A lot of time and energy is spent on thinking about how to organize your notes into folders, and many people use Quick Switcher as the main way to both create and open notes, even to simply access some information. I started this way, too.
But none of this is necessary, because Obsidian is a non-relational (NoSQL) database containing information of a data type called graph. You don’t access information in a database by navigating to a table and opening it up, you use queries. In Obsidian, you can use filters.
Filters can be bookmarked, and the bookmarks can be organized any way you want. This way you can build an information tree instead of a file tree. You can easily move your information around, and even have the same information in multiple locations. With Hover Preview and Hover Editor, you don’t even need to actually open files except when creating or developing them.
I wrote a series of articles describing this system. It seems a bit scary at first, but the efficiency gain is considerable. You can read the articles here:
Website:
Substack:
@gelberhut @biscotty @obsidianmd I agree with gelberhut. Folders are to organization as plaintext is to data, and are one of the keys to a files-first, future-proofing approach. #Obsidian could break and refuse to open, and I could still navigate my notes in any file manager and open and use them in any text or #markdown editor. That’s going to be a lot harder to do if you’ve dumped all of your thousands or tens of thousands of notes in root. #PKM
@bowreality @gelberhut It’s fine that some people find it easier to just throw everything in one folder so they never have to think about where to put it, and value that over the benefits of using folders.
I just think they should be aware of the downsides, and others should know that using folders is neither incorrect nor inefficient.
@EpiphanicSynchronicity @gelberhut @biscotty @obsidianmd I do both: indexes and MOCs and individual projects are organised into directory structures, “cards” go into one folder with little organisation but only after they’re tagged or linked into the indexes in ways I’m pretty sure I can access if/when #obsidian passes.
@Colman @gelberhut @biscotty @obsidianmd I use MOCs, tags, etc., too. #Obsidian lets you link freely across folders, which don’t constrain you from using other organizational methods concurrently.
Thanks for writing and sharing this