Some thoughts are more distracting than others. Over the years, I've come to develop a system. I wasn't big on writing until 2 months ago. For all these years, I've wanted to write but I've struggled really hard with what to write about. I use notion quite a bit, I've been using it for many years now, if I remember correctly since 2018. That's a long time even in dog years.
Notion has many benefits, I really like that everything is a block. I'm not an advanced notion user - I don't use templates or any complicated systems. In short, I'm just a simpleton user. I know it has negative connotations but I think it fits my case.
I've been using notion for mostly notes, expenses, and raw ideas, I also use it as a project management tool. Mostly for project management - with so many dead projects in the closet. My project management is pretty simple - I use only to-do lists. It works for me because I work solo. I've also been using notion for personal journaling, I've been doing that sporadically for the last 3-4 years.
One thing I noticed was that I never wrote often when using Notion. I mean I did but not as much as now. Maybe it is the honeymoon phase of a new interest. I only had piles and piles of to-do items. Some checked, mostly unchecked. Buried deep down within pages across different topics. As I scramble to take notes and finish todos.
The coming of Obsidian
I had heard about Obsidian a very long time ago in my Twitter circle. I've always been a bit anal about trying it, what can I say - I don't like learning new tools. I'm one of those cynics who resist new things initially but then turn into an optimist.
But two months ago, I decided that if I were to write, I needed a proper compartment for my mind. My thoughts are generally all over the place and if I use just one tool like Notion for doing many things it messes with my flow. Thoughts and ideas bleed into each other and then cause me paralysis by analysis. Then I don't do much because it's overwhelming. So I knew my problem.
The solution to my analysis paralysis
The solution to this problem was compartmentalizing my duties. Even though I never consider myself as someone who compartmentalized aspects of my life - while writing and thinking about this I realized that I do it dubiously a lot. It's a good thing - because I like having different rooms for different aspects of my thoughts.
The complexity of Notion
Even though I like Notion, I must admit that it is complex. Not in the sense of user experience but in terms of the effort my brain goes through. There are sub-pages, databases, and tables. I don't like using any of this. This just adds friction. And if I want to go back to a different sub-page, I need to click a lot. Now what if I wanna mark my todo as complete? That's another added friction. You may suggest opening that page but a new tab but that won't work for me because I might accidentally switch pages within that tab to go to my sub-pages. What I'm trying to say is - it's all in the same box.
The simplicity of obsidian
Obsidian is simple. At least the features I need. It is simply a way to organize markdown files. I could've done this with VS code since i use it for coding but then again - my need to compartmentalize is high.
It has a sidebar which is nice, I have a simple 5-step system for my writing - it just works for me. The best part is that I don't feel the overwhelm I used to feel when I used Notion.
Bored with writing
If I get bored with writing, I just close obsidian and go with do something else. Notion is my center point for tasks. And when the border subsides, I open obsidian again and continue writing.
What do I use notion for?
These days, I mostly use it for tasks and high-level planning for my projects. The high-level planning pages I don't change them often, it's a note dump unlike Obsidian which I use specifically for blogging.
breaking down tasks
Every week, I decide what tasks I need to do for this week and write those down. As I complete them I mark them done but I don't remove them. That happens at the start of next week. I try to be as specific as I can since now I started using Otto's focus timer with Notion. Self plug I know but it's part of my workflow! For each task, I set a 30-minute duration, and just renew it every time I finish my session. Helps me with the flow and most tasks usually take me 1.30 hours from what I noticed.
I made the focus timer for notion just for this. To help me reduce my friction. Previously I never used the timer (even though i made it) cuz I'm lazy and if I have to open a popup to do something I might as well jump off a cliff.
So in short my workflow for writing
- I make a task in notion - that is what to write about (in this case)
- turn on the focus timer for 30 minutes.
- Go to Obsidian and write
Time just goes by (just got a ding to try again), and I do get distracted, especially when go to YouTube to play some music but the timer that is running always irks me and makes me guilty. So I go back to Obsidian.
It's a simple system but I must tell you I've written a lot of stuff over the last few days. There were days when I used to dread starting my day but now I feel excited. I don't know how long it'll last. But if you are reading this in the future (today is 12, Aug 2024), just drop me a line to ask me.
Github
Since I code quite a bit I use a version control like git to keep track of project contents. I've set up Git in my Obsidian vault folder which is connected to a GitHub repo. There's nothing special about it, I just like having a cloud backup of my stuff. I'm not used to the local backup thing, maybe when I was 14. This is one of the things I like.
The end
With this, I think it's better to conclude my post. I don't like endings, mostly because I don't know what to write about. But if I were to summarize I'd say using Notion and Obsidian is really great for compartmentalizing your responsibilities.
- Notion to track tasks with a simple timer
- Obsidian to write drafts
I don't use any Obsidian + notion plugins to sync files or even Obsidian plugins. Simple is usually better.
I'm done, okay bye now.