Obsidian Starter Kit and community

Who is this for?

• You are just getting started with note-taking or you've recently switched to Obsidian
• You wonder how to take smart notes
• You want to know how to properly organize your notes and avoid creating an overwhelming mess
• You want a solid system that scales
• You wonder what Zettelkasten, the PARA method, and the Johnny decimal system are

Getting started with Obsidian is not the hardest thing in the world, but it takes a lot of trial and error to figure out how to structure and organize your knowledge base. You have a busy life, and you don't want to spend weeks or even months figuring out the "right" approach.

Note that this product is included in the Knowledge Worker Kit.

What is this?

This is NOT just a template. It's a complete system with a detailed user guide.

I've been passionate about information, knowledge management, and PKM for more than 20 years. As an author, blogger, knowledge worker, and entrepreneur, I needed solutions to store and organize an enormous amount of information.

Over the years, I've explored, used, and advocated many tools but have been using Obsidian extensively since 2020. With the Obsidian Starter Kit, I offer you the result of my own research and experimentation. It's like a cheat code to jump straight to stress-free note-making.

I've spent months refining and perfecting my Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) system, and have spent countless hours tweaking my system. I've published a few articles to share some ideas about this. My system combines the Zettelkasten approach, the PARA method, the Johnny decimal system, and other ideas to create a solid basis for my work as an author, blogger, and content creator.

The Obsidian Starter Kit is a ready-made Obsidian vault that includes my recommended organization system and plugins, as well as example notes to help you get started. It also comes along with a user-friendly guide.

What's included?

If you buy access to the Obsidian Starter Kit, you'll get:

• The Obsidian vault
  • A comprehensive and solid structure with support for Journaling and Zettelkasten
    • Leveraging the PARA method and the Johnny Decimal system
  • Many recommended plugins to boost productivity and automate actions
  • A clear system for Journaling, Meeting Notes, Periodic reviews, etc
  • Many templates to improve consistency and productivity
  • A powerful dashboard
  • A solid book management system
  • Maintenance notes (e.g., find duplicate and orphaned notes)
  • Automation rules
  • Various examples
• The user guide
• Lifetime access to the Personal Knowledge Management community for support and knowledge sharing

In addition, you'll also get free access to all future updates. Over time, I'll expand it step by step to include tutorials about the various aspects; from exploration/curation to summarization and reuse.

Screenshots

I have published some screenshots of this product here.

What's in the user guide?

The user guide is a growing and evergreen knowledge base about how to take smart notes. It includes:

• Installation instructions.
• Details about the contents of the Obsidian Starter Kit (i.e., Obsidian vault structure, key design principles, included plugins, etc.)
• A clear overview of Obsidian and its core concepts (everything you should know and care about)
• Clear explanations about...
  • The Zettelkasten method
  • Atomic notes
  • Progressive summarization
  • The PARA method
  • The LIFT principle
  • The Johnny Decimal system
  • Journaling
  • Maps of Content (MoCs)
  • Periodic reviews
  • Why and how to tag notes
  • Templating
  • The Markdown syntax
  • Why you need a single source of truth for everything
  • The collector's fallacy
  • The Inbox Zero principle
  • How to capture information
  • How to capture quotes
  • How to capture information about persons of interest
  • How to extract knowledge from daily notes
  • How to save mental contexts
• Obsidian tips and tricks

What's in the video course?

The Obsidian Starter Course is a video course (~2h20) of content covering:

• Obsidian: installation, user interface, key features, plugins, automation, tips and tricks, etc
• The Markdown syntax
• YAML metadata
• Personal Knowledge Management techniques and principles: the Johnny Decimal system, the PARA method (e.g., the Zettelkasten method, the LIFT principle, Atomic notes, Maps of Content, knowledge capture & extraction, etc)
• Journaling
• Periodic reviews
• Templates
• Automation
• Task management
• Best practices and recommendations
• Hands-on explanations
• and more!

Evergreen content

The Obsidian Starter Kit evolves all the time. I regularly add new templates, plugins, automations, and more!

The user guide of the Obsidian Starter Kit is expanding day after day, week after week. It regularly includes new guides, tips and tricks, processes, theory, and more.

Refunds policy

If you're not 100% satisfied, then just let me know, and I'll issue a full refund. I'll only ask you a single question: How can I improve the product?

If you think about asking for a refund, then consider reaching out to me with your issues, questions, and remarks. I'm always available and happy to help. My goal is to help you succeed.

Testimonials

"Finally clickeđ how awesome @Obsidian is! Thanks to your excellent Obsidian Starter Kit!"

— Cal Desmond-Pearson (@CalSocialHermit)

"Off and running w/ @obsdmd. I've installed the app & have @dSebastien Starter Kit & my own fresh start Vault open. Learning from former & putting into practice w/ real content in latter. So far, so good"

— Raymond D Sims (@rsims)

"Great content - got me up to speed with what I was looking for fast ! Sébastien answered some questions by mail also which was much appreciated ! Thanks"

— Sam Gonzales

"As someone who has bounced around trying to find the right Knowledge tool, I’ve realized that many of my issues have been related to the complexity of the tools and the processes. The structure, design and explanations provided in the Obsidian Starter Kit have finally given me the foundation I’ve needed. 100% worth it"

— Michael Aaron (via e-mail)

"I absolutely love your kit and it has been so immensely helpful"

— Ashwin Appiah (via e-mail)

"The Obsidian Starter Kit gives a solid foundation for newcomers of Obsidian to create intuitive and easy to process notes. The kit throughly explains how to use Obsidian to cultivate a second brain and contains organizational structures for your notes that are baked right in, allowing you to immediately begin note taking rather than spend needless time determining how said notes should be organized. The organizational structures take inspiration from several note taking philosophies and provides ways to automatize your organization. Also, new additions are continually being added to the kit free of charge. Starting as an absolute beginner, this kit allowed me to jump to what I feel is an intermediate level of Obsidian understanding and effective note taking in the span of 1-2 days, and I am grateful that I found it."

— Blake Holder

"This is a practical and well thought out tool for organising Obsidian. It’s not flashy, but it doesn’t need to be—it’s all about function! The kit provided me with a solid framework, some helpful templates, and automations that made it easier to manage my vault without feeling overwhelmed. I tweaked many things to fit my workflow. I just really loved having this quick, straightway that offered me so much value from the app without me needing to spend hours setting things up. Thank you, Sebastian, and best of luck!"

— Ghada

"Thanks for making the product. I'm making efforts to start using Obsidian more in my daily workflow and having a place to start makes the task much less daunting!"

— Liam Weight (via Twitter DM)

"I'm very new to PKM, but the Obsidian Starter Kit has been a tremendous help in getting me started"

— Fredrik Nordström (via the PKM community Slack)

"Sebastien's Obsidian Starter Kit is a powerful tool for those looking to dive into the world of Obsidian without being overwhelmed. It's a comprehensive solution that significantly shortens the learning curve, providing an impressively structured way to start capturing notes and facilitating daily journaling. The kit's integration of automated tasks and pre-designed templates are a boon to beginners, alleviating the initial intimidation of starting from scratch. If you're new to Obsidian and need a solid starting point, this starter kit comes highly recommended. It doesn't just help you navigate Obsidian, but also empowers you to harness its full potential right from the get-go."

— Lubos KolouchFredrik (via the PKM community Slack)

"Just to thank the work and content that allowed me to discover the background of a custom vault. It was a real boost for me and given the price, it was a real investment of time and learning."

— Trobrillant

"Excellent package to get started with Obsidian or optimize what you already have. The developer has tried it all and distilled a core setup that you can use out-of-the-box or adapt."

— Henry F.

"Great starter kit, love it!"

— Naya Moss

"The Obsidian Starter Kit is an excellent resource for anyone interested in Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) and building their own "second brain." It provides a fantastic starting point, offering a wealth of ideas on how to create and refine your personal life operating system. A must-have for those looking to take control of their knowledge and productivity!"

— Franjo Pehar

"If you have been wanting to try Obsidian but overwhelmed with options and unsure where to start, Sebastien makes it easy with his “ready to go” vault."

— Andrew Zavitsanos

"Extremely comprehensive and most worthwhile!"

— Mike Nall

"I love this product. Obsidian can be overwhelming with all you can do with it. Sebastien has pulled together a great collection of add-ons and templates and is a great starting point to get productive and begin your personal knowledge management journey"

— Todd Walters

"The Obsidian Starter Kit is a really great way to get going with Obsidian, and Sebastien's writing and knowledge is so insightful and helpful"

— Rick Eliott

"A very good starting point for your Personal Knowledge Management."

— Fredrik Nordstrom

"Very helpful to give you a framework to develop from"

— Brenton James

"Useful learning for Obsidian. Appreciate updates"

— Adrian McLachlan

"Easy to follow and well done!"

— Edouard Kutter

"If you have been searching 😖 and searching for the right Obsidian Starter Kit??? This is the answer!!! It's a great start to set up the foundation of your system in Obsidian."

— Yaaqoub Eliyyahu

"Extraordinario para comenzar a trabajar con Obsidian"

— Manuel Miguel