How I use Obsidian for work as a software developer advocate
I'm a software developer advocate focusing on performance testing, and in this video, I show you how I use Obsidian for work. Obsidian is a Personal Knowledge Management tool for building a system that will help you keep up with the quickly changing field of technology. Software engineers are great examples of knowledge workers, so it's time to start getting systematic about how we acquire and maintain that knowledge.
Obsidian: obsidian.md
Readwise: readwise.io
Marcus Olsson's guide for creating Obsidian plugins: marcus.se.net/obsidian-plugin...
How I Use Obsidian for work: nicolevanderhoeven.com/blog/2...
My Obsidian vault, via Obsidian Publish: notes.nicolevanderhoeven.com
Obsidian Kanban plugin: github.com/mgmeyers/obsidian-...
Obsidian Fantasy Calendar plugin: github.com/valentine195/obsid...
Obsidian Dataview plugin: github.com/blacksmithgu/obsid...
Obsidian Readwise Official plugin: github.com/readwiseio/obsidia...
How I use Obsidian to run and play D&D online: • How I use Obsidian to ...
I was inspired by Rachel M's video on how she uses Obsidian as a product manager: • How I use Obsidian as ...
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Intro
00:51 What is Obsidian? What makes it different from other tools?
04:12 Obsidian and Readwise for capturing input
05:54 Processing data regularly and consolidating information
07:13 Creating meaningful output about what I've learned
If you want to learn more about Obsidian, check out my course for beginners, Obsidian for Everyone: courses.nicolevanderhoeven.co...
---
// ABOUT ME
Site: nicolevanderhoeven.com
Mastodon: pkm.social/@nicole
My work at Grafana Labs: • My work at Grafana Labs
// APPS I USE
- Obsidian: obsidian.md
- Readwise: readwise.io/nicole
- Shortform: shortform.com/nicole
- Reclaim: go.reclaim.ai/eg0tgbamp7cb
- Snipd: link.snipd.com/Cx7S/nicole
Napkin: napkin.one/?via=nicole
// GEAR
nicolevanderhoeven.com/gear/
// WANT TO SUPPORT ME?
❤️ Join my Patreon and get my sample vault with templates: / nicolevdh
☕ Buy me a coffee: ko-fi.com/nicolevdh
⭐ Buy Obsidian for Everyone, my beginner course on Obsidian: courses.nicolevanderhoeven.co...
Note: Some of the links above are affiliate links, which means I may get a small percentage when you sign up using those links. To see how I decide what to promote in this way, check out my Ethics Statement: nicolevanderhoeven.com/ethics/
Пікірлер: 130
Obsidian THEMES I used in this video: 3:05 is Moonlight and 5:14 is Gitsidian
Thank you for your no-nonsense videos on Obsidian. I felt like I was at a pyramid scheme seminar watching videos from other channels.
@nicolevdh
Жыл бұрын
Hey, happy you didn't get that feeling from me! I'm allergic to most methodologies because I feel like most of them are so rigid and created by people whose entire job it is to create methodologies that sell. Glad to see that resonated with you!
@MatthewHoworko
Жыл бұрын
@billwarner8 haha I get that feeling too with some other channels. They have so many views, but I feel like they aren't really talking about anything.
Big thanks for your videos on Obsidian. I've watched a lot of note taking KZread videos, but I find that you as a fellow software developer have the most relating way of wanting to store your knowledge. Great help for me right now, thanks!
@nicolevdh
2 жыл бұрын
Thank you so much! I too found there were many people talking about using Obsidian for academic research or processing productivity books, when what I need to do most often is learning new languages, tools, or systems. Thanks for the support, and I'm glad I could help! :)
Finalky, an Obsidian video that doesn't sound like a paid ad.
I'm binge-watching your videos. You have such a nioce way to present information and explain! I'm dabbling in Obsidian, trying to use it to store my notes on learning to code, so that I can have something familiar to quickly refer to, whenever needed (my Personal Knowledge Management System). Thanks for the lessons and insights! And please keep making content, you rock!
@nicolevdh
Жыл бұрын
Thanks, I'm happy you're liking my videos! :) Welcome to the Obsidian community! I think it's perfect for learning how to code. When I learn new programming languages, it's extremely useful for me to have my own Stack Overflow of things I've searched for and found before. Thanks for the support as well! :)
One of the best video about obsidian out there. It's not obvious how ti stich together all those things and the way you did It Is remarkable. Thanks for the inspiration
@nicolevdh
2 жыл бұрын
Wow, thank you for that! I really appreciate you saying so. I'm very happy it gave you ideas for how to use Obsidian yourself!
Amazing, thank you for the inspiration! I’ve been a software engineer for over a decade but I’ve never quite managed to develop a consistent and reliable method for technical note-taking. Seeing your implementation is definitely encouraging that it can be done (and that it’s worth the “overhead.”)
@nicolevdh
2 жыл бұрын
I hear you. I've always been a note-taker, but always struggled to have my notes be useful beyond the immediate present. Since I started using the Zettelkasten methodology, I've realized that that was because I never went the extra step of connecting notes or questioning how they fit into my view of the industry. I feel like my notes are digital gardens rather than chronological feeds now, which make them infinitely more useful for me. I wish I'd done this sooner! Thanks for stopping by!
@coffeehousephilosopher7936
2 жыл бұрын
I second this; I take lots of notes for technical skills ... so having an organized structure would be helpful.
Impressive what you can do with Obsidian I like your videos easy to follow, clean, and to the point. Also I like the transitions you do and images, etc.
@nicolevdh
Жыл бұрын
Glad you think so! Thank you for the words of encouragement. :)
Really a great introduction video! I'll share it to show the benefits of Obsidian to my friends.
@nicolevdh
2 жыл бұрын
Aww, thank you! Hope more people see how awesome Obsidian is. :)
Many thanks again, Nicole. Your videos have helped me tremendously as I learn to use Obsidian for PKM.
@nicolevdh
2 жыл бұрын
Nice to hear that! That's my goal. Thank you for reaching out! :)
Thanks for sharing these tips. I immediately implemented the slides into my workflow. The vast array of community plugins are on of my favorite features of Obsidian, but because there are so many of them, sometimes I don't know what to look for until someone recommends them.
@nicolevdh
2 жыл бұрын
I get it! I feel like there's always something I'm learning anout Obsidian. Btw, check out the Advanced Slides plugin too! It has more options.
Wow, seems a bit overwhelming at first but I feel it's going to be worth it. Your videos help a ton, thanks!
Nicole… your way of explaining Obsidian - with a very clear explication of your particular use cases - is the most coherent and elegant I’ve seen. Thank you! (And believe me I’ve watched a LOT of these YT vids by all these… ::ahem:: guys. You know what I mean. ;-) I look forward to checking out your other Obsidian-related videos. Mahalo/salamat! :-)
@nicolevdh
2 жыл бұрын
Aww, thank you so much! I'm happy to know I'm communicating my use cases clearly. I'm sure they don't apply to everyone, but I'm glad to show what I do for people who DO share my use cases! :) Salamat din!
Thank you for explaining things so simply for us!!!
KZread just recommended me this video and i'm so glad it did! I just got Obsidian and I'm a developer as well so this is very helpful! I also noticed that you play D&D and use Obsidian for it so I'm definitely going to watch that as well! I'm a DM and I immediately fell in love with the idea of managing a campaign with this system.
@nicolevdh
2 жыл бұрын
Oooh, awesome! If I'm being honest, D&D (and other TTRPG games) accounts for a lot of my usage of Obsidian. You're in for a treat. If you're looking for something to help with campaigns, Obsidian has unparallelled support for that. :)
Love your breakdowns! These tips are great
@nicolevdh
Жыл бұрын
Awww, thank you! Glad you liked them!
Wonderful! Thanks a lot for this great and useful video… well all of your vids are relevant and useful, thanks again, blessings.
@nicolevdh
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks so much, Ronni! I'm glad it was helpful. I'm hoping it will help others who are wondering how in the world they're going to be able to learn and remember new tools/technologies!
When I tried Obsidian for the first time I was so overwhelmed by it because I didn't knew where to start. I watched some videos and it went like "that's so complicated I'm never gonna use this". But then Notion became my nightmare with sync problems and no offline mode, and then I wanted to give it another try to Obsidian and came to your video. I loved it so much, you explained perfectly and made me look differently at it. PS: I didn't found your page from Obsidian in the description, can you send me? Thanks! xo
Build a personal knowledge management system. Great advice. Looking forward to checking your links and following you. Thank you.
@nicolevdh
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks, Richard! It's so simple but it's life- and career-changing. I wish I'd known about it sooner!
This is fantastic, thank you! I'm going to check out Readwise!
@nicolevdh
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks for watching! I've been wanting to make a video about my Readwise setup for a while as well! Love that service.
Obrigado for the video! Being a knowledge worker myself this really sparkled some ideas.
@nicolevdh
Жыл бұрын
Hey! I know this is a late reply, but I still wanted to say I'm happy that a fellow knowledge worker got some ideas from this! I considered putting "Every knowledge worker should do this" in the thumbnail but it was too long. Glad you liked it anyway! :)
I am going back to Computer Science (software engineer) school this june and I am trying to teach myself how to use Obsidian. I want to make sure I am somehow prepared to what is coming XD but I feel I am going to get slapped in the face by pretty much everything. Hahaha! Thank you for your videos
@nicolevdh
2 жыл бұрын
Awww, thank you, Flip! Very happy to hear that. I appreciate the nice words, and I think Obsidian would have been SO HELPFUL if it had been around when I was in uni. Good luck with everything, and welcome to the Obsidian community! :)
Awesome video and impressive vault!
@nicolevdh
2 жыл бұрын
Hey Sara!! Thanks for stopping by! :)
Nicely explained. Thanks
@nicolevdh
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks, Naimul!
Great info thanks Nicole!
@nicolevdh
2 жыл бұрын
Thank you as well!!
thank you! your content is of great value❤
@nicolevdh
Жыл бұрын
Thank you for watching! :)
I didn't know about the slides feature, very cool. Sharing your vault between devices using icloud or obsidian sync is another benefit
@nicolevdh
2 жыл бұрын
I do wish there were more customisation options for Slides, but it's good in a pinch! And yes, I really love Obsidian Sync as well. I need all my devices to be able to access the same data, otherwise it's not really a full solution. Thanks for watching!
@Tennisbull-match-statistics
2 жыл бұрын
@@nicolevdh checkout advanced slides plugin for more options
Your glasses in 2011 were so sick love that
Really great content!
This is a useful video about Obsidian. I'm using Notion at the moment and thinking of a way of bolstering my content creation system. Thanks for the video!!!!
@nicolevdh
2 жыл бұрын
Notion is great! I used it for a while as well. I think it's still better than Obsidian on the kanban board view front, but with all my other notes being already on Obsidian, I've moved my content creation to Obsidian as well. Good luck finding something that works, whichever one you end up with!
@ShivanS
2 жыл бұрын
@@nicolevdh Thank you! I guess whatever works for you works for you. :) Not let's get creating.
Fantastic video, thank you!
@nicolevdh
2 жыл бұрын
Hey, glad I could help! :)
Your videos are very helpful. Given the background you have in software I am curious if you think obsidian would be a good tool for writing PRD or functional specifications documents?
You rock! Congratulations on getting tech right.
Amazing! I'm gonna start using it now
@nicolevdh
2 жыл бұрын
Great! Welcome to the Obsidian community!
Thank You for the information!
@nicolevdh
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks for watching! :)
Love these videos, thanks! Also saw those references to Exandria #critters!
@nicolevdh
2 жыл бұрын
When you know, you know! I am a Critter for sure! I play in two different weekly games in Exandria (I DM one and play in the other)!
I was planning to couse notion with obsidian for the content creation system, so thank you for showing the calendar plugin. One question would be which philosophy are you currently following for organizing your notes.
@nicolevdh
2 жыл бұрын
Great, I'm glad I'm not the only one wanting to do that. :) I loosely follow the Zettelkasten system, but I've found I write more when I don't adhere too strictly to any system!
Thanks for your video, I've just installed obsidian and will see how it will work for me. One question: You mention that you can use existing github repositories as vaults. I browsed the community plugins and only found one that would display gists which our repository does (not yet) have and other plugins that allow to backup my vault on github. I've also searched through your other videos and watched your 10 plugins video but you did not mention a github plugin there. Did I miss something? Could you explain how you access a github repository as a vault, especially when the repository requires you to sign in? Maybe you could even make a video on it if you find the time.
Thank you 3 times you're the best
Awesome 😎
Awesome video.
@nicolevdh
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks for the support! :)
Hi Nicole, i recently started to use Obsidian and just find your videos very helpful. I have one question, you show a huge graphic node view, i was wondering what was your setting that it looks so good on the video at 2:15 min? Thank you in advance for your feedback!
@nicolevdh
Жыл бұрын
Really glad you like the videos, Eddy! :) I have some filters set up to colour the nodes differently depending on which folders they're in. No plugins required. :)
I have gone through your obisidian publish And other podcast but which were related to conding And I was about to contact you to make videos on how you use obisidian effectively Suddenly you video pop up I was excited Please make more videos on obisidan system if you have time ❤️❤️ Btw you are awesome 😊
@nicolevdh
2 жыл бұрын
Awww, thank you so much! I'm glad I made a video you were hoping for. It's great that you've also been going through my Obsidian Publish. I am obsessed with Obsidian, so yes, there are definitely more videos to come on the topic! Thanks for your support! :)
@mrrohitjadhav470
2 жыл бұрын
@@nicolevdh too excited 🤩🤩 Thanks a lot ❤️
The part in which you say I reserve an hour for myself at 9 p.m. I'm a bit of a night eater killed me, 😂 haha I haven't even had dinner at that time, normally dinner is at 10 p.m. and some hours for my night are at 2 a.m. but In Spain we go to bed very late even though we get up early haha🤣
Hey, love the video but could you explain a little better how exactly you use readwise with obsidian? I mean you said that in the evening you have stuff that was "prepared by readwise" to go through. I believe in another video you mentioned that new stuff from readwise has an "TVN" Tag or something. Could you explain this workflow a little more in detail? Question: Do you get just the readwise "digest", 5 random hightlights send to your obsidian and this is you look at? Or do you get all the stuff you highlighted THAT day to look at in obsidian?
So you work in Portugal! 🧐 I'm Brazilian, giving my first steps in coding. If I manage to get some presidential job in Portugal, I already know someone. Thanks for the video.
@nicolevdh
8 ай бұрын
I actually work remotely, but yes, I do (sometimes) live in Portugal.
Good job!
@nicolevdh
2 жыл бұрын
Hey, thanks!
This was a really nice video. I'm not very organized, but obsidian might be ok for me. I used to use org-mode, but honestly it was a bit of a pain, because it wasn't very shareable.
@nicolevdh
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks! I think Obsidian could be good for all types of people for sure. You can chuck in there what you feel like putting in, and even if you don't set up backlinks, unlinked mentions will still have your back. Happy you found this useful!
How do you colorcode your Graph View? It looks so beautiful its insane! :D
hey @nicole i am a night owl too... seems like so many speak about waking up early, 3am or 4am. ...while that''s the time I go to bed. lol. thanks for sharing on Obsidian
@nicolevdh
2 жыл бұрын
Hey! I know what you mean. I don't understand those people. Here I am, responding to you at 1:30am. ;)
Thank you 😊
@nicolevdh
2 жыл бұрын
No worries! Thanks for watching.
I tried dot box but doesn’t work on iPhone/iPad. Obsidian don’t let me choose the cloud directory. Many thanks for your clear and helpful video on obsidian 😉
Seriously!! Now you show me it does presentations!! :)
@nicolevdh
2 жыл бұрын
IKR?!? And there is an Advanced Slides plugin that does even more stuff too!! It just keeps getting better and better :)
I am loving your public vault!!! It's been an epic resource for getting started with obsidian! But question: You mention that some vaults you use github and some you setup with the obsidian sync. Are you able to use both simulaneously on the same vault? (I've been struggling to setup github & icloud sync on the same vault & am hoping obsidian sync can manage it)
@nicolevdh
2 жыл бұрын
I'm so glad it's been able to help you!! Yes, I backup my main vault with GitHub, Obsidian Sync, and Dropbox simultaneously. I haven't had any problems with it, but I don't use iCloud. What issue are you seeing with your setup?
@JahTeo
2 жыл бұрын
@@nicolevdh ooh, that’s great to hear that they all work with obsidian sync, definitely makes it tempting for me to switch later, lol. I’m currently loving the iCloud sync itself, but iCloud doesn’t currently work with GitHub safely (can’t have a .git folder inside my icloud vault without risking file corruption & the no-sync workarounds were failing me). I actually came to the conclusion that for my current needs I don’t need to backup to GitHub to automate self-publishing, so it’s a bit of a moot point right this second, but knowing that obsidian sync would work for the use case I envisioned is great for future projects!
@nicolevdh
2 жыл бұрын
@@JahTeo Ahh, I see. I didn't know there were issues with iCloud! I guess I'm lucky that I just chose Obsidian Sync right off the bat. I haven't had any issues with it at all!
great vid, can you also create a vid on how you use readwise?
@nicolevdh
2 жыл бұрын
I do want to do this, but at the moment, my Readwise workflow heavily involves their Reader, which is in a private beta and I can't show videos of it (I asked). So unfortunately, this will have to wait until Readwise goes public with Reader!
Thaaaaanks
In terms of coworking in obsidian seems like a «Syncthing» may be a solution, cause it's sync on any change on any amount of devices
@nicolevdh
Жыл бұрын
Hey! For collaboration, my coworkers and I are already using GitHub, so we typically just use that these days. I'm sure Syncthing would work too!
How can I get this calendar you have in this part of the video 8:14
@nicolevdh
2 жыл бұрын
Hey Lorenza! I use Fantasy Calendar. Thank you for this comment. I actually started to write back to you, then decided to turn it into a video. Here it is: kzread.info/dash/bejne/m4lqkqutldDbdNI.html
Can you import files .txt or .pdf or .doc I to Obsidian? Tx
I started my CS studies in 2009 and I really wish I could travel back in time and give my past self Obsidian...
@nicolevdh
Жыл бұрын
I know, right?? I feel the same way! I really wish I had thought to take digital notes maybe a decade or two ago. :)
The monolit vs microsevice just got me hahahah
@nicolevdh
Жыл бұрын
Haha! I'm glad someone other than me found it amusing. :D
Are you Dutch like me? Also, great video and explanation.
@nicolevdh
2 жыл бұрын
Jazeker! By nationality, though not by ethnicity. :) Glad you liked the video!
How to compress a large PDF file for free or cheaply?
@nicolevdh
2 жыл бұрын
Hi Kuku, that isn't really within the scope of Obsidian. A Google search might be more useful for you than a comment on a video about Obsidian.
💙💛
@nicolevdh
2 жыл бұрын
💙💛 to you as well. :)
Doesn't this go against our company's security and privacy policies? Especially while using community plug ins. I feel like this is somethign I would get in trouble for using, especially community plug ins!!
@nicolevdh
Жыл бұрын
Hey! I'm not sure what your company's policies are, of course, so I can't comment on that. Best to ask them about it!
OUR ABBAYAHUAH THANKS FOR YOUR LOVINGKINDNESS JUDGMENT AND RIGHTEOUSNESS IN THE EARTH. JEREMIAH 9:24 DEVELOPING MY BRAIN MY CONSCIENCE SPIRITUALITY. TURNING MY SPARK INTO A FLAME TO RETURN TO OUR ABBAYAHUAH FULL OF LIGHT. MUCH LOVE TO YOU.
for some reason I did not understand one word you said.
I don't get the point. I was thinking this could give me an advantage but seems just time consuming to input stuff this way.
@nicolevdh
Жыл бұрын
Ok, then Obsidian is not for you!
The music is very disturbing. It outweights the quality of the content.
Lol I use emacs org mode
@nicolevdh
2 жыл бұрын
Um, congrats?