# How to get started with Obsidian from scratch <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OUrOfIqvGS4" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe> ## Thumbnail ![[thumbnail-How to get started with Obsidian.png]] ## Title 1. How to get started with Obsidian from scratch 2. ## Hook If you've just recently begun to look into taking notes in the digital age, you may have noticed that things have changed a lot from when we were kids and taking notes just meant writing stuff down. These days, there are words like _Zettelkasten_ and _Personal Knowledge Management_ and _Maps of Content_ and the PARA method that all try to complicate what should be incredibly simple. In this video, I'm going to show you the practical part of taking notes: how to install Obsidian from scratch and just get started without having to learn any of that theory. ## Structure - What is Obsidian? - Facts about Obsidian (not open-source, but free) - Good for building a personal knowledge management system, whatever that entails - Dev log - Journal - D&D prep - Your own personal Google - Language learning tool - How to install Obsidian - Create a new vault and what is a vault - Interface - Left sidebar: search, directory - Right sidebar: plugins, backlinks - Middle: Whatever you're working on - Editor, Preview, Live Preview - Enable core plugins - Community plugins - Calendar - Beginner's workflow - Leave Obsidian open all the time - think of it like an open scratch pad. Don't worry about formatting. - Every day, open up your Daily Note. - Log what happens throughout the day, using links or backlinks to refer to other notes or information. - At the end of the day, if you have time, go back and create pages for overarching topics. - Common questions - How do I know if I should create a new note, tag it, or just leave something in my daily note? - How should I structure my vault? Maps of Content? - What if I can't keep up with processing everything in my daily note? - Should I come up with a naming convention for my notes? Prefixed with date? - No, just search later. ## Outro I think one of the most damaging myths about note-taking is that notes have to be organized to be "good". But your notes only have to be useful FOR YOU. My notes are messy, unfinished, sometimes blatantly wrong, and, you know what? Intensely useful FOR ME. Check out this video if you want to see how I use Obsidian for my work as a developer advocate. Thanks for watching, and happy note-taking! ## Related videos and resources ## Timestamps 0:00 Intro 0:53 Downloading and installing Obsidian 02:47 Using Obsidian and creating notes 04:40 Installing community plugins in Obsidian 08:15 A beginner's workflow in Obsidian 13:01 A note-taking myth ## Pre-production - [x] Take a thumbnail photo and create one for YouTube (1280 x 720). - [x] Add description. - [x] Include the title and any keywords in the first few sentences, but in a natural way. - [x] Add related videos and resources as links. - [x] Add end screen. - [x] Add cards if necessary. - [x] Add video to relevant playlist(s), or create a playlist if necessary. - [x] Create captions using Descript or using the script, then edit them. - [x] Add chapters for YouTube if longer than 5 minutes. - [x] Schedule on YouTube. ## Post-production - [ ] Promote on personal social media. - [ ] Twitter - [ ] LinkedIn - [ ] Create a blog post on [site](https://nicolevanderhoeven.com). - [ ] Add to weekly newsletter.