A Second Brain That Actually Works
Obsidian, Zettelkasten, and the step where notes turn into output.
Free to watch. Starting adds a personal copy to My Learning with progress tracking and a curated-path certificate on completion.
About this path
Note-taking content has a failure mode: endless setup videos and no writing. This path gets Obsidian working in one sitting, takes the four lessons from a Zettelkasten course that are about producing rather than organising, adds the academic version of the method, gives Notion its fair hearing as an alternative, and closes with the question everyone is now asking about notes and AI.
What you'll learn
- Run Obsidian confidently without a plugin rabbit hole
- Write atomic notes that link into arguments
- Use maps of content to navigate a vault that has grown
- Turn a set of notes into a draft on purpose
- Decide honestly whether Notion or Obsidian fits your work
The path, module by module
Each step is lifted from a full course in our catalog, and where a course repeats itself we keep only the lessons that earn their place.
Module 1 · from Obsidian for Students & Thinkers
Obsidian for Beginners
Obsidian working properly in one sitting: markdown, settings, hotkeys, and a walkthrough. The module after this one repeats two of these lessons verbatim, so we stop here.
9 lessons · 1h 21m
Obsidian for Beginners: Start HERE — How to Use the Obsidian App for Notes · Obsidian for Beginners: 6 Keys to Markdown (2/6) — How to Use the Obsidian App for Notes · Obsidian for Beginners: 8 Key Settings (3/6) — How to Use the Obsidian App for Notes
Module 2 · from Smart Note-Taking: Connect Ideas, Don't Collect Them
From Notes to Output
Dataview, the Feynman method, maps of content, and going from input to output. Four lessons about producing, taken from a course that is otherwise mostly setup tours.
4 lessons · 42m · hand-picked from 8
Dataview in 10 mins · Feynman's Method | 12 questions that will change your life · The Maps of Content method no one is talking about (VMOCs)
Module 3 · from Zettelkasten for Academics
Thinking and Writing With a Zettelkasten
The academic version of the method, where notes have to survive peer review rather than just look tidy.
8 lessons · 1h 51m
Thinking with your Zettelkasten 🧠 an intro to Obsidian’s local graph view · Contemporary Circus Studies: A Reading List · my new and completely ✨chaotic✨ method of organizing my dissertation | #shorts
Module 4 · from Notion Mastery: Fundamentals to Advanced Systems
Notion Fundamentals
Notion fundamentals, so the tool choice is informed rather than tribal. Databases solve problems a vault does not.
9 lessons · 2h 43m
Notion Fundamentals: How to Create and Edit Pages · Notion Fundamentals - Master Notion's Text Editing Tools · Notion Fundamentals: What are Blocks?
Module 5 · from Smart Note-Taking: Connect Ideas, Don't Collect Them
Notes in the Age of AI
Decision journals and the honest question of what notes are for once AI can summarise anything.
4 lessons · 1h 36m
decision journal 2.0 · An ode to taking notes in Obsidian 🌱 (3 year reflection) · Why you should take notes if you use AI