If you prefer to read (or listen to) this newsletter in your browser, click here. ๐ก The Big Idea: A New & Improved Workflow for Managing Writing Projects in ObsidianHistorically, I've used the Projects plugin to manage my different writing projects. Unfortunately, shortly after writing about my workflow, the developer announced he was retiring the plugin several weeks ago, and I've been trying to find a new workflow ever since. Specifically, there were three specific things I wanted my writing workflow to have:
While I couldn't just replace the Projects plugin with something else that did all of this, this week I was able to craft a workflow that used existing plugins that I already had installed in my Obsidian vault:
TL;DR - I'm really happy with how this turned out ๐ Here's what it looks like: There's a lot to this workflow, so rather than make this email extremely long, I recommend you read the blog post with accompanying screenshots that walk you through the entire thing here. ๐ Something Cool: Custom Task Styling in the Playground ThemeThe developer of the Keep the Rhythm plugin that I mentioned last week has also done some CSS wizardry that significantly improves the look of tasks in Obsidian: There are three different styles you can use simply by applying a CSS class to the note where your Obsidian Tasks queries reside (tasks-styled, tasks-styled--minimal, or tasks-styled--detailed). You can find out more about how to use it (and see a video which shows the different styling options) in this Obsidian Discord thread. But the quickest way to get this up and running is to install the Playground community theme. ๐ฃ Last Call for Macstock!The Macstock Conference and Expo is THIS WEEKEND (July 11-13) in Woodstock, IL. This is a great Apple tech conference (if that's your thing) and is always one of the highlights of my year. I'll be speaking Friday afternoon on using AI as your creative co-pilot, and it's not too late if you still want to join me ๐ Use the code PRACTICALPKM at checkout to save $50 on your weekend pass. ๐ Book Notes: You Need a Manifesto by Charlotte Burgess-AuburnA few months ago, Library member and recent Focused guest Kara Monroe recommended this book during her Facts of Life Book presentation. And while it took me longer to finish You Need a Manifesto by Charlotte Burgess-Auburn than I would have liked, I did recently, and I really enjoyed it! There's a lot of overlap here with the LifeTheme Hybrid Cohort I teach in The Library, but the fresh perspective on the topic was refreshing. It even gave me a few new ideas that I want to add to the next version of the course. If you want to download my mind map book notes, click here. โ Mike |
A weekly newsletter where I help people apply values-based productivity principles and systems for personal growth, primarily using Obsidian. Subscribe if you want to make more of your notes and ideas.
In this edition of Practical PKM: ๐ก The Big Idea: What I'd Do if I Was Starting in Obsidian Today ๐ Something Cool: A fun little text scratchpad for your Mac ๐ My book notes from AI Snake Oil by Arvind Narayanan & Sayash Kapoor If you prefer to read (or listen to) this newsletter in your browser, click here. ๐ก The Big Idea: 5 Things Iโd Do if I Were Coming to Obsidian for the First Time in 2025 Most people who try Obsidian quit within the first two weeks. Not because the app is bad, but...
In this edition of Practical PKM: ๐ก The Big Idea: How I added an On This Day feature to my Daily Notes template Obsidian ๐ Something Cool: A modern Obsidian plugin that lets you customize icons and colors ๐ My book notes from Lean Learning by Pat Flynn If you prefer to read (or listen to) this newsletter in your browser, click here. ๐ก The Big Idea: Adding an On This Day Feature to Your Daily Notes with Bases After a bit of a rocky start, Bases continues to improve. Now that the syntax is no...
In this edition of Practical PKM: ๐ก The Big Idea: AI makes things easy, but sometimes the value is in the struggle ๐ Something Cool: An Obsidian plugin that lets you set rules for forcing note view modes ๐ My book notes from Storyworthy by Matthew Dicks Prefer to read (or listen to) this newsletter in your browser? Click here. ๐ก The Big Idea: Sometimes Difficult Things Are Worth Doing I recently came across a great How I Write podcast episode where David Perell interviewed Ezra Klein about...