How I plan and journal every day with Obsidian

Writing for myself every day has made me a better planner and thinker. I use Obsidian to capture my tasks, thoughts, and reflections in daily notes. It enables me to orient myself in the present by reviewing what I need to do and documenting what happened at any moment on my phone. Moreover, I can plan seamlessly by leaving reminders in future notes. Finally, by having a comprehensive record of my days, I can instantly recall details from the past, instead of struggling to remember.

Orienting myself to the present

Every morning, I open my daily note in the Obsidian mobile app via an iOS automation triggered by my wake-up alarm. This is where I write my tasks, events, and thoughts in list form using a practice called rapid logging from the Bullet Journal system. From there, I anchor myself on what I want to accomplish for the day by reviewing my tasks. Then, throughout the day, I add details until my file ends up looking something like this:

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Mon, Jan 27 2025
> Finished Severance S1 and went down a rabbit hole on mirror life
- 🌞 Clear, -2 / 7 °C
- [x] Work
- [x] Lunch: Leftover
- [x] Run: Greenway East, 6.45 km, 34:04 min, 5:17/km. 
- [x] Dinner: Japanese curry w/ chicken, onion, potato, carrot, bok choy
- 📺 Severance E109
- [ ] Write Obsidian article: Finished first draft
- 🧠 TIL Mirror life—amino acids can be composed in “left” or “right”-handed forms. All life on earth builds proteins out of left-handed amino acids, which is why DNA spiral helix goes in one direction. Scientists assumed that a right-handed “mirror” bacteria can't digest the other handed molecules, thus it is harmless. But, it turns out such life would find enough nutrient in the environment to reproduce and existing life wouldn't be able to eat them. Thus, they would have no predators and become an invasive species!

Above: Example daily note in the Obsidian mobile app.

To keep my notes consistent, I follow a template. Moreover, I use emojis to make items easier to find later:

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{{date:ddd, MMM D, YYYY}}
> One-line summary
- Weather
- [ ] Task
- Event, thought, or anything
- ⭐️ Highlight
- 🔻 Lowlight
- 💭 Reflection
- 🧠 Learning
- 📺 TV show watched
- ...

Overall, this lightweight way of journaling has enabled me to easily remember my plan and clarify my thoughts by writing them down whenever I want. Therefore, I feel more confident about getting through the day.

Writing about my future

Writing down my tasks in future daily notes has radically changed how I plan. Instead of relying on a single list to draw from, I can see everything I’m doing each day. Then, I can decide when to do things based on their importance, estimated time, and personal projected energy level. For example, when I plan my trip, I do so after dinner because I want to recharge from work and dedicate at least an hour to focus. Therefore, I’m less prone to exhaustion and surprises.

Using the tactic I mentioned above, I also like to plan weekly on my computer. Every Sunday evening, I use Upcoming to look at the next 6 days side-by-side. With an overview of my week, I write down meals, workouts, social activities, errands, and projects I want to do. Afterward, I look at my calendar and block times for these tasks. When finished, I run the “Close notes” command to return to the previous state, similar to closing a planner.

Above: Opening and closing daily notes side-by-side with the Upcoming plugin.

Sometimes, I want to remind myself of something on a specific date. Instead of searching by filename (e.g., 2025-02-02), I can use the Calendar view to browse visually. Or, I use Open with Natural Language Dates, which lets me type in words like “this Friday” or “May 6” and jump to the intended file. This saves me from mental calculations and get me to my notes faster.

In brief, writing about my future days has made me more intentional about prioritizing my tasks. By navigating notes seamlessly with the plugins I mentioned, I can structure my days well ahead of time. Therefore, I'm more diligent about following through with my plans.

Recalling the past

My favourite thing about writing everything in Obsidian is the ability to tap into the superpower of recalling details instantly at my fingertips.

For example, I was eating at a ramen restaurant with my family and wanted to remember what I had there a year ago. So, I opened Obsidian on my phone and searched for the restaurant's name. Within a second, I saw I had their delicious Hokkaido ice cream. Therefore, I shared my experience with them in our conversation which I wouldn't have otherwise.

Above: Looking up the restaurant quickly using Obsidian's search panel.

Instances like these show the value of keeping a digital journal that can be accessed anywhere, anytime.

Conclusion

To sum everything up, writing my tasks and thoughts in daily notes with Obsidian has made planning and journalling every day incredibly easy. With it, I can orient myself to the present, seamlessly plan my days, and quickly recall the past at any moment. As a result, I'm more mindful of my days and feel less anxious about the future.

If you're intrigued about my system, I have more to share, such as how I plan my year and track key dates. Stay tuned!

Further reading

• Why I switched from the bullet journal to Obsidian: Elizabeth shared a similar experience in migrating from bullet journal to Obsidian.
• How I use Obsidian to journal: Joseph walked through his comprehensive journalling setup that includes weekly, monthly, and quarterly outlooks.
• Is a daily journal in obsidian worth it??: A Reddit discussion where people also pitched in their approach to writing daily notes.