How to Connect your Notes (Obsidian, Logseq, etc.)

With apps like Obsidian and Logseq, building connections between notes has never been easier. Simply add double-square brackets and you’re good to go. But the thing is, it’s hard to know when to connect your notes. When notes are overly connected or sparsely connected the whole network of notes becomes less effective. In this post, I’ll walk you through my best method of connecting notes.

Steps

  1. Begin writing a note about anything
  2. You come across a topic that you think will probably come again in the future
  3. Search if the topic you want to expand upon already exists. Link it if it does.
  4. If it doesn’t exist, create the link and expand upon the topic within the new note.
  5. Go back to the previous note and continue writing what you were writing

Example:

1. I summarized an article into two bullet points and wrote them down:

  • Atomic notes make it easier to build connections across topics and contexts (because they are singular in idea)
  • It's not effective to have too many connections OR too few connections. There needs to be a middle ground, and that is dependent on the person.

2. While writing I came across a few topics I wanted to expand upon. Topics are bolded above.

3. I searched my notes and found two notes that were relevant: atomic notesatomic notesEach atomic note contains one idea and one idea only. https://notes.andymatuschak.org/Evergreen_notes_should_be_atomic This way, it’s easier to form connections across topics and contexts. If your notes are too broad, you might not notice when you encounter some new idea about one of the notions contained within, and links to that note will be muddied. If your notes are too fragmented, you’ll also fragment your link network, which may make it harder to see certain connections. and the future is personalizationthe future is personalizationAlgorithms and computers have already provided solutions to many problems. The next step is to provide personalized solutions which is why AI is so popular. (e.g. personalized ads)

4. I created the third note: the middle waythe middle wayIt's often bad to take things to extremes. I find that the middle way is usually the best path (and most sustainable) to take. I stole it from Buddhism and expanded upon it within the note

5. I added links to the note and finished what I was writing! Here's the final result:

  • Atomic notesatomic notesEach atomic note contains one idea and one idea only. https://notes.andymatuschak.org/Evergreen_notes_should_be_atomic This way, it’s easier to form connections across topics and contexts. If your notes are too broad, you might not notice when you encounter some new idea about one of the notions contained within, and links to that note will be muddied. If your notes are too fragmented, you’ll also fragment your link network, which may make it harder to see certain connections. make it easier to build connections across topics and contexts (because they are singular in idea)
  • It's not effective to have too many connections OR too few connections. There needs to be a middle groundthe middle wayIt's often bad to take things to extremes. I find that the middle way is usually the best path (and most sustainable) to take. I stole it from Buddhism, and that is dependent on the personthe future is personalizationAlgorithms and computers have already provided solutions to many problems. The next step is to provide personalized solutions which is why AI is so popular. (e.g. personalized ads).

You'll notice over time as more connections are added, you'll be spending less time creating notes and more time connecting them. If you have any questions or comments don't hesitate to put them below!