A minimalist yet powerful template for organizing your Obsidian vault, focusing on simplicity and efficiency. The key feature of this system is its intentionally controlled structure with a two-level depth hierarchy, complemented by a robust properties and tagging system.
- 📁 Controlled Hierarchy: Two-level depth maximum - keeps things organized yet simple!
- 🏷️ Properties-based organization with comprehensive tagging
- 🔗 Strategic use of links and MOCs (Maps of Content)
- 📝 Ready-to-use templates for different note types
- 🚀 Easy to start, powerful to scale
- Simplicity: Maximum two clicks to access any information
- Efficiency: Reduces "analysis paralysis" when deciding where to store notes
- Flexibility: Grows organically with your use
- Maintenance: Easy to maintain and reorganize when needed
- Clone this repository or download as ZIP
- Open Obsidian
- Select "Open folder as vault" and choose the template folder
- Check
99 - Meta/System/for detailed guides on how to use the system
.
├── 00 - Dashboard/ # Central hub of the vault
├── 01 - Personal/ # Personal content and diary
│ ├── Daily/
│ ├── Fleeting/
│ ├── Plans/
│ ├── Reflections/
│ └── Health/
├── 02 - Knowledge/ # Study notes by area
│ ├── Computing/ # Examples of knowledge areas
│ ├── Philosophy/
│ ├── History/
│ ├── Literature/
│ └── Health/
├── 03 - Projects/ # Projects in development
│ ├── Project1/
│ ├── Project2/
│ └── Project3/
├── 04 - References/ # Source material and bibliography
│ ├── Articles/
│ ├── Courses/
│ ├── Books/
│ └── Tutorials/
└── 99 - Meta/ # System and templates
├── Templates/
└── System/
Every note in the system uses these standard properties in the YAML frontmatter:
---
aliases: [Alternative Names]
tags:
- type/study
- context/academic
- theme/algorithms
- status/in-progress
date: 2024-01-01
last_updated: 2024-01-10
---Tags are implemented within the properties system as shown in the examples above. Check tag guide for a complete list.
Identify the nature of the note:
#type/task → Tasks
#type/project → Projects
#type/daily → Daily notes
#type/study → Study material
#type/idea → Insights
#type/reflection → Reflections
#type/habits → Routines and habits
Indicate the note's environment:
#context/studies → Learning
#context/work → Professional
#context/personal → Personal development
#context/academic → University
#context/hobbies → Personal interests
Organize by knowledge area:
Computing:
#theme/cybersecurity → Security
#theme/dev → Development
#theme/os → Operating systems
#theme/algorithms → Algorithms and structures
#theme/AI → Artificial intelligence
...and much more (see complete tag guide)
Control status and priority:
#status/[completed|in-progress|planning|idea]
#priority/[high|medium|low]
#review/[pending|completed|needed]
To maintain consistency and facilitate search, each note should include at minimum in its properties:
- One type tag (
#type/...) - One context tag (
#context/...) - One theme tag (
#theme/...) - One status/priority tag when applicable
- Direct Links:
[[Note Name]] - Alias Links:
[[Note Name|Displayed Text]] - Section Links:
[[Note Name#Section]]
- Create meaningful connections
- Use MOCs (Maps of Content) to organize themes
- Leverage backlinks to discover relationships
- Build flexible hierarchies through links
The system incorporates practices from:
- Zettelkasten: Interconnected atomic notes
- PARA: Projects, Areas, Resources, Archives
- Building a Second Brain: Knowledge capture and organization
- GTD: Getting Things Done for task management
- Feynman Technique: Teaching to learn
- Interrogative Elaboration: Question-based learning
- Cornell Method: Systematic note-taking and review
This template is designed to work without any community plugins, allowing you to start clean and build based on your needs. Here are some plugin suggestions that can enhance your experience:
- Dataview: For advanced data queries and dynamic content, making the best use of properties
- Calendar: Better date management and daily notes
- Tag Wrangler: Improved tag management
- Homepage: Custom startup page
- Iconize: Visual enhancement with icons
- Natural Language Dates: More intuitive date inputs
- Kanban: Visual task management
- Templater: Advanced template functionality
All plugins are optional - feel free to install only what fits your workflow!
Contributions are welcome! Feel free to:
- Create Issues with suggestions
- Submit Pull Requests with improvements
- Share your experiences using the template
- Report bugs or problems
This project is under the MIT license. See the LICENSE file for more details.
This template was inspired by various knowledge management systems and the Obsidian community. Special thanks to:
- Zettelkasten Methodology
- Tiago Forte's PARA System
- r/Obsidian community
