Just to save future people some time, this is by far the SIMPLEST and easiest video to follow to get started with Obsidian and building your own Zettlekasten. I started with this video, and nothing else I've watched all day really compares. A very practical place to start! I also deeply recommend Nick Milo (Linking Your Thinking) and his videos for amazing videos that get you onboarded fast. The only reason I rate this video above Milo's is that his vids are more instructional guides to using Obsidian efficiently, not about crafting an ideal workflow. Don't waste your day like me watching other videos, Artem and Nick's videos are all you need!

I have seen a lot of Zettelkasten how-to videos at this point. This is one of the best. I like how it is made by a guy that has actually used it for more than a couple weeks, and how it emphasizes keeping it simple and friction-free rather than showcasing a bunch of super refined, predefined "workflows" which I always found defied the purpose of the Zettelkasten. Great work!

You must turn on Templates under Core Plugins before you can specify Hotkeys for Templates. Took me a bit to figure out why I didn't have that option following the order it is presented in the video.

Bud I haven’t watched the video yet… but before I even got here your thumbnail just screamed ‘I have a mysterious European accent’

I just started with obsidian and I started in a very traditional way of creating a bunch of useless folders, tags, structure that I didn't need. This is such a great video and I'm glad I caught it early.

Update 2023-05: templates and tags are on by default, the sliding tabs are built-in now. You also need to disable the extra title to use the template from the video, otherwise you get basically 3 titles - one small on the tab, one extra and one from the template. Disable by: Menu (left bottom corner) > [Appearance] tab > toggle [Show inline title]. The safe mode toggle looks different now, there's more explanation there. Looks like they've heard you Artem with these changes :) Thanks for the video! Just what I needed to start - couldn't wait to finish reading the whole "How to Take Smart Notes", had to start using it! This video helped. A lot :) The "do not complicate things" force should be strong with us - almost everywhere I look the examples of, say, templates for Zettelkasten are so overcomplicated, bringing friction to the system. However, I still need to get those sweet gradient titles :) Then it'll be a direct upgrade from Nuclino that I've been using while gravitating towards something like Zettelkasten before even knowing it exists (where have you been all these years?). There's one thing in this video that I can't handle as a programmer though: "Status:". That's a "Type:"! :) I've also added a type "question" as an experiment because keeping track of questions is essential for me (here "status: question" → "status: idea" would make sense though). So far I've been keeping them in my GTD system, but they belong here. Putting questions in titles requires to work around the limitation that "?" can't be a part of a title, but I wrote an AutoHotkey that inserts an almost identical, allowed character: #IfWinActive ahk_exe Obsidian.exe ^+?::Send {U+FF1F} ; [Ctrl]+[Shift]+[?] → "？" (FULLWIDTH QUESTION MARK) ^!/::Send {U+3033} ; [Ctrl]+[Alt]+[/] → "〳" (VERTICAL KANA REPEAT MARK UPPER HALF) ^+;::Send {U+A789} ; [Ctrl]+[Shift]+[;] → "꞉" (MODIFIER LETTER COLON) #IfWinActive I've seen glimpses of extremely interesting insight in your notes. Any hope you'll publish some of it via Obsidian Publish? That would be helpful to others (the drawback is probably that it'll bring some friction to your writing unless you're comfortable with adding to/changing something that's public).

After watching like 20 videos on youtube about zettelkasten in Obsidian, I can confirm this is by far the best one. You covered most of the topics to start with Obsidian in very simple terms. Congrats!

That is a pretty clever way of using Obsidian and a Zettlekasten. In particular the "ghost notes" concept and the iterative growth of an idea one keeps thinking about as well as using the Command Palette to create new notes. I had to watch this a couple of times to understand the power of your workflow. To anyone finding this video that may be as equally dismissive as I was, I encourage you to re-watch and possibly write your ideas about it down :) Thanks for sharing, peace.

I think this is the best video to send someone who's starting out with obsidian and note taking you go through everything and give enough fundamentals to start from! incredible!

Наконец-то. Человек в своём уме.

Big thumbs up - concise and to the point. Just what I expected from a fellow bassist. ;-) Thank you so much - instead of watching a 4 hour course you gave me a great starting point to act now.

Excellent! I'm the "completely lost, don't know where to start" guy who has spent a week bouncing between Obsidian and Logseq putzing around with plugins and themes instead of getting my system started. This video just popped up on my KZfaq home page this morning and you may have just saved me! Doing this, I can just get started.

Super appreciative of the explanation of how Obsidian works under the hood. That removed some of the anxiety of diving into yet another productivity tool.

Just what I was looking for-a simple Obsidian note-taking system based around Zettelkasten, suitable for beginners, and explained by someone with actual experience using it. Excellent work! Didn’t have to think twice about subscribing🙌🏼

Artem, this is incredible. As soon as you mentioned the MOC it all made sense to me. I thought making individual folders would make my workflow easier, but in reality it made it more convoluted. Thank you lots. Cheers!

This is the only video I have seen so far that adequately explains what underpins this app and how it can be used. Well done, and thank you. Something for me to practice with while recovering from the floods in Australia.

Thank you Artem! I am just starting a PhD and looking to set up a Zettelkasten workflow. This is the most helpful, practical and entertaining video on the subject I have seen to date. Please keep up the good work. 😃

This is probably this best video to show some one that is new to Zettelkasten but still wants to get some power out of Obsidian. It's simple to get into and build on. Amazing video!

I'm glad your video showed up in my feed. I just started using Obsidian. I stopped everything I was doing and recreated my system to match yours. It makes sense and the simplification brings relief. Thanks.

Thanks Artem for this and your first Zettelkasten video. You really demystified it, gave super clear examples that showed me what to do. I found it really helpful to see full examples of one of your Notes, with the links embedded into the normal text. That was a game changer. It was so helpful to see your setup, I could follow it and in ten minutes I was on my way. I've just spent 3 days putting in my first 100 notes and you're the one that helped me get there 🙂

I ended up looking into Zettelkasten because trying to make future-proof structure always got in my way, and just like you say, the premade Zettelkasten setups presented the same problem. Thank you for the great video!

Great video! Finding your channel was like finding a gold vein. Keep it up!

This video is actually the best I've found

I just stumbled upon Obsidian yesterday and was really frustrated that there was no video from someone who actually used it for more that a couple of weeks. Today I randomly watched your video on the logarithmic nature of the brain and by luck saw this video on obsidian. By far the best advice to use it productivly! Thanks.

Wow this video helped me so much! 1. It helped me kick off the obsidian+zettel as I had a decision fatigue and didn't really know how to start. Your folder structure + simple template and plugin was awesome. 2. Before I would use #tags as Tags rather than the empty notes as you are using. This part really helped allot as tags in zettel and tags in obsidian carry different meanings, it just clicked. After hearing about MOC here I look around for other videos on it, and I have to say that I like your approach where your MOCs are organic and happen as a consequence of your interests and ideas rather than other way around. Thanks man, subbed.

Thanks for this video. It's very educational and as said before here in the comments an easy-to-follow instruction to start with Obsidian and Zettelkasten. Also - I simply love the name you gave yours.

Hey artem! for me you were the best discovery of this second half of 2021. I am a phd student from brazil, and i'm sooo happy to have found your channel. you are so smart and speak about stuff in a way that is so easy to follow. Keep up the amazing job dude, your video on neuron manifolds was a fucking bop. amazing.

Best video I've ever watched about Obsidian. I'm really thankful for this content

Wow. I’m so glad I found this. It looks like it’s such a compatible note system for how I approach learning and life in general. Thank you for this!

This video by Artem was very practical in its recommendations (and it is not the first one I have seen). Is clear that he is a serious user, and not one who put it to use for a week to make only a review. It seems to me very sincere and judicious. Thanks

This is by far the simplest and most valuable video I've found on this matter. Congrats Artem! 👏👏👏

thanks for a simply explanation of an abstract concept (Zettlekasten) and a somewhat complex tool. By far the best on KZfaq for this topic!

The ideia of using a "ghost" note as a tag is just genius

I was browsing around to see how other people setup their Zettelkasten workflow (they really suck). Among all Zettelkasten videos, yours is the only making thing simple and practical. You setup is exactly like mine (im also a researcher). The core idea is to let the knowledges emerge naturally into clusters or sub-clusters around specific topic (MOC in this case). Keeping track of linking between MOCs make it much much easier to overviewing and developing new ideas. Much love ❤

The intro scene on the absurd and hilarious complexity of some of these 'systems' people have made is sooo on point.

Really helpful, thank you Artem! In particular, I like the way you treated categories as an emergent property, & showed how to do that practically with ghost tags.

I am a complete beginninger in this. This the best video I seen so far on the subject. Thank you!

Really well done! I’ve watched many Obsidian Zettelkasten videos now. (Also an art of procrastination). The thing I really loved about how you structured your notes isn’t just the simplicity but the manner in which your structure implements the exact philosophy of the Zettelkasten system. I just finished reading “How to Take Smart Notes” -- what you describe is exactly that system and it operates in a kind of automatic user proof system. What you’ve accomplished here is really quite something. I guess the only thing I would add to the presentation to make this structure work is the regular habit of reviewing the notes on a frequent basis to review ideas and look for links between ideas as mentioned in the book. Speaking of reviewing notes, is that something that is part of your regular routine? If so, do have a method of reviewing notes and looking for links? Your tip about using command O to create a note . . . Also genius. :) Thanks a lot. Very Sincerely.

I'd like to tell you something: if think you are one of the youtuer with the biggest potential I know....you have less than 6k subscribers and yet thank to you I discovered Research Rabbit, Obsidian and One amazing concept about neuroscience....THANK YOU. And I'd also like to point out that all my friends and colleagues that saw your channels and video (after I showed them eheh) think the same... so pls, PLEASE don't give up and keep sharing great content and advices. We believe in you

I would call this the most reasonable Obsidian video on YT. Clear practical examples of both how to set up the environment and how to use it, keeping everything simple! Moreover, you nention how to adapt to personal needs.

Just amazing. I'm starting a university master and I wanted a solid yet simple method to organize my notes, summarize bibliography and link everything. Thank you so much for the clear explanation, I'll start using this system and I'm curious to know how it will look like in a few months.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I've tried to use Obsidian in the past but found it overwhelming and essentially gave up on it. After watching your tutorial and setting my vault up in this way I feel like there is some structure to my notes and I feel that I can make this work for me.

You saved me from losing my wits. This just works, I can already tell. Other creators seem to just show off their complicated systems.

If your having issues with your title printing out twice do this Go to Settings > Editor > Display > Show Inline Title Two options. If it’s on, it shows the file title at the top of the note kind of big, so it looks like a title. If it’s off, then it does not show the file title at the top in large text.

Best Zettelkasten video. Period.

I do think that it is important to be simple, frictionless and also, fun. Im glad to see this and its similar to my beliefs.

The 'reference' folder is a great idea for what I am using Obsidian for. I am glad you mentioned that. Bam!

Thank you very much I've been drowning in random ideas and notes on paper and on the computer this will hopefully make my life better.

Solid content, definitely one of the channels that'll blow up soon.

I had to come back to this video to set up ZK on my new work laptop. This is still the best and clearest 'getting started' video on the topic. Thank you.

Great video Artem. Happy to see you also like Obsidian!

New to Obisidian, and Admonition is awesome! many thanks

Clear, concise, and practical. Thank you for sharing!

Great Video Artem. Totally agree: All those videos with complicated workflows just created a bunch of nods in my brain... So sticking with SIMPLICITY is king. Not only with the Plugins, but also with the folders and the templates. As Sonke Ahrens puts it, in "How to take smart notes": "Most people try to reduce complexity by separating what they have into smaller stacks, piles or separate folders. They sort their notes by topics and sub-topics, which makes it look less complex, but quickly becomes very complicated. Plus, it reduces the likelihood of building and finding surprising connections between the notes themselves, which means a trade-off between its usability and usefulness." Keep up the great work!

This was really concise and informative. I've been using Obsidian for a couple years now and realized I haven't been utilizing it's features completely. The Zettlekasten system was also eye-opening. Might give it a go! Thanks Artem!

Love the details in your outline and description of various functions! Thanks👍🏼

Hands down the best video for zettelkasten I've ever seen

Artem, you hit the nail on the head. Great video. Thanks for boiling down hundreds of videos and thousands of ideas into K.I.S.S. mode: Keep It Simple Stupid.

Likely the most useful and accessible Zettelkasten / Obsidian video I've seen. Oh, and great-looking bass, there.

🤣😂. I lmao at the fast-talking initial segment with the exploding head. That’s exactly how I’ve felt so many times while viewing some obsidian how-to’s. Thanks for the concise video.

great video! would be keen to watch a references / citation video

I was struggling on organizing information that came from courses or similarly massive content. This organization scheme was just what I needed. It converts Zettelkasten in a personal encyclopedia and does not have repeated content. It build upon itself!

For people who wonder what the status: #idea means: I believe Artem use Status: #idea to denote this particular note/zettel/entry is a single idea. Some might call it an atomic idea, a building block of this system. We can deliberately link one idea to another if we see their important relatedness and believe future self might benefit from seeing such relatedness. However, if many ideas we entered comes from a book we read, we might not want to link all the individual idea to each other because it might not be useful to do so except for organization purpose. But there is some kind of relationship between all these ideas as they come from one book. We could use tag, but it doesn't show the relationship on the graph. Thus, creating a note/zettel/entry that is Status: #book to include all the individual ideas we derive from the book can serve this organizational purpose. This will result to forming a hub on the graph. You can think of this #book entry as a table of content, and some call it Map of Content (MOC) in the zettelkasten world. And it doesn't has to be #book. You can name it #Music if you derive ideas from a piece of music and want to create a parent note to tie those ideas, or #Movie , etc.

Thank you very much for this video Artem. I went back to school to work towards an undergraduate degree, but my research work is clustered around conceptualizations that I may bring into graduate studies. This will help me collect and build on my ideas as I progress.

Just another guy that didn't use the Zettelkasten method as the other tutorials on youtube were not clear enough for me... Until now. Thank you very much, I will amend my obsidian structure to give this method a try

The best part is that the graph view is beautiful and useful!

This is the most useful video about zettelkasten i ever see. As well as the rest of the channel

I know you posted this a while ago, but I found this very helpful, starting my new college adventure. I needed a comprehensive, and note-taking system that worked better. I found this very easy to follow and set-up using your guide, with a few modifications in the app. I have started using your four folder system currently and can't wait to start taking notes and learning new things.

Thank you! When I first heard about Obsidian I also thought that I just need to write notes and eventually the app will connect those ideas for me as I link to other notes. But upon watching tutorials and saw how they use many folders etc, Obsidian doesn't feel that different from other note-taking app. Now that I saw your video, I can really focus on building my knowledge wiki instead of worrying about the setup.

Artem, congratulations on the video! You’re able to make simple what most have made complicated. Your video opened my mind on how simple the system can be. I would also like to understand how is the decision making on when a new folder (Out of the Zettelkasten) needs to be created.

This is fantastic! The first video of this kind where I actually understood the setup. Thank you so much, I look forward to more videos from you. Great job!!

Superb video! Concise and substantive. Also, thank you for actually showing examples of permanent notes/zettels.

Thank you. yes, thank you to be clear and objective. Even if you are not speaking in my native language, you gave me the tools to start Obsidian and Zettelkasten without being overwhelmed.

Thank you for making videos. Your way explaining just instantly clicks for me.

What makes MOCs so powerful in Obsidian is you can also use the `aliases` feature to give your MOC multiple names so when you [[Link]] to it, you won't have to worry about accidentally creating duplicate tags (e.g., "Canines", "Dogs", "Canids")

Thank you for this! I know I'm just adding to what everyone else already said, but this was exactly the kind of concise, no-boilerplate video I was looking for. Excited to try this out!

Thank you so much for this video. Your initial description was just too fitting to how I felt. I saw so many videos where people presented these very intricate workflows but I could not help then to feel overwhelmed. Your focus on simplicity was really refreshing.

Learned a lot, even if I'm only using Obsidian as a Bullet journal (Ryder Carrol System). Thank you for sharing !

0:50 as a noob, I totally agree with how that comes across. I'll watch the rest of this 15 minute tutorial, instead of or at least before the 4 hour introductions I've seen in my KZfaq search results.

overwhelmed here. Omg, love your x10 dump.

Thank you for this video! It really helped me set up and organize my own system. Even 2 years later it's still really helpful ^^

Thank you Artem. You showed me the entry to Obsidian easy, simple and with a system I can follow.

Great instruction, not deterministic, but delivered with humility and grace. Just starting this system so all seems rather daunting at present. Time (summer break of 5 months)and not falling into wormholes is the key, thanks for reminders!

Finally something I can grasp and gels with me. Thank you.

I am so late to the Obsidian party. It is very overwhelming. This video has helped me set the backbone. Thanks.

Spot on! Simplicity is one of the main resistances people feel. Most probably, by the urge for control.

Not sure if you will see this, but it would be nice to have a downloadable example of the kind of notes in action. A how-to instructional video like that only does so much for me, but if I can explore it myself, I'm more likely to understand it deeper.

Finally Obsidian starts to make sense for me... thank you! :)

I have always wondered how to make a system in Obsidian to write a small research article/report. I seem to be a bit confused in how the atomic ideas and references can 'combine' to develop an argument. The video at certain points goes too fast to understand especially where you are explaining the MOC concept. Really hope that you make another detailed video on the same topic as your approach seems really good (practical and doable).

I took some ideas from the video and adapted them to my workflow and it's much better for me now, thank you very much for the video!

“Levels of greenness”🤣🤣🤣 Great content with incredible delivery! All the best for you channel Artem!

Hey Artem. Thank you so much for your time and effort in making this video.

This video is really well done, I endorse all the top comments. Keep doing what you're doing! Great work.

Thank you! I've played around with an analog zettelkasten recently -- and it was very similar to what I intuitively did nearly 3 decades ago! But I couldn't figure out how to get my analog notes into a usable digital format. A friend recommended Obsidian, but I was intimidated by markdown. Between your video and another one this week, I have my Obsidian / Smart Notes / Zettelkasten ready. Now I'm figuring out my workflow. . .

Incredible video!! The best and most understandable ZK explanation.

The best video I've seen in this topic, thank you!

This has been really helpful. Спасибо Артем!

Very interesting and useful concepts, I'm excited about this new way of taking notes, also the hotkeys are gold

UPDATE: all you need to do for date and time to work is insert: {{date}} {{time}}. Also if this is your first obsidian/zettelkasten step up video (😅I've only been using obsidian for about 2 hours now), you need to have a new note (ctrl + N) open before you can add the template (custom hotkey)

Useful, entertaining, to the point and dang... do I feel better now.. simplify, simplify, simplify. Thank you!