Lifein OSMost people think of tools as cold, impersonal problem solvers.
But in life, there are always exceptions.
Some tools transcend that role. They gradually shed their “utility-only” nature, becoming a companion—or even a mirror—reflecting how you relate to life.
For me, Obsidian is one of those tools.
Three years of daily use have quietly, yet profoundly, reshaped the way I live.
1 Where It All Began: Twenty Years Searching for Order
My obsession with knowledge management started back in graduate school.
In 2003, faced with mountains of papers, references, and notes, I, like most people, wanted the “perfect” tool to make sense of it all.
Over the next two decades, I tried more than twenty different apps, from mainstream solutions to niche, geeky tools. I even wrote a detailed answer on Zhihu.com titled “Alternatives to Evernote”, chronicling this long journey.
Looking back, all that effort wasn’t really about solving knowledge management—it was about endlessly swapping containers.
Then in 2022, everything changed when I discovered Obsidian.
P.S. For simplicity, I will use “information” and “knowledge” interchangeably in this article.
2 A Turning Point: From Simply Storing to Actively Building
Before Obsidian, every note or excerpt came with the same question: “Which folder should this go in?”
I used to think that organizing by folder meant I was being “orderly.” But now I realize—it was just storing.
Information, carefully collected, was neatly shelved in folders—quiet and static like a well-stocked warehouse.
When I needed something, I relied on search, browsing directories, or filtering by tags. But the more I tagged, the messier it became. Eventually, information got lost in information.
That frustration often led to abandoning organization—and even abandoning note-taking itself.
Obsidian’s backlinking broke this cycle. Information could now form connections naturally, without rigid folder structures. You could even go folder-free, and knowledge would still be manageable.
The question shifted from “Where should I put this?” to “What does this relate to?”
In other words: “Which of my existing knowledge points does this new note connect with?”
This small shift changed everything.
Information began to interlink, isolated points forming networks—the very nature of knowledge itself. Knowledge is non-linear, multi-dimensional.
As Steven Pinker said:
Writing is hard because you must translate networked thoughts into a tree-like structure, then linearize them into sentences.
The same applies to knowledge management: non-linear thinking cannot be effectively managed with linear tools. Obsidian aligns with knowledge’s natural state, making it the most fitting tool I’ve found.
Understanding this, I began building a system in Obsidian aimed at rules for connections and a flowing order for knowledge.
3 Connections: Bridging Knowledge
David Allen, in Getting Things Done, uses a vivid metaphor: “You need a 50,000-foot view of your life to truly see your map.”
The higher your perspective, the clearer your position and meaning in life.
Inspired by this, I divided life into four domains: Business, Life, Growth, and Relationships. These domains act like four pillars forming the skeleton of my world—almost everything can find a place within them.
Within this framework, I use metadata (categories and tags) to further organize notes. Each note becomes a coordinate in a system—its domain, category, and tags act like GPS coordinates, making it instantly locatable.
I primarily rely on two ways to establish links between notes:
-
Nested Tags
I treat the four domains as top-level tags, branching downward. For example:#Business/Content/CopywritingTips. Like macro-to-micro signposts, they guide information quickly and precisely. -
Backlinks
Whenever I mention a person, concept, project, or idea, I create a backlink. These connections form invisible pathways, so nothing exists in isolation; everything can “visit” everything else.
With these rules, information has a home but is also fully interconnected.
The next step: letting it flow.
4 Flow: Making Knowledge Come Alive
I increasingly believe knowledge is not meant to sit in folders. It should flow like water—colliding, merging, and giving rise to new insights.
To enable flow, you need a field—a space where knowledge can move and interact.
In my system, I have four information hubs that act as such fields:
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Journal: A “self-centered” space for reflection and connection
Daily thoughts, insights, and questions go here. Often, unexpected connections emerge naturally. -
Projects: An “action-centered” hub for execution and output
Resources, knowledge, and tasks cluster around goals. Knowledge collides and fuses in practice, resulting in tangible outcomes. -
Tasks: An “execution-centered” hub for focus and action
Small, frequent actions translate intention into concrete steps, bridging the gap from “knowing” to “doing.” -
Review & Organization: A “network-centered” hub for refinement and evolution
Periodic review and curation actively structure knowledge, strengthen meaningful connections, and push the entire system forward.
Rules give structure; flow gives life. Without rules, knowledge is chaotic; without flow, it stagnates.
These hubs create a loop: information is activated, exchanged, and updated; newly generated insights are reintegrated into domains—Business, Life, Growth, Relationships—completing a cycle of knowledge evolution.
Over time, the system becomes a “second brain”, capable of learning, adapting, and evolving.
5 Transformation: Bringing It Into Life
As the system matured, I noticed subtle personal changes—not just in my notes, but in my thinking.
Mental order reflects inner order.
I began seeing the world structurally. A person or event is no longer just an emotional reaction—it belongs to a domain, with specific relevance to me.
This mindset helps me identify what truly matters, separating signal from noise.
Take reading, for example:
I no longer follow generic book lists or others’ recommendations blindly. I build reading lists aligned with my four domains.
Before, I highlighted and summarized passively; now, I first scan the table of contents, thinking about how the book relates to my own questions. I read selectively, revisit important sections, and skip irrelevant ones.
Post-reading, notes go into the system, are reviewed, and sometimes visualized. Knowledge is dismantled, reassembled, and internalized.
These changes have spilled into every part of life, helping me see order in chaos and discover flow within structure.
Life becomes calmer through order.
Thoughts become sharper through flow.
6 Looking Back: The Real Change Comes From Within
So what is the essence of “one tool transforming life”?
It’s not just a tool change—it’s a shift in thinking.
I adopted a new way of interacting with the world:
- From passively receiving and hoarding information
- To actively connecting and creating
From being a “life warehouse manager”
To becoming a “gardener of life.”
I aim for knowledge, life, and intention to connect, flow, and grow naturally.
Obsidian was merely the catalyst.
The real transformation happened through genuine reflection.
I later built a public Lifein demo repository as a miniature version of this system. Feedback showed most users were still searching for tools—they hadn’t yet begun to think for themselves.
From my experience: tools are the externalization of thought. How someone approaches a tool reflects who they are—or where they are in life.
Tools are just the medium.
True transformation always comes from within.
I hope my journey inspires you to create your own knowledge management system.
Written by Uncle ke
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Original article, unauthorized and strictly reproduced.