Summary

The author has transitioned from using Reflect App to Obsidian for note-taking, citing Obsidian's markdown support, plugin ecosystem, local storage, and cost-effectiveness as key reasons for the switch.

Abstract

The author of the web content has made a compelling case for their decision to adopt Obsidian as their primary note-taking application. After previously relying on Reflect App, the author found that Obsidian's markdown-centric approach, extensive plugin system, and local data storage better suited their needs, particularly as they delved deeper into coding and web development. The ability to customize Obsidian with plugins like Calendar, Periodic Notes, Dataview, and Outliner has significantly enhanced the author's productivity and organization. Additionally, the affordability of Obsidian, being free with optional paid services, presented a significant financial advantage over Reflect App's monthly subscription. The author has also provided insights into the process of migrating notes from Reflect and Notion to Obsidian, highlighting the ease of importing and maintaining note links.

Opinions

The author values the ease of writing and sharing code using Markdown in Obsidian.
They appreciate the vast and growing plugin ecosystem that Obsidian offers, which allows for extensive customization to meet coding and development needs.
The author finds Obsidian's core features, such as the graph view and interlinked notes, to be comparable to Reflect App, facilitating a smooth transition.
Local storage of notes in Obsidian is seen as a significant advantage for ensuring privacy and security.
The author considers the pricing of Obsidian to be a major upside, as the free version meets their needs without the recurring cost associated with Reflect App.
They have a positive view of the community-driven nature of Obsidian, which contributes to the availability of helpful plugins.
The author has a favorable opinion of the YouTube tutorials available for learning Obsidian, which they found useful in setting up their environment.
They are satisfied with the process of importing notes from other platforms like Notion and Reflect App into Obsidian, despite requiring some cleanup.
The author believes that Obsidian is not just a note-taking app but a productivity powerhouse that can cater to a wide range of users beyond coders.

I’ve been convinced. Obsidian is now my note app of choice

Switching to Obsidian and How I’m Using it Now

The Reflect App

Reflect App has been my trusty sidekick for a while, I finally landed on it after trying RemNote. Its note-taking and organization features served me well for the past 6 months. However, there were some problems that started when I began to take coding courses…

Embracing Coding

As I dive deeper into learning JavaScript and React for my web development journey, I realize my need for a tool that offers better support for coding and development. This is where Obsidian comes into play.

Why Obsidian?

1. Markdown: Obsidian is built around Markdown, which is a coder’s best friend. Writing code, code snippets, and technical documentation is a breeze with Markdown. Plus, it’s incredibly readable. I can easily export my code, share notes, and import the files as needed into various platforms.

2. Plugin Power: Obsidian’s plugin ecosystem is vast and growing. You can tailor it to suit your coding needs, from syntax highlighting to integrations with code editors like Visual Studio Code. I’ll get into a few community plugins I’m using below, but this was one of the deciding factors for my migration.

3. Similar Features: Obsidian’s core feature, the graph view, interlinked notes, outliner format, and note structure all closely match Reflect. It was actually one of the reasons I started using Reflect in the first place. This made the transition easy. While I loved the simplicity of Reflect, I am willing to sacrifice for more features with Obsidian.

4. Local Storage: Unlike some cloud-based note-taking apps, Obsidian stores your data locally. This means you have full control over your coding notes, ensuring privacy and security. I use iCloud to sync my notes between devices right now, and it has been working pretty well so far.

5. Pricing: Reflect was $15 per month, which I was happy to pay for since I was using it all throughout the day. However, Obsidian being free was a huge upside to making the switch. You can pay for additional services such as Obsidian Sync and Publish, but I haven’t found a need for these so far, thus saving me a $180/year investment.

Importing & Making the Switch

Learning how to use Obsidian was fairly easy. I had been using Markdown formatting in Reflect for a while, so that was all familiar. I did make a playlist of the YouTube tutorials I used to help me get my setup the way I wanted, you can watch it here:

Notion to Obsidian

Although I have been using Reflect for 6 months or so, I still had a ton of archived notes and projects in Notion. After using Obsidian for a few months and getting more comfortable with it, I’ve decided to also give up my $10 monthly Notion account to opt for a full Obsidian setup.

For this import, I used the plugin called “Importer”. My notes took a few minutes, but everything seemed to be well organized and formatted. I will have some cleaning up to do over time but it’s going to be completely usable in the meantime.

Reflect to Obsidian

Importing my Reflect App notes into Obsidian was a bit of an extra process. I exported my notes as Markdown and then ran a script to remove any unnecessary strings from the doc titles. This maintained all my note links from Reflect to Obsidian.

find . -type f -name "*.md" -exec sh -c 'mv "$0" "${0//-[A-Za-z0-9]*/.md}"' {} \;

Once the note names were updated, I imported them as Markdown files and I was good to go. Everything seems to be working properly so far, and the links between my notes were maintained during the import.

Community Plugins

One of the beauties of Obsidian lies in its vibrant community and the wealth of plugins available. Let me introduce you to a few that have become indispensable in my daily workflow.

Calendar

The Calendar plugin is essential for daily notes. The plugin sits on the right sidebar and allows you to jump to any given date and create or reference a daily note from that period. You can also enable weekly notes that will give you a great starting point for summarizing or planning your weeks.

Periodic Notes

Periodic Notes is a gem for fostering consistency in your note-taking. It automates the creation of recurring notes, making it perfect for tracking your progress, setting goals, and managing recurring tasks. Whether it’s daily coding exercises or weekly project updates, this plugin keeps me on track and ensures nothing slips through the cracks.

Dataview

Dataview is a data magician within Obsidian. It transforms your notes into a dynamic database, allowing you to query and display information in versatile ways. For a productivity and organization enthusiast like me, Dataview is a game-changer. I use it to organize project details, track coding milestones, and even analyze my reading goals. It’s like having a personal data analyst in your note-taking app.

Outliner

Outliner is your best friend when it comes to structuring and organizing your notes. It lets you create hierarchical outlines within your notes, making it a breeze to outline coding projects, create to-do lists, and build structured documentation. As an operations coordinator for Baronfig and a busy mom, this plugin helps me maintain clarity in complex project plans and keeps my family’s schedules in check.

Customizing Your Obsidian Experience

These community plugins are just the tip of the iceberg. Obsidian’s plugin ecosystem is a treasure trove of productivity enhancements, and the best part is that you can tailor your Obsidian experience to your specific needs. Whether you’re a coder like me or have other passions and interests, there’s likely a plugin to elevate your note-taking game.

So, don’t hesitate to explore the Obsidian community, discover new plugins, and make Obsidian your own. It’s one of the reasons I’m loving this transition from Reflect App — it’s not just a note-taking app; it’s a productivity powerhouse.

Reflect served me well, but Obsidian has become my new go-to tool mostly due to its coding-friendly features, Markdown capabilities, and limitless customization. So, whether you’re a coding newbie or a seasoned developer, consider giving Obsidian a shot. It might just become your secret weapon.

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