7 Obsidian setups I swear by to keep my notes organized and clutter-free

For years, my digital note-taking system was a mess. My notes were spread across Google Keep, Docs, and random screenshots in my phone gallery. My to-do lists were in one app, while long-term plans were in another.

I tried color-coded labels in Keep, nested folders in Docs, and even Notion dashboards. But every app seemed to either oversimplify or overcomplicate things. I was overwhelmed by my own systems.

When I stumbled upon Obsidian, it completely changed how I manage information. The Markdown-based note app promises flexibility without the clutter.

Although it felt too complicated at first, after a few weeks of tinkering, I found a handful of simple setups that transformed my note-taking and brought order to my digital chaos.

Here are seven Obsidian setups that helped me wrangle my notes into something useful.

7

Inbox for brain dumps

My digital catch-all for notes

One of my biggest struggles was deciding where to put a note. Should a random quote go into a journal, a project folder, or an inspiration list? The indecision often meant I didn’t write anything down at all.

Now, I have a dedicated Inbox folder where every new note lands by default. When an idea, task, or reference strikes, I don’t worry about where it belongs. Instead, I dump it in the folder.

For instance, when I’m out walking and think of a headline idea, I open Obsidian, tap Create new note, and jot it down. I save it to my Inbox folder, but don’t bother tagging or linking right away. The only goal is to capture the thought before it slips away.

I review everything in my Inbox once a day, delete junk, and move notes to their proper folders. Some get linked to projects, while others get tagged for future reference.

It takes a few minutes but saves hours of searching later.

6

Templates

To speed up note creation

I used to spend too much time formatting notes or rewriting the same headers. Now, I use Obsidian’s Templates plugin to avoid repetitive formatting and speed things up.

Here are a few templates I have set up:

• Meeting Notes: Auto-filled with date, attendees, and action item fields.
• Article Drafts: Pre-set with sections for headline ideas, outline, and resources.
• Daily Notes: Includes my morning prompts and evening reflection questions.

When I create a new note, I select QuickAdd from the menu and choose the template I need. It makes daily logging and keeping track of project notes way easier.

5

Daily Notes

My digital journal and task list

Obsidian’s Daily Notes plugin quickly became my favorite part of Obsidian. Every morning, I open a preformatted page that is automatically titled with the date.

It includes the following:

• My top three priorities for the day.
• A simple to-do list for the day’s tasks.
• A section for random links or ideas I come across.

Throughout the day, I jot down meeting notes, article ideas, and interesting book recommendations. This setup replaced two separate apps for me: a to-do list app and a journal app.

Everything is in one place, and over time, these daily logs build a surprisingly rich record of my life.

I even added a little ritual: At the end of each day, I link my daily note to relevant project notes using [[backlinks]]. It creates a web of connected thoughts I can revisit later.

4

Project folders with backlinks

For seamless organization

When working on articles or bigger projects, I create a dedicated folder for each one. The folder contains the following:

• An outline note
• A research dump (containing clippings, quotes, and stats)
• Meeting notes
• Feedback
• A checklist of next steps

By using backlinks and tags, I can connect these project notes to broader categories such as Work or Writing. So, even if I forget which folder something lives in, I can find it through connections.

For instance, if I jot down a stray idea in my Daily Note that’s relevant to a project, I link it using [[ProjectName]]. Later, I can jump from my journal to the project folder.

This approach keeps me organized and helps me spot connections between projects that I might have otherwise missed.

3

A Reference vault

For evergreen knowledge

Some notes are not associated with specific projects, but they serve as valuable references.

For example, writing tips, automation workflows, style guides, and reading lists are stored in my Reference vault. I use relevant tags to identify these notes and link them where needed.

Now, when I’m in the middle of a project, I can quickly pull up any info I need. This setup has stopped me from endlessly Googling the same tips or losing interesting ideas to forgotten bookmarks.

2

Plugins I actually use

I only keep the essentials

Obsidian’s plugin ecosystem is vast, but I’ve learned to keep it minimal to avoid being overwhelmed.

My must-haves include Daily Notes, Backlinks, Calendar, QuickAdd, and Excalidraw.

For Android, I avoid plugins that don’t play well with mobile. Instead, I keep the core experience lightweight so it syncs faster across devices.

1

Graph View

Seeing my notes as a living network

Obsidian’s Graph View visualizes how all your notes connect, with lines showing backlinks between them. This bird’s-eye view helps spot isolated notes and clusters of related info.

I use Graph View to declutter and reorganize my notes when my vault starts feeling chaotic.

By focusing on dense areas, I can merge overlapping topics or simplify sprawling notes into more concise ones.

For long-term projects, it’s useful for tracking connections and uncovering insights I may have missed.

Why I prefer Obsidian to other note-taking apps

Before Obsidian, I used Google Keep for quick notes, Google Docs for drafts, and Notion for planning. But each had flaws.

Keep became a cluttered scroll of random snippets, Docs was too heavy for casual ideas, and Notion felt slow and overcomplicated on mobile.

Obsidian replaced all three apps. It’s simple, text-based, and endlessly customizable, which is why it works for me.

One hurdle for Android users is that Obsidian’s free version doesn’t have built-in sync. I solved this with FolderSync and Google Drive. Now, the vault stays updated on my phone, tablet, and desktop.

My note-taking system was finally sustainable

Obsidian’s greatest strength is the freedom to shape your notes in a way that fits your thought process.

Whether you’re building minimalist daily logs, knowledge graphs, or project folders, these setups prove that even a complex vault can stay organized and clutter-free.

When I first started using Obsidian, my vault felt like a junk drawer. Notes piled up, links felt random, and searching for anything gave me decision fatigue.

However, everything clicked when I started experimenting with the workflows using features like Daily Notes, Graph View, and tags.

My setups aren’t one-size-fits-all, but they might inspire tweaks to make your vault more useful.