How the CEO of Obsidian Takes his Notes
A walkthrough of Steph Ango's minimalist note-taking system in Obsidian, emphasizing flat folder structures, heavy linking, and properties over hierarchy.
Key Takeaways
steph-ango (CEO of Obsidian) built his note-taking system around speed and laziness—reducing friction so you actually take notes instead of organizing them.
File Over App
Notes are plain markdown files that outlast any software. If Obsidian disappears tomorrow, your notes remain readable. This philosophy shapes every design decision.
Flat Structure with Properties
Most notes live in the vault root—no nested folders. Instead of deciding where a note belongs, add categories as properties. A single note can belong to multiple categories without duplication.
The only folders Steph keeps:
- References — things outside your world (people, movies, books)
- Attachments — images and files
- Templates — starting points for new notes
- Daily — daily notes as link anchors
Heavy Linking
Link the first mention of anything—people, places, ideas, even if the target note doesn't exist yet. Over time, these connections reveal thinking patterns and create navigation paths through backlinks.
Templates for Speed
Almost every note starts from a template. Templates auto-add relevant properties (date, categories, tags) so you capture metadata without thinking about it.
Quick Switcher Navigation
Never browse the file tree. Press Cmd+O (or Ctrl+O) to jump directly to any note or category. The file explorer becomes irrelevant.
Evergreen Notes
Objectify reusable ideas as evergreen notes—atomic insights you reference across many contexts. These turn fleeting thoughts into building blocks.
Rating System
A 1-7 scale marks importance:
- 7 — Life-changing
- 4 — Worth remembering
- 1 — Negatively impactful
Apply ratings to anything: books, movies, meetings, experiences.
Composable Templates
Templates don't overlap—they stack. A person who's also an author gets both the people and author templates applied, showing meetings and books they've written.
The Daily Rhythm
- Daily: Create unique notes for thoughts as they occur, linking first mentions
- Every few days: Review recent notes, compile patterns into new insights
- Occasionally: Resurface highly-rated items for deeper engagement
Notable Quotes
"His system is oriented towards speed and laziness—he doesn't want the overhead of deciding where things should go."
"Even if these new things aren't pointing to anything yet... this heavy linking style becomes more useful as time goes on."