PTPL 070: Task Management: Obsidian Plugin vs Plain Text vs Readymade Solutions

PLUS a Drafts to Obsidian collection of tutorials

Plain text, Paper, Less (PTPL) Productivity Digest, text-based image by Author

Welcome! I’m Ellane, and this is a once-a-week summary of things that are helping me to simplify and future-proof my digital-analog workflow.

With Drafts to Obsidian, I go out of my head (and I just can’t get enough)

I know, I know… I keep going on about Drafts, and how to use it as an entry point to your Obsidian vault without opening the latter. * smiles; shrugs *

This blog post from Stephen Millard is a great guide to getting new notes into your Obsidian vault, via Drafts. Here is my version of these instructions:

Tutorial: How to Get Text into Obsidian Without Opening the App

It’s the method I’m using today.

Why would you want to do this? To pay for another app to help you enter text into the app you really want to keep said text in? First off, it’s incredibly helpful if starting up Obsidian takes longer than you’d like. It’s also great to help you avoid the distraction of everything else you’ve got going on with your vault when all you want is to add a quick note in a specific location.

This kind of functionality in Drafts isn’t free, but for my workflow it’s not just sliced bread, it’s all the spread I need to make a mighty fine Markdown sandwich.

Task Management: Obsidian Plugin vs Plain Text vs Readymade Solutions

Elizabeth Tai

is has stopped using Obsidian as a task manager in favour of Todoist, and so far she likes it.

She made the change because — 

• it’s onerous to add tasks to more than a dozen project notes

• you can’t schedule tasks in Obsidian and have them ping your calendar/reminder app at the right time

• she needs mobile access

• she’s been spending more time organising tasks than actually doing them

• she’s uneasy about relying so heavily on a plugin (Tasks)

I’ll be following Elizabeth’s journey with interest, hoping she’ll post an update comparing her former bespoke Obsidian system with Todoist’s readymade offering.

There was a time I’d jump ship every time I read an article like this, but these days I’m a lot less likely to do that. The sense of stability I’m enjoying comes from the fact that my projects and tasks aren’t managed by an app; they’re in an interoperable format that’s very much managed by me. I’m using the TaskPaper format for the bird’s eye view, and project pages (markdown files) to handle the details.

I’d like to clarify that while I’m using the TaskPaper syntax, I’m in no way reliant on the TaskPaper app, even though I have access to it as part of my Setapp¹ subscription.

It’s easy to use the time sector method Carl Pullein teaches, simply by adding @tags to tasks. Saved searches for these @tags (or Bookmarks in Obsidian) are like smart folders, showing me a view of what needs doing and when.

I’m happy to manually enter deadlines into my calendar, and I don’t miss the ability of apps like Things to do all of the above from the one dashboard.

Here’s the takeaway: I know how my brain works and what derails it, and I’ve tailored my system to suit. If the way I do things would drive you insane, go forth and find what brings you the sense of peace Elizabeth talked about finding as she entered her tasks into Todoist!

You will need:

• a clear understanding of your non-negotiables (Liz: scheduling, mobile access, simplicity; Me: scheduling, plugin-free plain text format, saved searches)

• a keen eye for recognising when your system isn’t meeting your needs

• the courage to change tack to suit your current needs

How’s your task management going? Does it tick all your non-negotiable boxes? Is it simple to upkeep? Does it give you a bird’s eye view of what’s on your plate, as well as showing you what you need to be about today?

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[1] You can get a 1-month free trial of Setapp by using my referral link, and entering ELLANE into the coupon box

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The Plain Text, Paper-Less Productivity Digest explores productivity through a future-proof, plain text mindset, with a soft spot for the paper that counts.

Download some free productivity goodies (including an Obsidian Planner demo vault) here.