I’ve been creating content for 13 years.
And for 9 of those years, I had no system.
I’d have brilliant ideas in the shower, scribble them on notebooks, or frantically type notes into my phone. Then, when it came time to actually write something, I’d stare at a blank screen for an hour trying to remember what to write about.
The worst part wasn’t just the wasted time. It was knowing I had great ideas floating around somewhere, but couldn’t access them when I needed them most.
Sure, I heard about Notion back in 2017. I downloaded the app to my iPhone 6S. But it felt overwhelmingly complicated.
Then, I discovered Obsidian in 2021, and I never looked back.
Today, I publish daily content across multiple platforms and run a 6-figure writing business.
And Obsidian is the backbone of it all.
Does your workflow look like this?
Before Obsidian, my “system” was a disaster.
I had notes scattered across Evernote, Google Docs, random text files, and Post-it notes stuck to my iMac. Sometimes I’d just write directly on the platform I was publishing on (terrible idea.)
The result? Pure chaos.
I’d spend 15 minutes hunting for that perfect quote I remembered writing down somewhere. Or I’d search on Google because I couldn’t find my original notes.
As a result, I wasted my creative juices on doing clerk work.
Not only that… Half my content had no backup.
I’d write my email straight into GetResponse (my autoresponder back then), post on Facebook, and hoped for the best.
You might think, “Hey, this is not a big deal.”
Yeah, but when you know that platforms can suspend you from one day to another, like Facebook did for me — it’s actually terrifying. You’re investing hours of your life creating something and then not having any backup, which is completely stupid if you think about it.
There had to be a better system
Capturing your best ideas
Every piece of content starts with an idea. But if you don’t capture these ideas, then you won’t remember them.
Problem: You’ll get your best ideas far away from your computer.
Obsidian is terrible for quick-capturing ideas.
So I don’t even try.
Instead, I use two simple tools:
For voice notes, I use Letterly (affiliate link). I can quickly dictate ideas while walking, driving, or doing dishes. The app transcribes everything automatically. I can copy and paste things with 2 taps.
For quick text notes, I use Bear.
I have a personalized Apple shortcut that opens a text box and captures it straight into the app. It also instantly syncs across all my devices:
The key is having zero friction when an idea strikes.
I capture everything — random thoughts, overheard conversations, article ideas, course concepts.
All this is raw material I work with in the mornings when I sit down to write.
I have over 1,000 content ideas sitting in my capturing app.
Writer’s block? What’s that?
Building your own knowledge base with Obsidian
I tried organizing my notes with folders and tags for years. It never worked. I’d spend more time organizing than actually writing. Worse: this rigid type of organization is terrible at sparking creative insights.
But Obsidian shines in one thing: linking ideas together.
Instead of cramming notes into rigid categories, I create atomic notes (a fancy way to say one idea per note) and link them together. It mimics how your brain actually works. Our brain uses links (synapses) to create connections and jump from one thought to another.
For example, I have a note about “procrastination” that links to notes about “fear of failure,” or “procrastination is not a cause but an indicator”.
When I’m writing about any of these topics, I can instantly see all the related ideas by opening Obsidian’s Graph View.
But here’s what makes it even more powerful:
I don’t just link ideas together. I also link the raw knowledge to the actual content I’ve created.
So when I finish writing a blog post about procrastination, I link it back to all the source notes I used. This creates a web of connections between my thinking and my output.
Six months later, when I want to write about procrastination again, I can see exactly what I’ve already covered and build on those ideas instead of doing the heavy lifting twice.
That way, your knowledge and content compound.
Writing blog posts has never been easier
Remember how I mentioned linking ideas together?
This is where the payoff happens.
When I’m writing a blog post in Obsidian, I have direct access to all my micro ideas. I simply pull them together to create a complete piece.
Let’s say I’m writing about online courses. I can instantly see my notes on pricing strategies, course creation mistakes, marketing tactics, and student feedback:
Instead of starting from scratch, I’m simply assembling insights I’ve already captured.
The best part? Obsidian has these panes, which means you don’t need to switch between apps. You can open several notes within the same interface.
I’ll have my main writing on the left in the center pane and then supporting panes with ideas on the side.
Everything I need is visible at once.
You can apply the same concept to courses, newsletters, or any type of content.
I don’t know how to explain it, but there’s something very comforting when you know that you have everything at hand. No more hunting through folders or trying to remember where you saved that perfect example.
Creating a content calendar
If you’re serious about creating content, you need a content calendar.
I’m a visual thinker, which means I need to see when things go out.
There are a bunch of different calendar plugins for Obsidian. I settled on the one called “Projects”. It allows you to have several calendars for several content types.
I have three:
- One for short-form
- One for my newsletters
- One for my articles
This has become essential for planning my content. I can see the entire month at a glance.
But it’s not just about scheduling. Each calendar entry links to the actual content note, so I can jump from my calendar view directly into writing mode.
Mapping out product launches
When I’m planning a course launch or major project, I need to see the big picture.
Obsidian’s canvas feature is perfect for this.
I can create a visual map of my entire email launch sequence. It’s like having a whiteboard that never runs out of space.
The canvas also helps me spot gaps in my strategy. Maybe I have great pre-launch content, but nothing planned for after the cart closes. The visual layout makes these issues obvious.
I can easily zoom in and out, and read the content without having to open a new window.
Instead of keeping everything in my head or scattered across different documents, I have one place where I can see the entire launch.
Final words
Obsidian is not the most perfect app.
There are still things that suck hard, like the mobile version. But honestly, I learned to live with imperfection.
It gets me 80% of the way there.
And what’s more important than the tool is actually having the discipline — and most importantly, the fun — to sit down every day and simply create something.
Obsidian just makes that process smoother. It turns the chaos of scattered thoughts into a connected knowledge base that grows more valuable with every note and content created.
The real magic isn’t in the app itself. It’s in building a system that captures your best thinking and makes it accessible when you need it most.
If you want to turn your notes into content and income, get my free course below: