that specific note. Visually, they appear at the top section of the note, organized like a form. Technically, properties are placed at the top of the note, and they use the yaml format, which is a simple writing standard, lightweight and easy to read, both for humans and for systems. A practical example of a property would look like this. Here, I created a property with a title, author, creation date, and some tags. Of course, you can add many other types of information that depends on your creativity and your needs. Property usually looks something like this. The best part is that this information does not appear in the body of the text, but Obsidian can still use it for filtering, searching and even automations. For example, I added a property called review. If I want to filter notes that have not been reviewed yet or notes that have already been reviewed. This is extremely useful for projects or workflows. How do you perform this type of filtering? You press Control plus P and search for Properties view or show properties. This panel will open and there you can choose which property you want to filter. Say I want to filter by the review property to see which notes have already been reviewed and which ones haven't. You simply select that property, and Obsidian shows all the corresponding notes. For example, this specific note has not been reviewed yet. That's why it appears as false when it gets reviewed. It will appear as true. This makes task tracking much easier and greatly improves project development. You can also filter notes by author. Imagine you made several notes based on a specific author, books, quotes, ideas. Now you want to see only the notes related to that author. This is completely possible. You just select the author property, type the name, and Obsidian filters, all related notes. This greatly improves content visualization. But after all, what are metadata used for? Metadata provide context and structure to your knowledge. They help you quickly identify the type of note, the topic, the origin, the status. Any information that helps with decision making. In practice, this can work like this for studying. You can use properties such as source, book, author, year for projects. You can use properties like status. In progress, completed deadline for knowledge management. You can use properties like idea, category, importance, and the best. All of this is fully customizable. You create only the fields that makes sense for you. Now, how do you add and edit properties in practice? Here in Obsidian, I'll create a new node together with you. The name of the node will be properties to add a property. You click on the top area of the node on the three dots, and the properties section appears automatically. From there, you choose the field. Example, text, list, checkbox, date, title, author, tags, and other formats. If you choose a list, it works like a selection, for example, book lesson project. You can edit the property name, create new ones, rename delete. You can also create text properties, title, author, and even reuse existing tags. You can add a date, select a month, a year, or a specific date. You can also add a checkbox to mark something as done or not done. The most interesting part is that Obsidian automatically recognizes all these properties and uses this data when search filtering and organizing notes later in the course. We'll also use plugins that work together with properties to create tables, summaries, and advanced visualizations. If you want to change a property later, you just click on it, edit it, and that's it. But why is all of this so powerful? When you use properties consistently, your vault starts to function like a knowledge database. For example, you can show all book notes created in a specific. All notes that still need to be reviewed or all concepts that belong to a certain category. This transforms Obsidian, not just into a note taking tool, but into a semantic search system. Almost as if it understands the meaning of your notes. One practical tip. Don't start by creating too many properties. Start simple. Use only the fields that truly help you in your daily work. For example, if you wrote down something you learned, you can add a source property or a category. If you want to review that content later, you can mark a review checkbox. Over time, you will refine your properties according to your real needs and if you want to go even further. Are plugins, such as Data view that allow you to use these properties to create tables, automatic lists, summaries, and even automations inside Obsidian. All of this will be explored later, so you can extract the maximum value from properties inside Obsidian. 17. Inbox: Capturing and Processing Ideas: One of the biggest advantages of Obsidian is that it is not only used to organize ideas. It is also the perfect place to capture ideas, especially those that appear out of nowhere in the middle of the day. That's where the concept of the inbox comes in. And what is the inbox? Inbox is your inbox inside Obsidian. It is the starting point of your entire knowledge flow. It is the place where you dump everything before organizing it. It can be a quick thought, a sentence, an idea, a book excerpt, or a question. In other words, everything goes there. The idea is simple. When you use an inbox, you capture first and organize later. This prevents you from losing good ideas by trying to decide at the wrong moment where they should go. It prevents you from losing ideas by overthinking where they belong. But why is this important? Many people waste time trying to organize too much at the wrong time. The problem with doing that is that it breaks your creative flow. The inbox frees you from that because it is a space where nothing needs to be perfect. The important thing is to get ideas out of your head and store them in a safe place so that later when you have time, you can process those ideas and decide where they should go. This process is the same one used by productivity systems, but adapted for Obsidian. How do we create an inbox in Obsidian? To create an inbox, the process is very simple. You create a folder called Inbox inside your vault. I will create a folder together with you. You right click, then click on New folder and the folder name will be Inbox. Recommend keeping this folder at the top. That way, it's easier to store ideas quickly. Next, you go to settings, select the files and links option, and in the default location for new nodes, you change this setting. By default, it is set to volt root. You select the option, same folder as specified. Right below, you choose which folder it should be. In this case, the inbox folder. Now, what happens? Every note you create and every quick text you create will automatically be sent to the inbox folder. This works like a digital inbox, how do we capture ideas? So they are automatically sent to the inbox. Are several ways to do this. One of the main ways I like to use is the shortcut Control plus N. Every time you press Control plus N, a new note is created, and that note is automatically stored inside the inbox folder. The best part is that later, you can take these notes and move them to another location when it makes sense. In addition, there is an alternative way. You can use a community plugin called Quick Add. With it, you can add instant notes. And if you use Obsidian on your phone, all quick notes you create can also be sent to the Inbox. There is also another alternative method that allows you to create instant notes, which are automatically redirected to the inbox folder. The secret of this strategy is simple. Do not overthink. If an idea comes up, a note, write it down, even if it seems confusing at the moment, or if you think it's not worth saving. I recommend saving it. That's exactly why the inbox exists. Later, you review it. When your inbox has several accumulated notes, it's time to process them. Where the entire reasoning logic comes in. The use of the Zettelkasten method that you learned throughout this course, you open each note and decide what to do with it. If the note is disposable, you delete it. If it's a work in progress note, you move it to a process folder. If it connects with something you already have, you create links. If it's a consolidated insight, you turn it into a permanent notes. This process turns the inbox into a creation engine. It stops being just a repository of notes and becomes a real knowledge filter, keeping your productivity flow light. The golden rule when using the inbox is simple. Do not turn the inbox into a permanent storage of notes. Whenever you review your notes, move each one to its proper place. If possible, do this daily or at least once a week. Way, the inbox does not become just a place to accumulate disposable notes. The goal is for the inbox to always be clean. This brings more clarity, including to the Zetlcasting concept itself. One interesting thing you can do with inbox is to combine it with automatic templates, something we will cover later in this course. This way, you can create a standard model for each type of note. This model can include date, source, a quick summary, next steps, tags, and other information. That way, every idea created inside the inbox is already minimally organized according to dates and tags. 18. Library in Obsidian: Building Your Knowledge Archive: Up to this point, you have learned how to capture ideas, process information, and create connections. Now, I will show you how to transform all of this into a personal knowledge library. We have already covered the concept of folder structure in previous lessons, and now I will show you how to put all of this organization into practice. All of this is done through the Obsidian library, but what exactly is the library? The library is the main part of your vault. It is the space where your permanent notes live, your book summaries, your ideas, your projects, and many other important notes. Everything stored inside the library represents content in its final. In other words, every node that is created, processed and refined in the inbox. As it develops, it is moved into the library, which is the central part of your vault structure. Each node is an independent piece, but together, they form a living knowledge system. So how do you structure your library? There is no single correct way to organize a library, but there are best practices that work very well. One example of a folder structure could look like this. First, you have the inbox folder, then a processing stage, and finally, the library itself. When you open the library, you will find subfolders. These subfolders are part of the final organization of your content. Is where the definitive organization actually happens, and how do you create a subfolder? The process is very simple. I will create a subfolder together with you. You click on the new folder button. The name of the folder will be Projects in progress. Then you drag this folder into the main library folder and it becomes part of the core structure. These are the folders I personally keep inside my library. I really like this kind of division because it maintains a natural flow from capturing content to reflection to consolidation, and finally to application. Each folder represents a different stage of your thinking process. The most important that the library is the final destination of your organization. In other words, the place where content is already reviewed, connected and ready to be reused. But how is the library fed? The library does not start fully formed. It grows over time as you continue using Obsidian, every time you process a note in the inbox and realize that the idea is good enough to keep. You move that note into the library. But before doing that, refine the note. Add tags to make future searches easier. Create links to related notes. Add properties and metadata such as topic, source, author date or any other criteria that make sense to you. Feels relevant, also write a personal reflection about what that idea represents to you. This process turns a simple piece of text into active knowledge, something you can consult and apply whenever you want. Over time, your library becomes an extension of your mind. Each note represents a piece of your learning, and Obsidian connects all of this in a single place. Difference is that unlike our memory, Obsidian does not forget and it also allows you to discover connections that you might never have consciously noticed. With time, your vault begins to function like a second brain, where knowledge is alive, interconnected, and constantly growing. How do you use the library in your daily life? The library is not a place to leave ideas forgotten. It is an environment for consultation and creation. For example, writing a video script, you can open a folder of concepts and search for notes related to the topic. Based on your previous research, when preparing a technical course, you can gather study notes and also book notes related to the subject and when making important decisions. You can revisit concepts that helped you in the past. This means the library works as a personal reference system. A mental database. That accelerates creative thinking and improves decision making. Inside Obsidian, organization does not rely only on folders. The real secret lies in the intelligent use of tags, links, and metadata. That is what creates smart relationships between notes. You can think of folders as the skeleton of the system and tags, links and metadata as the veins. What makes knowledge circulate? What gives vitality to the system? Over time, you will notice that ideas start to group naturally, and the library begins to reflect not only what you have learned but also how you think. That is why from time to time, it is very valuable to revisit your library, open old notes, review them, refine them, and even update content. This process keeps the system light, coherent and aligned with your intellectual evolution. 19. Keyboard Shortcuts in Obsidian: Boosting Productivity with Hotkeys: Now in this lesson, I'm going to show you one of the simplest features, but one that makes a huge difference in how you use Obsidian. In this lesson, we're going to talk about keyboard shortcuts. These are shortcuts that make Obsidian faster, smoother, and much more productive. When you learn to use shortcuts automatically, you almost completely stop depending on the mouse. This completely changes the way you use the software. When you are writing, researching, or navigating between notes, the biggest enemy of productivity is stopping your thinking to click through menus. Every second you spend using the mouse to find a specific function is a second you leave your mental flow and keyboard shortcuts exist exactly for that reason. To keep your flow, they allow you to act inside Obsidian in the same way you think. But how do you see the keyboard shortcuts in Obsidian? To do this in practice, go to settings. Then click on hotkeys. Inside this section, you'll see all the keyboard shortcuts available in Obsidian. There are many different functions listed here. One very interesting thing is that some shortcuts are empty and that means you can create custom shortcuts for those functions. For example, let's say you often export notes as PDFs. You can create a specific shortcut to export to PDF. Just click the button to add a shortcut. This happens because Obsidian has a very large number of features and not all of them come with shortcuts configured by default. Now, I'll show you some essential keyboard shortcuts. Are many shortcuts that can greatly improve how you use Obsidian. That's why I'll leave a PDF in the resources section. In this PDF, you'll find all the shortcuts we cover in this lesson. If you want to undo any action in Obsidian, just press Control plus Z. This undoes the last action. You want to redo what you just undid, press Control plus Y. If you select some text and press Control plus X, the text will be cut. To copy text, select it and press Control plus C, to paste, press Control plus V. If you want to select all the content in a note, press Control plus A. You press Control plus Home, you'll be taken to the beginning of the note. If you press Control plus, you'll go to the end of the note. If you press Control plus D, the current line will be deleted. This is very useful for quick edits. Now, let's talk about Markdown formatting. If you want to make text bold, select the text and press Control plus B. It will instantly become bold. If you want to make text Italic, select the text and press Control plus I. Removes the need to type asterisks manually, and it saves a lot of time when using Obsidian. If you want to turn text into a link, select the text and press Control plus K, a link will be created automatically. To create a new node in Obsidian, just press Control plus N, a new note will be created. If you want to close a tab, instead of using the mouse, press Control plus W. The tab will close automatically. If you accidentally close the tab and want to reopen it, press Control plus Shift plus T. The closed tab will be restored. If you want to create a new node in a new tab, press Control plus Shift plus. Creates a new node in a separate tab. If you want to quickly search for something in Obsidian, press Control plus O. The quick search bar will open. If you want to perform a deeper search inside the content of notes, press Control plus Shift plus F. Here, you can search for words, phrases, or tags. This search scans the internal content of notes, not just file names. If you want to open the command palette, press Control plus B. It shows all available functions in Obsidian. Functions from installed plugins. If you want to switch between edit mode and reading mode, press Control plus E. Press it again and you'll return to edit mode. If you want to open the Graph View in Obsidian, press Control plus G. The graph will open automatically. These are some of the main keyboard shortcuts you can use in Obsidian. They help optimize your workflow and make the software much more fluid to use. If you're looking for a specific shortcut or if you want to create a new one, just go back to settings then open hotkeys and configure everything in the way that makes the most sense for. 20. How to Customize Obsidian’s Appearance: So in this lesson, I'm going to show you how you can customize the appearance of your Obsidian. Because let's be honest, even though Obsidian is a very powerful piece of software, it's a place where you will spend hours writing, and since you'll spend a lot of time in it, it needs to be comfortable for your eyes because if you don't adjust the software to match your style, you will inevitably get tired of using it. To do this, we're going to use the appearance section inside Obsidian. So what is the appearance area in Obsidian? It's the panel where you adjust everything related to obsidian's visual style, themes, fonts, colors, spacing, icons, the entire visual aesthetic of the application. But why customize the appearance of Obsidian? Because a good visual setup directly influences your focus. When you adjust the appearance correctly, using Obsidian for long periods becomes much more comfortable. Writing becomes more fluid. Visual organization becomes clearer and you feel more immersed in your own system. In other words, a well configured appearance allows you to use Obsidian for much longer without fatigue and without visual discomfort. So how do you access this area? To access the appearance section in Obsidian, go to settings. Then click on appearance. Here, you'll find several important settings. The first one is the base theme. This is where you define the main theme of your Obsidian. Are two options dark mode and light mode. Since my operating system is set to dark mode, Obsidian automatically uses dark mode. If you switch to light mode, this is what Obsidian looks like in its light version. Some people prefer this mode, but personally, I prefer using dark mode, going back to the settings. Just below that, we have the accent color option. Here, you choose the accent color for your Obsidian. By default, it's purple, which is the original color of the software, but you can change it. For example, if you choose green, Obsidian will use that color as the accent. I'll reset it back to the default. We also have the themes option. Here, you manage the themes you've installed from the community, and you can switch between the default theme and community made themes. To install a new theme, just click on manage, and you'll see many themes created by the community. If I choose a specific theme I click Install and use, and Obsidian immediately changes its appearance. In this case, it switched to a yellow tone. It looks different and customized. If you want to go back to the default style, just click Default. Everything returns to the original look. In other words, there are many themes available that allow you to further customize your Obsidian experience. Now let's move to the font tab. Here we have some important settings. First, the interface font. This defines the font used in menus, buttons and titles. Next, we have the text font. This defines the font used in the text you write and read. We also have the monospace font. Is used for code, blocks, lists, and other technical elements. To change any of these fonts, just click Manage and select the font you want. Personally, I keep everything set to default. Here, you can also adjust the font size. The default size is 16, but you can increase or decrease it as you like. There's also the quick font size adjustment option when this is enabled. Every time you press Control and use the mouse scroll wheel, the font size changes automatically. This works as a quick shortcut to adjust readability. Below that, we have the interface section. Here there are several useful options. One of them is show title in line. When enabled, the note title appears on the same line as the editor. This makes the interface more compact and cleaner. This option is enabled by default. We also have Show tab title bar if you disable this option. The bar that shows open tabs disappears. This makes navigation harder. That's why it's enabled by default. Another option is show ribbon. The ribbon is the vertical sidebar. If you want a more minimalist look, you can disable this option. Personally, I don't mind it and I use it occasionally. In ribbon menu, you can choose which icons appear in the sidebar. Even if you keep the ribbon enabled, you can make it cleaner. In the advanced section, we have a few more options. With Zoom level, you adjust the overall Zoom of Obsidian, if you increase the value, if you reset it, it returns to the default size. There's also the native menus option. When enabled, Obsidian uses your operating systems menu style. When disabled, it uses Obsidian's own menu style. It's recommended to keep this disabled because the interface looks cleaner. In window frame style, you can choose between Obsidian's window frame or your system's native window frame. You can also customize the Obsidian icon. You can select a JPEG image, and that image becomes the app's icon. We also have the hardware acceleration option. I recommend keeping this enabled because it improves Obsidian's performance. Finally, we have the CSS snippet section. This part is optional, but extremely powerful. CSS snippets allow you to change spacing, line height, hide elements, adjust margins, customize blocks, and much more. But this is completely optional, only if you want to customize Obsidian even further. This is basically how you customize the appearance of your Obsidian.