Here Is How I Use Tags 🏷️ And Links 🔗️ In Obsidian To Manage My Zettelkasten 📝️
Summary
TLDRIn this video, Brian Jenks discusses his unique approach to organizing notes in Obsidian, a popular note-taking app. He explains why he uses links as tags and the benefits and drawbacks of this method. Jenks advocates for a system of 'mocks' or maps of content to manage a digital garden without traditional folder hierarchies. He demonstrates how to use tags for status indicators and links for connecting notes, ultimately creating a webbed network of knowledge that reduces cognitive load and facilitates knowledge creation.
Takeaways
- 🔗 Brian Jenks uses links as tags in his Obsidian vault, favoring this method for its unique benefits and drawbacks.
- 🌐 Tags in Obsidian are indicators of status and do not create hard links between files, allowing for broad categorization without direct file connections.
- 📚 Jenks prefers using emojis as status indicators for his notes, which helps in filtering and quickly identifying notes by their status.
- 🎨 Tags can be color-coded in Obsidian, assisting in visual differentiation on the graph view.
- 🔍 Jenks utilizes a 'mock' or 'map of content' approach, inspired by Nick Milo, to manage his digital garden effectively.
- 📈 The use of links over tags allows Jenks to create a network of interconnected notes that support serendipitous discovery within his vault.
- 📝 As notes grow in connectivity, Jenks promotes them to 'mocks,' which are notes that act as hubs for related topics and concepts.
- 🗂️ Jenks does not use a traditional folder hierarchy; instead, he relies on a flat structure of notes connected by links and tags.
- 📉 The strategy of using links and tags helps in managing a large volume of notes without the cognitive load of a complex folder system.
- 🌐 Jenks emphasizes the importance of an emerging structure in his vault, allowing for a dynamic and flexible organization that evolves with his knowledge base.
- 🛠️ This approach to note organization is highly personal and should be adapted to fit individual needs and the nature of the content being managed.
Q & A
What is the main topic discussed in the video by Brian Jenks?
-The main topic discussed is the use of links as tags in the Obsidian vault system, explaining the benefits, drawbacks, and how to use them for managing a digital garden or a note forest.
What is the term 'mock' or 'map of content' in the context of Obsidian?
-The term 'mock' or 'map of content' refers to a method of organizing and managing notes in Obsidian, developed by Nick Milo, which Brian Jenks has implemented in his system.
Why does Brian Jenks prefer using links as status indicators instead of traditional tags in Obsidian?
-Brian prefers using links as status indicators because they help in filtering notes based on their status without linking files to each other, allowing for a quick overview of notes in different stages of development.
How does Brian Jenks use emojis as status indicators in his Obsidian vault?
-Brian uses emojis as soft links to indicate the status of notes, such as 'tree' for evergreen notes or 'seedling' for new notes that need further development.
What is the difference between soft links and hard links in Obsidian as discussed in the video?
-Soft links in Obsidian are used for tagging and do not create connections between files, whereas hard links actually link files together, allowing for serendipitous discovery and traversal within the vault.
How does Brian Jenks use the concept of 'evergreen notes' in his note-taking system?
-Evergreen notes in Brian's system are notes that are constantly updated and remain relevant over time. They are tagged with a specific emoji to easily find and review all evergreen notes in his vault.
What is the purpose of creating a 'mock' or map of content in Brian's system?
-The purpose of creating a 'mock' is to identify prominent topics in the vault that are frequently linked to and to establish a central note that acts as a jumping-off point for related notes and subtopics.
How does Brian Jenks organize his notes without a traditional folder hierarchy?
-Brian organizes his notes using a top-level pool of notes connected through links and tags, which he refers to as 'status indicators'. This allows him to see the emerging structure of his content without relying on a nested folder hierarchy.
What is the benefit of using a 'mock' or map of content approach for managing a large vault of notes?
-The benefit of using a 'mock' approach is that it allows for a macro view of the vault, making it easier to see how topics and subjects are interconnected and to manage a large number of notes without the cognitive load of a complex folder hierarchy.
How can users of Obsidian identify and promote notes to the status of 'mock'?
-Users can identify notes that are frequently linked to and tagged, indicating their importance. Over time, these notes can be promoted to 'mock' status, creating a central hub for related notes and topics.
What is the role of the 'interests' category in Brian Jenks' Obsidian vault?
-The 'interests' category serves as a meta category or a high-level tag in Brian's system, linking to various 'mocks' or maps of content related to his personal interests, providing a broad overview of his knowledge areas.
Outlines
🔗 Linking as Tags in Obsidian
Brian Jenks discusses his unique approach to using links as tags within the Obsidian system. He explains the benefits and drawbacks of this method, which includes using emojis as status indicators for notes. Jenks prefers this system because it allows for better filtering and organization within his digital garden, supporting the concept of 'mocks' or maps of content developed by Nick Milo. He emphasizes the importance of this method in managing a large vault of notes without the need for a traditional folder hierarchy.
🌳 The Structure of Content in Obsidian
Jenks elaborates on how he uses soft and hard links in Obsidian to organize his notes. Soft links, or tags, serve as status indicators and do not link files together, allowing for a broad view of notes with the same status. Hard links, on the other hand, connect files and facilitate serendipitous discovery within the vault. He describes the process of identifying frequently referenced tags and promoting them to 'mocks,' or maps of content, which helps in visualizing the emerging structure of his notes over time.
📚 Managing a Note Vault Without Hierarchical Folders
The speaker shares his strategy for managing a vast collection of notes in Obsidian without relying on a nested folder hierarchy. He uses status indicators and tags to categorize notes and create a web of interconnected 'mocks' that represent different topics or subjects. This approach allows for a macro view of the vault, making it easier to locate and connect notes. Jenks also discusses the importance of this method in reducing cognitive load and facilitating the creation of knowledge.
🗺️ Navigating the Personal Knowledge Landscape
Jenks provides insights into navigating and organizing a personal knowledge landscape using Obsidian. He explains how to use tags and links to create a network of interconnected notes, which can be filtered and viewed as a whole or in parts. This method allows for an overview of the entire vault, making it simple to identify and locate specific topics or areas of interest. He also touches on the personalization of this system, emphasizing that it should be an extension of one's thoughts and knowledge.
🎉 Appreciation and Support for the Obsidian Community
In the closing paragraph, Jenks expresses his gratitude to his patrons and supporters, acknowledging their contributions to his work. He lists the names of some patrons and thanks them for their support, which he says makes his efforts worthwhile. He also invites viewers to join his newsletter for updates and direct communication, and he encourages support through Patreon, Buy Me A Coffee, and other methods.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Zettelkasten
💡Tags
💡Links
💡Mocks
💡Status Indicators
💡Graph View
💡Evergreen Notes
💡Cognitive Load
💡Second Brain
💡Content Creation
Highlights
Brian Jenks discusses his unique approach to using links as tags in Obsidian for managing his digital garden.
Tags in Obsidian are used as indicators of status rather than linking related topics.
Jenks explains the benefits of using a 'mock' or 'map of content' for managing digital notes.
The importance of distinguishing between soft and hard links in Obsidian for different organizational purposes.
Using tags for filtering notes based on status, such as 'evergreen notes' or 'seedlings'.
The strategy of promoting frequently linked topics to a 'mock' for better content organization.
Jenks shares his method of identifying emerging structure in his vault to adapt his note organization.
The advantage of not using a traditional folder hierarchy for note organization in Obsidian.
How Jenks uses the graph view in Obsidian to filter and manage his 'maps of content'.
The process of tagging notes that don't exist yet, and later creating them when they become prominent.
Using tags as status indicators to review and refine the structure of one's Obsidian vault.
Jenks' approach to managing a large vault of notes without the cognitive load of a nested folder system.
The personalization of the Obsidian system to suit individual needs and goals.
How Jenks' method reduces friction and cognitive load, allowing for more efficient knowledge creation.
The importance of adapting one's note-taking system to include both personal ideas and collected knowledge.
Jenks emphasizes the value of a flexible and evolving organizational structure in a personal knowledge management system.
A call to action for viewers to support the channel through Patreon, Buy Me A Coffee, or PayPal.
Transcripts
links or tags in your zettlecaustin
system which one should you use why
what are the benefits drawbacks of
either approach
and how do i use them that's what we're
going to cover today
stay tuned
[Music]
welcome back everyone if you're new here
my name is brian jenks and today i'm
going to be talking about why i use
links as my tags and tags are basically
just indicators of status
for my obsidian vault why do i do that
what are the benefits what are the
drawbacks
it's a question i get asked a lot or
that comes up very often
in the obsidian forum and i'm going to
cover today why
i chose this approach and how it
benefits me and where potential
drawbacks might lie for
you if you choose to use this so as i
said i have this question asked of me
a lot and i do have a frequently asked
questions repo
on github where people can just file
issues basically ask me questions
and then people can either help out or i
can just answer them
and anyone can just refer to all the my
prior answered questions and have a
one-stop shop for that type of stuff
now i've answered the question here
about what the benefits and drawbacks
are of using tags versus links and why i
choose
to use links as my quote unquote tags
and basically my unique approach for
this that
i think i was the first one to start
doing this i'm not sure
it doesn't really matter but this is the
approach i chose to use and i'm going to
show you and tell you
why so a little bit of context and
background there is an individual in the
obsidian forums who now also has a
youtube channel an obsidian course named
nick milo
who i believe is one who developed the
term mock or map of content
and i really like that approach and i
have already implemented this in
my system and i really think it's a
really great approach for
managing a digital gardens that'll cost
an evergreen note
forest whatever and because of
that way that system works i have sort
of adapted
my vault to use tags differently
to support mocks and the usage of mocks
and effectively using them
now why and how are the usage of tags
and links different
in this respect with obsidian so in
obsidian
when i first started the system tags
didn't even display on the graph
so it was already a benefit in that
regard but now it's
it's not really it's neither here nor
there but
i do like the separation because tags
display with a different color or at
least you can set
them to display with a different color
on the graph now
when i use tags you can see that i have
this one here for a tree i talked about
my comprehensive workflow video
that the tree and the emoji tags are
basically indicators of status
so the reason why i use links as status
instead of like actually linking related
things like
neurology flow state mental health or
whatever like the productivity whatever
the tags might be
however you typically might use you know
hashtags
i use emojis and status for this because
the
tags do not link files to each other
basically they are soft links so if i
link a lot of things to this
tree tag here then that means that
there's basically no filter it's
all the things that are tagged with that
tree emoji or in this case as an
evergreen note
i can use this and find all of my
evergreen notes
that's really cool and i could say hey
if i want to open up
my graph my graph view
and i want to only see the
tags for the evergreen
evergreen notes then i can easily find
all of my
evergreen notes that i have in my vault
that's a really quick way of
filtering based on status now
that's useful but really what i really
like is it's able to help me
filter down on say hey all of my notes
that are currently in a status of their
brand new seedlings or they're in the
incubator which means i need to
follow up flesh them out connect them to
other nodes
in the vault then that's easy for me to
just go back and click on that and then
see a list of all those items
now i could just use text of saying
uh open up that that text is like unread
or
in progress and i could do that but this
is the approach i prefer now i mentioned
it already but
tags are a soft link so my evergreen
note tag little tree here connects to a
large variety of notes across different
contexts
so this one is like you know about adhd
but i could have a note way over there
about c
plus programming completely unrelated to
any of this material
and it's also an evergreen note so in
that respect the soft link is just like
a giant umbrella over all things of a
given status in this respect
but hard links are what actually link
files together
for that serendipitous discovery in a
settle costume and the reason why i use
links instead of tags as my tag
you know it gets confusing but basically
the way the tag system in here is just
status to me
but links are both links between files
but also links to what i treat as tags
so for instance if i actually take this
note into preview you can see that some
of these are
grayed out basically this means that
these files don't exist
on the graph you can see there are
different color nodes red nodes
that is because these files do not exist
in the vault yet they are referenced i'm
referencing
a node named flow state but the note
does not exist
if i hover over it you see does not is
not created yet does not exist
why do i do this so over time as i have
a large
swath of notes in my vault if i over
time
reference something very often and link
it quote unquote link
tag it with a specific tag like this one
you can see this is a big red node right
here
what is that that's learning so i might
see over time
i'm linking to the quote unquote tag
learning quite a lot maybe that's a very
prominent topic in my vault
if i talk about it a lot and i have a
lot of notes linked to learning
i might want to create that note and
then promote it to a mock
a map of content saying hey this is a
topic i talk about a lot
so now i'm not going to list out
itemized
every single note that's attached to
this thing but i might identify
prominent areas of
subject matter around learning that i
have like um oh here's a
an interesting article i read and then
here's one closed deletion space
repetition i might
link say okay learning space repetition
and have that jumping off point
to dive into my material but that point
starts with
the mock a map of content saying hey
here is a subject
and here's a lot of jumping off areas to
just dive into material
those different notes that are the
material link to other notes and
each other in that subject area and
context and that is a great way of
starting to traverse your graph
traverse your vault and serendipitously
discover notes you may have forgotten or
connections that you did not
immediately think of right off the bat
this is a very really
useful approach in an active space
repetition
practice because you're constantly
reviewing notes in your vault
and sometimes it's been a long time
since you reviewed it so it's always
brushing your mind
and so as you look over this you can
easily see which
of these red nodes are waiting to be
promoted to a status of mock
so why this is really important and why
this is
critical to the way i run my vault here
is over time
i can see the emerging structure of my
content my vault my notes my
second brain i can over time see the
emerging structure
and what that means is that i'm not
going to say
these are the topics i speak about it's
learning it's adhd
it's programming those are not the
topics that i say i need to list things
these are the topics i talk about
so any new note i create needs to fall
within one of my predefined categories
or else i don't know where it goes no in
my
file explorer here you see i don't have
any folders beyond just like you know
utility my daily journal goes there
which is the daily notes
pictures templates and then this is some
stuff about like content creation medium
articles and youtube videos but beyond
that my actual notes
are not set up in a structured folder
hierarchy
there is no hierarchy it's all just a
top level pool of notes
so how do you organize and deal with
that well
as your notes and your vault reach
critical mass too many notes to really
manage
and easily find what you're looking for
yes we have search
yes we have tags depending on how you
use them but
as you reach critical mass you're going
to start needing some level of structure
not necessarily like nested folders to
the nth degree
where all of your notes must fall that
sort of management of your vault
becomes to the point where it's in uh
too much of an encumbrance it's too much
friction for you to create
and get notes made and connected when
you're
constantly just trying to sort and file
them in the correct location based on
the taxonomy that you set for yourself
so in my opinion that is not a great
approach when you're trying to build a
system like this
so as a as you go about this and you tag
these notes that don't exist
so if i go back you know i'm tagging i
might tag
learning here or flow state or neurology
whatever
they don't exist yet but when i start to
see that a lot of things are connected
to them
i might say that is a piece of material
that is a topic a subject
i really need to pay attention to
promote to a mock and start connecting
to
my web of maps of content and
what this can look like let me see if i
can find one here
um productivity i think is one so i
might
just make the note and not actually do
anything with it yet but for instance
like i can say okay i made the note it
now exists
but over time it might just be a tag
note so i could say hey a lot of things
are connecting to this
like learning so let's actually uh go to
the graph
and say hey we're gonna find learning
again it's very prominent and easy to
find because i'm connecting to it a lot
okay learning
if i click this red node it will create
that file
so now we have the file learning and now
if i open up the graph
yes a lot of things are connected to
this so what i might do is say hey this
note exists now but it's
it's still a tag note it's not like an
actual map of content
yet so i might give it a tag so now
as a status indicator i can say hey i
have a lot of things that are status
indicators of
tag notes and maps of content are the
map tags here
so if i click the tag notes you can see
i have some things in here that are
actually tagged as
potential mocks over time and i might
graduate them maybe i might wait a
little bit longer but in the meantime
now it exists either way it doesn't
really matter so
one thing you can do is use that system
see the red nodes get larger over time
promote them to a mock directly or just
say hey
that's getting pretty big i want to make
sure i pay close attention to that over
time
tag it with a tag uh status indicator
and now it's here when i can review
these i can say
yeah i'm ready to add these to to my
mocks and so then i can say okay let's
add it to the mocks like this
and an example of some of these mocks
are like let's see here
i have one for let's do
business so i can go to business and
then here's a bunch of different
you know jumping off points into my
business mock i have a link back to the
main index
i have a bunch of other topics
strategies different things about
business that i might look at
and this is how i use a mock um c plus
plus is a very large fleshed out one for
my class
so i could easily link to different
things and the reason why this is really
great is you can see like
i'm traversing uh those those mocks that
way is that links
between the mocks because they're all
categorized as mocks
they have this status indicator why is
that important we'll get to that
but now i can easily traverse backwards
so it's like going forwards in the
browser and then the back button
c plus is a programming language
programming programming is one of my
interests
interests interests is listed on my
index as
a jumping off point of mocks so these
different mocks at different levels of
granularity
link to each other and because they're
all tagged
with that quote-unquote hashtag or my
status indicator
if i go to my graph and i want to filter
let's remove everything here actually
let's just leave it so you can see
exactly how i do this
so tag i'm going to do a map
so a map and this is now searching for
my maps of content that have
the map tag the way tags are typically
used
so now i have a bunch of stuff here
let's remove attachments let's remove
tags
what this lets me do is see a connected
web
of just my maps of content and this way
i can easily see
a giant macro view of my vault broken
down so i can see
all the topic and subject areas broken
out i don't have to have these all
linked in a specific you know nested
bullet point level on a specific page or
anything i could just
tag them with that status indicator and
now i can see them all connected to
each other because they all have
backlinks to their prior
um their prior mocks so c plus connects
to programming
programming is an interest of mine and
interest is one of the major
topic areas or giant um
meta categories of life my life
interests programming c plus and over
time as
you see all these notes get added to
your vault you promote different mocks
up to mock status and you find a way
where they fit in with their
counterparts in here so necessarily i
could say hey learning is a mock now
i can list out all the critical large
jumping off points within learning
and i can say hmm where would the
learning mock go
so i could put it under interests my i
am interested in learning
or i could put it under personal
knowledge management because
you're managing your own personal
knowledge probably by learning new
things
and i can identify easily where i might
put this
mock because i don't need to figure out
where i'm going to file all of these
notes in a bunch of folders
they're attached to their mock and
subsequently higher levels of
mock map of content so this sounds like
a lot it sounds
really complex but when you actually put
this into practice it's
really not as difficult as it might
appear or seem to be
if you like the type of obsidian content
and the things that i talk about
um i do have a brand new newsletter a
link to that is in the description and
the pin comment below
and i plan on sending out like updates
on what i'm working on
announcements of different things and if
i ever make like a course around
anything
that's where i might be announcing it so
if this interests you or you want to
just see what i'm up to or have a direct
line of communication with me beyond
my discord server which i'll link to
that is also in the description below
then you can join this newsletter and
let's chat
so hopefully i'll see you there in my
opinion using the maps of content and
this strategy is
critical to managing a vault of notes
like this
using a top-down structure or a
bottom-up structure where you don't have
a nested folder hierarchy you're not
worried about
classifying and filtering and sorting
and filing all of your notes into
different
folders and subsets and managing those
granularly it's just
here's a vault here's a graph it's all
connected
how can i change some certain pieces of
metadata to make sure i know where to
find
things or have a good starting place
once those
things are established and filed into
your zettle costume
vault and so as you review material you
make new notes you have
status indicators okay it's a seedling
brand new idea it's got some content now
i need to flesh it out okay it's ready
to be connected to the main vault now
it's an evergreen note
there you go and then those connect to
different categories adhd mental health
productivity flow state whatever your
tags
are and then you can graduate those tags
to tag notes
to maps of content and they're
filterable in this web of content you
have here
and it makes it easier to see a giant
meta view of your vault
and see how things can be broken down
and structured
and i think this this is critical when
you're trying to manage a system
that is just a giant pool and breaking
it down and breaking it out so you can
find out where your things are where you
need to be
this allows you to define your structure
as you go instead of
setting out right from the beginning to
i need 15 levels of nested folders about
every single
uh nested layer of materials subject
ideas and
like you don't need to have a folder for
religions and then
two folders for eastern and western
religions and then all a folder for each
religion underneath those categories
under those and then the time periods
you don't need to do anything like that
it's just i have a mock
that mock is religion and then you could
have
different sub mock notes linking to
those and you could traverse that in
your local or
full zettlecostan obsidian graph
and this is an easier way of connecting
your knowledge and your nodes of
knowledge
than just having a bunch of folders and
trying to figure out where things need
to be placed or
hunting for something if you've lost it
yes we have search and obsidian
but i think that the cognitive load of
having to manage all of that
not only taxonomy but the filing and
management of a nested
fire nested folder hierarchy is it's
just
too much when you're trying to actually
do something in this space where you're
trying to build
a webbed network of knowledge that is of
course my opinion
ultimately these systems are an
extension of our own
thoughts our own brains our own
knowledge if you're going to be building
a second brain settle constant digital
garden
whatever ultimately it's a highly
personal endeavor
and how you want to do that how you want
to structure it is completely up to you
this is how i approach things this works
for me and i think it's a great approach
it might not be right for you certain
disciplines might have a better way of
doing something
that suits their discipline or their
approach or their goal
my goal is to have a second brain of all
of my knowledge not just
a traditional zeddle costume where it's
only my ideas after reading literature
notes i have programming notes in here
i have certain pieces of information and
pictures and things that i want in here
for specific reasons but overall i have
ways of getting to that like i could say
programming right here is a list of all
of my mocks and content and notes
around programming that might not be a
pure zettlecoston in
essence like of just my unique ideas
after reading literature
but all those things might come from all
the other areas but i could say hey this
offshoot of interest programming and
whatever
that's that's that section i can
traverse that road go there and be like
okay i know i'm not going to be
in my traditional zetto cost in space
when i'm in these notes
but it's my second brain my brain has
more than just my own ideas my brain
also has
knowledge i've collected from other
sources or factual knowledge like
uh how vectors and arrays work in c e
and c plus plus you know it's it's
really just a matter of
how do you want to approach this and how
is that approach going to help you
reduce friction and cognitive load to
actually have a beneficial output
and spend less time in configuration
and more time in creation of knowledge
and notes
so hopefully you found this interesting
and maybe even a little bit enlightening
this is how i approach myself costing
taxonomy
and the taxonomy of notes of classifying
them into different statuses into links
into
basically how i manage all of this
content and still have a good
organizational structure even if it's
not a nested folder hierarchy
so hopefully you found this interesting
and before i go a quick note to the
patrons who support this channel
thank you for your support devin ed
hyungjung leonardo brandon klaus paul
john joel john and alberto thank you
guys for supporting the
channel through patreon and anybody else
who supports the channel through buy me
a coffee paypal or any other supportive
methods and efforts thank you so much it
makes it very worthwhile to know that
people appreciate
my work and if you want to support my
work these are the ways that you can do
it
donations patreon and watching my videos
so thank you everyone and i will catch
you all
in the next one
[Music]
you
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