Welcome to Obsidian
Obsidian is a powerful note taking tool that works like a digital brain. It is perfect for university students who find traditional folder structures difficult to use. Instead of keeping notes in separate boxes, Obsidian allows you to link ideas together using simple connections. This is often called a second brain. It helps you see the big picture of your degree.
You can download the software from the Obsidian website.
Setting Up Your Vault
A vault is simply a folder on your computer where your notes live. You own your data and it stays private. When you start, do not worry about making things perfect. You can start by writing one note for a lecture and another for a reading task. To link them, you just type two square brackets around a word. This creates a bridge between your thoughts.
Neurodivergent Friendly Features
Obsidian is highly customisable which is great for executive function support. You can use the Canvas feature to map out your essays visually. This is helpful if you prefer seeing how ideas connect rather than looking at a list. You can also use the Graph View to see a visual map of everything you have learned. It provides a sense of progress that is very rewarding.
For task management, you might like the Community Plugins such as Kanban boards or Daily Notes.
Simple Navigation
Try to use tags to label your work. For example, use a tag for your module code or a tag for assignments. This makes it easy to find everything later without needing to remember which folder you used. Obsidian handles the searching for you. Focus on capturing the information first and let the structure grow over time as you become more comfortable with the software.