Note-taking Apps for Command-line People

Mischa van den Burg
4 Jul 202434:49

Summary

TLDRIn this tutorial, DevOps engineer Misha from the Netherlands introduces the concept of note-taking systems, explaining the importance of selecting the right tools. After exploring various apps like Notion, Evernote, and Obsidian, he recommends Obsidian for its local markdown file support, advanced linking, and visualization features. Misha emphasizes the need for a system that allows quick retrieval and organization of notes, and he shares his personal journey and insights on building an effective note-taking system, advocating for starting with Obsidian and integrating it with Vim for a powerful setup.

Takeaways

  • 🌍 Misha, a devops engineer from the Netherlands, shares his insights on note-taking tools and apps in a tutorial series.
  • πŸ” Misha emphasizes the importance of informed decision-making when choosing a note-taking system and encourages viewers to watch previous videos for context on the benefits of note-taking.
  • πŸ“š He discusses the overwhelming number of options available for note-taking and his personal investment of hundreds of hours in testing different tools.
  • πŸ“ Misha differentiates between simple note-taking apps like Apple Notes and more advanced apps that allow linking, tagging, and visualization of notes.
  • πŸ”— The script highlights the need for a note-taking system that enables quick retrieval of information, facilitated by a well-structured system and effective search capabilities.
  • 🌐 Accessibility is key; the ideal note-taking system should be available across devices and allow for notes to be captured and accessed on-the-go.
  • πŸ’» As a command line-focused engineer, Misha values locally available text files, the ability to run scripts, and customization of the editing and reading experience.
  • 🚫 Misha shares his experience with tools like Notion and Evernote, discussing their limitations, especially regarding cloud storage and lack of local file control.
  • πŸ”‘ He strongly recommends Obsidian as the best tool for note-taking, praising its compatibility with local markdown files, advanced linking and visualization features, and syncing capabilities.
  • πŸ›  Misha advocates for the combination of Obsidian with Vim for ultimate control and customization of the note-taking experience, including the ability to run scripts and use preferred text editors.
  • πŸ“ˆ The script concludes with a call to action, urging viewers to start using Obsidian for note-taking, to stop endless research, and to begin applying these tools to improve their productivity.

Q & A

  • Who is the speaker in the video and what is their profession?

    -The speaker in the video is Misha, who is a DevOps engineer from the Netherlands.

  • What is the main topic of the video?

    -The main topic of the video is exploring different note-taking tools and apps, with a focus on those suitable for a DevOps engineer or someone interested in working on the command line.

  • What does Misha recommend for viewers who haven't watched the previous video in the series?

    -Misha recommends that viewers who haven't watched the previous video in the series should do so, as it explains the benefits of note-taking and how it can improve one's career.

  • What was Misha's initial experience when starting their note-taking journey?

    -Misha was overwhelmed with the number of options available and spent several hundred hours trying out different tools, which they found to be a draining task.

  • What are the two categories of note-taking apps according to Misha?

    -According to Misha, there are two categories of note-taking apps: simple ones like Apple Notes that are just for creating and storing notes, and advanced ones that offer functionalities like linking notes, tagging, and visualization.

  • What are some of the advanced functionalities that Misha looks for in a note-taking system?

    -Misha looks for functionalities such as the ability to link notes together, visualize how notes relate to each other, good search functionality, and the ability to access the note-taking system from anywhere, including portable devices.

  • Why does Misha not recommend using Notion for their note-taking system?

    -Misha does not recommend Notion because it lives in the cloud, which means there's no way to interact with the notes using the terminal or a preferred text editor like Vim, and there's a potential for Notion employees to access the notes.

  • What are some of the requirements Misha considers for a command line focused engineer when choosing a note-taking tool?

    -For a command line focused engineer, Misha considers requirements such as having locally available text files, the ability to run scripts on those files, using preferred text editors, and customizing the editing and reading experience.

  • Which note-taking tool did Misha ultimately choose and why?

    -Misha ultimately chose Obsidian because it ticks off all the requirements they listed, including using markdown files stored locally on the machine, allowing linking and visualization of notes, and being compatible with Vim.

  • What does Misha suggest for those interested in learning more about the Zettelkasten method?

    -Misha suggests that those interested in learning more about the Zettelkasten method should consider joining their school community or checking out their courses on Obsidian 101 and the Zettelkasten course, which provide a comprehensive guide on building a note-taking system.

Outlines

00:00

πŸ“š Introduction to Note-Taking Tools

Misha, a DevOps engineer from the Netherlands, introduces the topic of exploring various note-taking tools and apps. He explains his selection process and the reasons behind his choices, aiming to inform viewers to make educated decisions. He suggests watching previous videos for understanding the benefits of note-taking and its impact on career improvement. Misha admits to spending hundreds of hours testing different tools, emphasizing the overwhelming number of options available.

05:00

πŸ” Criteria for a Note-Taking System

The video script discusses the essential features needed in a note-taking system, distinguishing between simple apps like Apple Notes and more advanced options that allow linking, tagging, and visualizing notes. Misha stresses the importance of the ability to retrieve notes quickly and the role of structure in effective note retrieval. He outlines the functions required in an advanced setup, including linking notes, search functionality, and visualization, which are crucial for enhancing understanding and memory.

10:03

πŸ“± Accessibility and Command Line Compatibility

Misha highlights the need for a note-taking system to be accessible from anywhere, especially on portable devices like phones. As a Linux DevOps software engineer, he also values the ability to work with locally available text files, run scripts on them, and use preferred text editors like Vim. He emphasizes the desire for a customizable editing and reading experience, which is particularly important for command line-focused engineers.

15:03

🚫 Limitations of Popular Note-Taking Apps

The script reviews popular note-taking apps like Notion and Evernote, discussing their features, limitations, and pricing models. Misha shares his experience with Notion, noting its potential for distraction and the fact that files live in the cloud, which doesn't align with his preference for local file control and scripting capabilities. He also mentions privacy concerns related to cloud-based storage and the inability to use preferred text editors with these apps.

20:09

🌐 Obsidian: The Ideal Note-Taking Tool

Misha introduces Obsidian as the ideal note-taking tool, praising its use of local markdown files, compatibility with Vim, and its ability to meet all the previously mentioned requirements. He demonstrates Obsidian's capabilities, such as linking notes, visualizing relationships, and searching through notes. Obsidian's flexibility and the ability to sync notes across devices are also highlighted, showcasing its comprehensive feature set.

25:10

πŸ› οΈ Customization and Control with Obsidian

The script emphasizes the importance of having full control over one's notes, which is achievable with Obsidian due to its use of markdown files. Misha discusses the ability to back up, encrypt, and distribute notes as desired, as well as the integration with other tools like git for version control. He also mentions the potential for creating custom scripts to interact with the note-taking system, enhancing the overall flexibility and utility.

30:11

πŸŽ“ Conclusion and Call to Action

In conclusion, Misha strongly recommends using Obsidian for building a note-taking system, advocating for its compatibility with Vim and markdown files. He encourages viewers to start taking notes immediately rather than getting lost in endless research. The script also promotes his courses on the Zettelkasten method and Obsidian 101, offering a quick start to building a note-taking system and access to a community of fellow note-takers.

Mindmap

Keywords

πŸ’‘DevOps Engineer

A DevOps Engineer is a professional who practices the combination of software development and IT operations, aiming to shorten the system development lifecycle and provide continuous delivery of high-quality software. In the video, Misha, the speaker, identifies as a DevOps Engineer from the Netherlands, which sets the context for the technical and operational perspective he brings to the discussion about note-taking tools.

πŸ’‘Note-taking tools

Note-taking tools refer to applications or systems used to create, organize, and store notes digitally. The video's theme revolves around exploring various note-taking tools, with the speaker sharing his experience and insights on different options available to the audience.

πŸ’‘Zettelkasten method

The Zettelkasten method is a note-taking system used for organizing knowledge through a network of interconnected notes. The speaker mentions building a 'settle cast' in Apple Notes, which is a misspelling of Zettelkasten, indicating the method's significance in creating a structured note-taking system.

πŸ’‘Notion

Notion is a popular all-in-one workspace tool that combines note-taking with project management and collaboration features. Misha discusses Notion as one of the tools he experimented with, highlighting its capabilities and potential for distraction due to its extensive features.

πŸ’‘Evernote

Evernote is a well-known note-taking application that also integrates task management and scheduling features. It is mentioned in the context of building a 'second brain,' a broader concept that includes note-taking as a part of a comprehensive personal productivity system.

πŸ’‘Obsidian

Obsidian is a markdown-based note-taking app that allows users to create a network of interconnected notes. The speaker highly recommends Obsidian due to its local file storage, linking capabilities, and compatibility with Vim, which aligns with the needs of a command-line focused engineer.

πŸ’‘Markdown

Markdown is a lightweight markup language used for formatting text with simple syntax. The video emphasizes the importance of markdown files in Obsidian, as they allow for local storage, customization, and the ability to run scripts for advanced users.

πŸ’‘Linking notes

Linking notes refers to the ability to create connections between individual notes, which helps in building a knowledge network. The script discusses this feature as a crucial aspect of advanced note-taking apps like Obsidian, enabling better knowledge retrieval and understanding.

πŸ’‘Visualization

Visualization in the context of note-taking refers to the graphical representation of the relationships between notes. The speaker explains how visualization activates different parts of the brain, aiding in memory and understanding, and demonstrates this with the Obsidian local graph and canvas features.

πŸ’‘Command-line focused engineer

A command-line focused engineer is someone who prefers using the command line for tasks, including text editing and file management. The video script emphasizes the needs of such an engineer, including the ability to work with local text files, run scripts, and use preferred text editors like Vim.

πŸ’‘Vim

Vim is a highly configurable text editor used for efficiently creating and changing any kind of text. Misha, being a Vim enthusiast, discusses the importance of having the ability to open and edit markdown notes in Vim, which is a significant factor in his recommendation of Obsidian.

Highlights

Misha, a devops engineer from the Netherlands, presents a tutorial on note-taking tools and apps.

The tutorial aims to guide viewers on choosing the right note-taking tool based on personal needs and preferences.

Misha spent hundreds of hours testing different note-taking tools to provide viewers with informed recommendations.

The distinction between simple note-taking apps like Apple Notes and advanced apps with features like linking and visualization is explained.

The importance of a structured note-taking system for efficient information retrieval is emphasized.

Features to look for in an advanced note-taking system include linking notes, search functionality, and visualization tools.

Accessibility from portable devices and the ability to access the note-taking system from anywhere are highlighted as essential.

For command line-focused engineers, the need for locally available text files and the ability to run scripts on them is discussed.

Misha's personal experience with Notion and its potential for distraction and tinkering is shared.

The limitations of Evernote regarding pricing and the scope of its use as a 'second brain' tool are mentioned.

Obsidian is introduced as the recommended tool for its compatibility with markdown files, local storage, and advanced linking and visualization features.

Obsidian's graph feature, which visualizes the interconnectedness of notes, is demonstrated as a powerful tool for thought organization.

The ability to sync notes across devices using Obsidian's mobile app and cloud services is explained.

Misha discusses the benefits of using Obsidian in conjunction with Vim for a customized editing and reading experience.

The flexibility and portability of having a note-taking system based on Obsidian and markdown files are highlighted.

Misha invites viewers to join his school community for access to courses on note-taking, Vim, and other topics, emphasizing the importance of starting to take notes immediately.

Transcripts

play00:01

hello there my name is Misha I'm a

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devops engineer from the Netherlands and

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in this week's tutorial we're going to

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explore the different not taking tools

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and apps that are available I'm going to

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explain to you which one I have chosen

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and why and I'm basically going to tell

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you everything you need to know uh to

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make your informed

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decision so if you haven't watched my

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previous video in this series I

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recommend you do so it fully explains

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the benefits of not taking and how it

play00:31

can improve your career and the link

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will be down below and somewhere in the

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screen

play00:39

somewhere so let's get started when I

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started my not taking journey I was

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overwhelmed with all of the options

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available and making decisions is one of

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the most draining tasks we can we can do

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as human beings and I literally SP spend

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several hundred hours trying out these

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different tools because if you like

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Google not taking systems not taking

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apps I mean look at that 10 best not

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taking apps best no taking apps six best

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no taking apps like how how many apps

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are there right no taking apps it's it's

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just so much information and I've done

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the work I've spent several 100 hours

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trying many tools Building Systems into

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them breaking them down and I'm going to

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share with you everything I know about

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this so I can save you hundreds of hours

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if you just watch this video to the

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end so what what are we looking for in a

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not taking system well as you see there

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is a wall of blog posts here there are

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so many options but let's actually get

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into what we need in a not taking system

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what are we actually looking

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for so there are basically two

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categories of no taking apps in my

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opinion so there are the the simple

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ones

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simple like Apple notes or um these

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other applications where all you do is

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just create a note you store it there

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and that's it you you you save it for

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later you write your shopping lists

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there you do very simple tasks in there

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it's just a collection of notes like my

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my Google Drive with Google docs on

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there that's also a very simple not

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taking apps not taking tool but there

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are also apps that go beyond so th those

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are more

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advanced let's I won't write the whole

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world whole word but let's say advanced

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and these are apps that go beyond

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storage these are the apps that make it

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possible to create links between notes

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to um visualize your notes to have tags

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on your notes and pull them out these

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are the the apps that go beyond just

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making a note and storing it and saving

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it for

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later and even though you can do

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incredible things with these simp apps

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like apple noes there are people who

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build entire settle cast in apple

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noes we want to build a

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system where we

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can store our

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noes but we also need to be able to

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retrieve those notes with lightning

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speed and like I said in the previous

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video the ability to retrieve

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information from your system depends on

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the structure that you have and the

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ability or to search the ability to know

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where to look in your system all of that

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so you need to do this with

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intention and you can do that in a

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simple app but an advanced app is going

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to make that a lot easier for you

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because it has more advanced

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functionality so what are we looking for

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in this Advanced uh in this advanced

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setup we need several functions and let

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me just switch to text here let's

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see so we need several functions we need

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the ability to link notes

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together so we need to be able to

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indicate relationships between notes we

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need to be able to visualize how these

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noes relate to each other this is very

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important for thinking and that's we

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will get into that in future videos or

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in my ttle cast course that is uh linked

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down

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below um we need the ability to link

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notes we need a good search

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functionality we need the ability to

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search we need the ability to

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visualize our links or notes in some way

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this is very important uh

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visualizing things activates different

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parts of your brain and like I'm not an

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artist I don't see bright pictures when

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I close my eyes but still I utilize

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creating pictures and images to um

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facilitate um memory and to be able to

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memorize things more quickly if you

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create a picture about something in your

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mind you're much likely to remember it

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likewise if if you have the ability to

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visualize your notes in some way to to

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do visual things with your

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notes that is actually going to improve

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your understanding and your thinking

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this is why the settle cast method is so

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incredibly effective because originally

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you would have these paper index cards

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where you write on and you put those in

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a box and then when it comes to write

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time to write an article you can take

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all these cards out and put them on the

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table and you can spread them around and

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you can actually visually play with the

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ideas you can visually put them together

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you can visually um put them in

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different orders and see how they relate

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to each other this is super powerful in

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thinking so we need to ability to

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visualize

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things so we need to be able to link

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notes somehow search visualize them

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next we also need the

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ability to access our no taking system

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from anywhere so

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accessibility and yeah from portable

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devices so ideally we will be able to

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access our notes from our phone because

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yeah we are out and about we're sitting

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on the bus we want to make a note well

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we want to have a system where we can

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access the notes that we already have or

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add a note

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there or when you're on holiday and

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you're walking in the mountains and you

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have this super important Insight you

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need to be able to capture that

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somehow now as you are watching my

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channel and this playlist there is

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also a very high likelihood that you are

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a Linux devops software engineer uh

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interested kind of person who wants to

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learn more about work working on the

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command line like my channel is

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literally called living on the command

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line so as a command line focused

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engineer there are some other

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requirements that we need to consider we

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need to

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have oops here locally available text

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files that is something that we really

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need and why well because we want

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to we we want the ability to open our

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text files in in Vim in our or in

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whatever editor that you prefer like

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obviously I'm a Vim guy but if you have

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the text files on your machine then

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you're in charge of those and you can

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modify your editing experience as you

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like

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it so we want locally available text

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files we want the ability to run scripts

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on those

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files very important if you have

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thousands of files and you want to make

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a bulk update you don't want to rely on

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some sort of external thing no you just

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write a script and do

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it we want to like I said we want to uh

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use our preferred text

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editors text editors and then Elite Vim

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crew reporting

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in and we want to

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customize our

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editing and reading

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experience so

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these external tools that we're going to

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go through yes you can customize your

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experience in there but not to the

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degree where you can do things like um

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let's see do I have a terminal open yeah

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soorry if I go to my temp folder and if

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I just uh create a hello. MD markdown

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file if I press space DD then it's going

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to insert the the date here or space

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space YT or space Hy this is going to

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insert a short code and I just write the

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YouTube ID and then it's going to embed

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a YouTube video on my blog this kind of

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stuff right um or if I this is a title

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that I

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write if I do bang bang

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title then it's going to run a go

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program a very simple go program that I

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wrote and put take that

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um line of text feed it through the go

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program and replace this line in the

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editor with the program this kind of

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stuff you want to do the the you want to

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have some customized experience right as

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a command line engineer you want to be

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able to create these little programs and

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do that for

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yourself

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so those are the focus areas for command

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line focused Engineers so locally

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available text files run scripts on the

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files use preferred text

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editors and customize our editing and

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reading

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experience now what options do we have

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what and basically what options did I

play11:11

try well one of the first ones is notion

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uh let's see this is one of the most um

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um how do you call it most popular tools

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out there and for a reason it's a very

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very good app it is you can see here

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like entire companies are being run from

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notion like it's not that they use these

play11:34

companies well they like these companies

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will use it but there are entire

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companies that run all of their

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operations from notion project

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management

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everything so it's a very powerful place

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to start you can start for free but

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there are some problems with it well I I

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spent eight months in notion and I built

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my first systems there

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and it like I said it can be a good

play12:02

place to start because you have a lot of

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templates available so you can access

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the templates library and they're going

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to be like full like writing blogging

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templates content calendars or whatever

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like project management templates they

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can be very easy to start with those and

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what's also really cool about notion is

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that you can create databases so you can

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create a database of notes and then you

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can have another

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database and you can link these

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databases with each other and create

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relations between them and you can do

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really cool stuff and I I spent many an

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hour trying to come up with these insane

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project management systems which are

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totally over engineered for my sort of

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one man show of studying and becoming an

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engineer but still it was cool it was

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fun

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you can do incredible things with it but

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like I'm saying it has a huge potential

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for distraction and tinkering and and

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just distraction so for this reason

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alone I I don't recommend notion anymore

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um there's simply too much YouTube

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available around it too there's too much

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productivity YouTube like all these big

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guys like Ali abdal Thiago Forte I think

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Forte now Forte doesn't use notion but

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they just enter notion in YouTube and

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there's just going to be so much

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potential for

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distraction and you're going to fall

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into the Trap the same trap that I did

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and that is that you start watching

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YouTube videos about note taking instead

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of actually taking

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notes instead of actually studying notes

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so that's this whole video is trying to

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save you from that

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trap but the main problem with notion is

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that your files live in the

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cloud when you access

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notion you like you you log in and then

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it's just a browser app and everything

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is in the

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app so there's no way to just go into

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the terminal and say and and CD into a

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directory and interact with your notes

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that that it doesn't work that way so

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all of your notes are always in the

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cloud you can't run scripts on them you

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can back them up as you like uh you

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cannot open them in your favorite text

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editor VI

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and there's also the issue where notion

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employees can actually access your notes

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if they have some reason to do that so

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in like I used to be very hard on

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privacy not so much anymore but still

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having my entire not taking system my

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settle cast my deepest Secrets all of

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that in a system in the cloud where

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employees can access

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it maybe

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not so next in the list we have

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Evernote

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Evernote this is the one that Thiago for

play15:29

uses or used a lot in his book building

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a second

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brain and Evernote is pretty cool

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because it

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combines not taking with to-do and

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scheduling so it is

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a yeah more of a second brain kind of

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type of app and it's like I actually

play15:53

never used Evernote I considered it I

play15:56

maybe I created an account but again

play15:59

here already we see that uh like notion

play16:01

is free you can do most things free but

play16:04

if you want to collaborate which you

play16:07

probably won't need for your own system

play16:09

but then you have to pay and here

play16:12

Evernote probably it has some paid stuff

play16:14

as well oh here pricing here see

play16:17

personal so here there are like limits

play16:20

to how many notes you can take there is

play16:23

um Note size Etc so it already has some

play16:27

pricing there too

play16:30

yeah wow so you can create up to 50

play16:33

notes okay well that's like I didn't

play16:36

know I didn't even know that but that's

play16:38

something to consider um when you make

play16:40

your

play16:41

decision uh my settle cast is 3,100

play16:44

notes just so you

play16:46

know so if you're looking for a tool

play16:48

that allows you to build a second

play16:51

brain I'm going to do a horrible attempt

play16:54

at drawing a brain here so this is brain

play16:59

if you want a second brain um then you

play17:02

can consider Evernote but the thing is

play17:05

we are not building a second brain we

play17:07

are building a not taking system and a

play17:11

second brain is a bigger concept that

play17:14

spans many more things it it spans like

play17:17

task management it spans time management

play17:21

uh emails this kind of stuff so the

play17:25

second brain is sort of the overarching

play17:27

workflow not just not taking and I see

play17:30

not taking as a part of the second brain

play17:33

but it's a hugely important part it's

play17:36

something that is this is where you need

play17:39

to start with you need to start with a

play17:41

good notetaking

play17:43

system so this is a very important

play17:45

distinction here like the not taking

play17:47

system ver versus all of these other

play17:49

tools and we're going to get into that

play17:52

later I'm I will speak about second

play17:55

brain not in this video but in the next

play17:57

playlist this is going to uh I'm going

play18:00

to show you my productivity system but

play18:03

we now we are fully concerned with no

play18:05

taking because that's the basis of

play18:07

everything that's where we need to

play18:10

start next there is uh Rome research

play18:16

Rome and I briefly considered it it

play18:19

looks like a very powerful tool it has a

play18:21

great ecosystem it allows linking of

play18:24

notes

play18:25

visualization uh so we are getting

play18:28

closer to our uh to our in our search

play18:31

for all of these requirements that we

play18:32

stated

play18:34

above but Rome also didn't make the cut

play18:38

because if we open Rome research

play18:42

here

play18:44

um this looks really cool you can create

play18:47

links you can visualize them like we are

play18:50

getting close in our requirements but

play18:52

again there is some pricing involved if

play18:54

you want all of the good stuff and again

play18:58

all of this lives in the cloud there's

play19:01

no way to open this in

play19:04

vim and of course that is really

play19:11

important

play19:14

so enter

play19:18

obsidian this is the tool

play19:21

to go this is like the horrible attempt

play19:24

at the obsidian logo which looks like

play19:27

this

play19:29

here that's my attempt at the logo here

play19:33

we go maybe I can just copy it here so

play19:37

much

play19:38

better so enter

play19:42

obsidian

play19:45

obsidian is what I arrived at after

play19:48

years of experimentation

play19:52

years obsidian is the best tool because

play19:56

it literally ticks off all of these

play19:59

requirements uh that we have

play20:03

here so obsidian uses markdown files on

play20:09

our machine they are stored

play20:12

locally so if I go to my settle

play20:18

Casten here you see like there's a ton

play20:21

of files here but if I open it in vim

play20:24

and if I enter settle cast and here

play20:27

there is

play20:29

all of these are markdown files that are

play20:33

here in my in

play20:36

my in my not taking system this is my

play20:38

obsidian Vault that I can open in Vim so

play20:43

all of my files here are locally

play20:46

available on my

play20:49

machine an obsidian Vault so in in

play20:52

obsidian there's this concept of a vault

play20:54

so when you open obsidian you're opening

play20:57

a vault a and a vault is nothing more

play21:00

than a collection of markdown files and

play21:02

obsidian is a way to to edit and

play21:06

visualize markdown

play21:08

files but it also allows you to do very

play21:11

powerful things with your

play21:13

files so if

play21:15

I uh let's

play21:18

see go out of this drawing because I'm

play21:21

I'm doing this within obsidian right

play21:23

this is so cool I'm doing I'm drawing

play21:26

but I also can access my notes Here so

play21:28

if I uh let's

play21:32

see let's create a new note and this is

play21:35

just the

play21:37

demo demo

play21:41

so you can link notes by doing double

play21:44

brackets so like here I'm I'm linking to

play21:47

this drawing that I did and maybe this

play21:50

reminds me of the tle cast in obsidian

play21:55

course that I created I don't know I'm

play21:56

just linking notes this is how you can

play21:58

link notes and if I then open the local

play22:04

graph local graph

play22:08

here here we see that these links now

play22:12

they are um these notes have now these

play22:15

links and they are

play22:16

visualized so we can link noes and

play22:20

visualize

play22:24

them if you do this over several years

play22:27

diligently and you always link noes to

play22:29

other noes a graph emerges that's going

play22:32

to look like

play22:34

this so my system is 3,100 noes

play22:39

currently

play22:41

3,148 you can see it down here in the

play22:43

bottom here and this is my obsidian

play22:46

graph now all of these notes they are

play22:48

linked together somehow and there are

play22:51

also a few notes that are not linked yet

play22:54

but what's powerful about this is that

play22:56

you can see these dots appear here that

play22:58

have a lot of notes so here we see that

play23:01

this dot called School apparently is a

play23:04

very important thing in my in my not

play23:07

taking system well that's correct

play23:10

because school is my my passion project

play23:14

here there's another one like this note

play23:17

was called

play23:18

cks This is weight loss like you can see

play23:22

you can visually see elements in your

play23:25

not taking system that are important to

play23:27

you and sometimes this leads to

play23:30

surprises like if over time

play23:32

something let's see yeah here like

play23:35

apparently this ckss note has received a

play23:38

lot of links and apparently this has

play23:40

been or is a very important thing in my

play23:42

life well it is this certified

play23:44

kubernetes security expert was a big

play23:46

effort that I did so this is one way of

play23:50

visualizing notes another way is we can

play23:55

use canvas so um let's see we have the

play24:00

settle cast and course

play24:04

convas uh let's see settle

play24:11

confus here this is a convas that I

play24:15

created to create my tle Casten course

play24:19

so I take all of these notes and I move

play24:22

them around and I put them in the right

play24:24

order and this has been an extremely

play24:26

powerful way of structuring my own

play24:28

thoughts when creating this course so I

play24:31

could move these around and think well

play24:33

this fits much better there and this one

play24:35

doesn't fit here so it should be moved

play24:37

over there and it's super powerful to to

play24:41

have the ability to play with your notes

play24:43

like this and create

play24:45

overviews and then there's of course

play24:47

excal draw where I can even do like uh

play24:52

uh let's see insert any

play24:55

file and let's see can I insert

play24:59

uh

play25:03

Lumen uh as embeddable here yeah so now

play25:06

I'm I'm embedding this

play25:09

oops now I'm embedding this

play25:12

note like insert any file

play25:19

Lumen as embeddable so now I've embedded

play25:22

this file into this drawing and I can

play25:26

start like attaching things Crea

play25:28

creating things adding icons this is

play25:30

also what I did in this massive drawing

play25:33

in this video that I created with

play25:35

160,000 views now about my whole neovim

play25:39

workflow I use excal draw in obsidian to

play25:44

visualize things but okay I'm I'm I'm

play25:47

getting a bit distracted with the

play25:48

visualization stuff the PO is across

play25:50

this is very um important so we can

play25:54

visualize obsidian allows you uh to

play25:59

to uh obsidian has great search

play26:02

functionality so let's see if you open

play26:05

this here you can see that you can

play26:06

search for path file tags sections so

play26:10

it's really useful to find your notes

play26:13

quickly uh with lightning

play26:16

speed and it also allows you to sync

play26:19

notes across all of your devices so you

play26:22

can you can have the obsidian app on

play26:24

your phone you can open up your not

play26:26

taking system

play26:28

um if you have an i if you have Apple

play26:31

devices you can use iCloud to sync your

play26:33

Vault between between devices so I store

play26:36

my Vault on my Mac I can open it on my

play26:39

iPhone and then Apple sync handles the

play26:42

syncing between these

play26:45

devices there's also obsidian sync so

play26:48

say you are in a situation where you

play26:49

have a Macbook and you have a Linux

play26:52

laptop and you want your notes to be

play26:54

available at both you can either use git

play26:57

obsidian git and this is done I show you

play27:00

this in my obsidian 101 course or you

play27:03

can use obsidian sync this is a paid

play27:05

service it's like what is it uh obsidian

play27:10

Sync It's like $5 a month or

play27:14

something uh here $4 a month I I I had

play27:18

this for like a year it's a nice way to

play27:21

support the project because I haven't

play27:23

even said this but obsidian is

play27:25

completely for free no problem ing no

play27:30

you download the app and use it

play27:32

and it's compatible with

play27:34

Vim so can search we can link

play27:38

notes we can run scripts because we have

play27:40

all of our markdown files available um

play27:44

we can use Vim with our markdown files

play27:47

and therefore we can customize our

play27:49

editing and reading

play27:55

experience everything is stored in

play27:57

markdown file files we can do anything

play27:59

we want with our

play28:01

files so my no taking system is

play28:05

completely built as having obsidian as

play28:08

the

play28:10

bases

play28:13

base

play28:16

obsidian and then have it fully

play28:19

compatible with vim and it's important

play28:26

because there are going going to be

play28:28

situations where you are either going to

play28:30

have only access to the obsidian app for

play28:33

example on your phone like it's possible

play28:35

to use fim on an iPhone but I don't

play28:37

recommend it so there are situations

play28:40

where you only have obsidium or there

play28:42

are situations where you only have the

play28:44

command line well if you choose this

play28:47

approach by taking the obsidian vault as

play28:50

the basis as the the overarching sort of

play28:54

framework for your notetaking system

play28:57

this allow you to have a lot of

play29:01

flexibility flexibility and

play29:04

portability of your entire no taking

play29:08

system so I

play29:12

recommend use obsidian the concept of an

play29:15

obsidian Vault and keep it compatible

play29:17

with vim and the other way

play29:20

around because there are also systems

play29:22

you can create with Vim only but those

play29:24

are not necessarily going to be fully

play29:26

compatible with obsidian

play29:30

um so yes this is super important

play29:35

because we stay in full control of our

play29:40

files my my entire settle

play29:45

cast is almost one gig and this also

play29:49

contains images it contains some Excel

play29:52

files everything is in

play29:54

there but it's mostly markdown files

play29:57

three 3,150 markdown

play30:00

files

play30:03

and I can do whatever I want with these

play30:06

files this is my this is just a a a

play30:10

directory on my system and I can copy

play30:13

that and back it up to encrypt it and

play30:15

back it up to wherever I want I can

play30:17

distribute it wherever I want I back

play30:20

this up into git and I can pull it

play30:22

wherever I am if I have my SSH key to my

play30:25

GitHub account I can pull it in I can

play30:28

and have access to my notes wherever

play30:29

from the command line I can run a

play30:31

container with my ttle Casten in it I

play30:34

containerized my ttle Casten so in this

play30:39

series we are also going to be like

play30:41

writing when we were learning Bash one

play30:44

of the most fun things I did was to run

play30:46

create bash scripts to work with my ttle

play30:49

cast to work with my Nott taking system

play30:52

so if you want to be following with my

play30:55

sort of tutorial journey into Linux in

play30:57

into containers I highly highly

play31:00

recommend you don't use notion but you

play31:03

use obsidian with markdown files and we

play31:07

are going to be using Vim to interact

play31:10

with these files in combination with

play31:12

obsidian but we are going to be learning

play31:14

about no taking in both obsidian and Vim

play31:18

and how to edit those how to run scripts

play31:20

on those and it's just going to be a fun

play31:23

experience if you do it this way and I'm

play31:25

not saying this because I

play31:28

you you necessarily need to join this

play31:30

playlist Journey but it is basically

play31:34

just what I arrived at after 2,000 hours

play31:38

of researching and practicing the settle

play31:41

cast method because that is what we are

play31:44

going to work towards is to build a tle

play31:48

cast invm obsidian like I have done in

play31:53

my

play31:54

course so if you're interested in

play31:56

learning more about the tett C method I

play31:59

highly recommend you either uh look into

play32:02

this course this has been is already

play32:04

getting five star reviews and and

play32:07

already have 24 students getting a lot

play32:09

of positive feedback on that just

play32:12

yesterday someone was shouting it out on

play32:14

LinkedIn super nice but there is also

play32:17

the obsidian 101 course and if you check

play32:22

out this course this will show you a

play32:26

it's a a quick start you get a full not

play32:29

taking system in one hour so it's it's

play32:32

super cheap it's all you need to get

play32:34

started it will implement the para

play32:36

method for you and you can start taking

play32:39

notes today because that's the most

play32:41

important thing here guys stop watching

play32:43

videos stop researching just use

play32:47

obsidian and start taking notes that's

play32:49

the most important

play32:51

thing so these are this course is my

play32:54

life's work it's 2,000 hours condensed

play32:57

in 2 hours

play32:58

and this is also a good course but if

play33:01

the best value honestly is just to join

play33:03

my school Community because if you join

play33:07

my school

play33:09

Community then you are going to get

play33:11

unlimited access to all of my courses

play33:14

it's currently $29 there's a price

play33:17

increase coming soon and it's $29 a

play33:20

month it's $1 less than $1 a day and

play33:24

then you get unlimited access to all of

play33:26

my courses about Vim neovim my entire

play33:30

dot files walk through my kubernetes

play33:32

fundamentals course everything is in

play33:34

here including the two courses that I

play33:37

just showed you about not

play33:39

taking and there is a community of

play33:41

people of fellow not takers who are

play33:44

there to help you myself included and

play33:48

there is already like 540 pages of

play33:52

knowledge here that you can search by

play33:55

searching obsidian for example you can

play33:57

get all of the PO the posts on obsidian

play34:01

here and also we you we have weekly Q&A

play34:05

calls three times a week there is a

play34:08

one-hour call with me and the community

play34:10

where you have the ability to ask

play34:12

questions and every day we have a few

play34:16

study hall a few hours where you can

play34:18

gather and take notes together and work

play34:21

on your

play34:22

certifications so that was it for this

play34:26

video in conclusion

play34:28

use obsidian start taking notes today

play34:33

have it compatible with Vim in markdown

play34:35

files and in the next video we're going

play34:37

to look into how to actually start

play34:40

taking notes and which methods we can

play34:42

use for taking notes in our obsidian

play34:45

fold thank you so much for watching see

play34:47

you in the next one

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Related Tags
Note-TakingDevOpsProductivityNotionEvernoteObsidianMarkdownVimResearchWorkflow