Obsidian is a note-taking software that took the world by a storm after the pandemic. Part of its surging popularity lies in it being extremely customizable, mainly due to the ability to add plugins that suit your workload and personality. It’s also available on both the PC and smartphones with real-time sync which ensures you never miss a beat.
Here are some plugins that can help you get the most out of this fantastic program, as well as how to use them.
Must-Have Plugins for Beginners
If you’re starting out with Obsidian, you probably already know the basics. Here are some plugins that will streamline your work.
OmniSearch
Omnisearch is a basic plugin that could make your life a lot easier. It makes it much simpler to search through your whole notes even if you only remember one word from the note. You can read more about Omnisearch here.
Make.MD
This is a very basic plugin you may need as a beginner. Make.MD offers quite a few features, but the most useful one to a beginner is the Spaces feature which allows you to batch your notes into different sections. With Spaces, you can categorize similar notes together into one space, instead of scrambling about for them when you need them.
Installing Make.MD is easy and straightforward. Just go to the community and search for the plugin to install. You can read more about the plugin from its documentation page here.
Advanced Tables
If your note-taking process involves gathering some data into a table-like format, then you certainly need Advanced tables. Advanced tables give quite a similar feeling to using Excel tables (a bit simplified, of course), and the plugin is available for mobile devices too. A demo of its usage can be found on the GitHub page here.
Productivity Plugins
If you want to boost your productivity, here are some apps that can help.
Full Calendar
While notes are powerful, they won’t do much if you forget about them. With Full Calendar, you can easily keep track of your daily schedules and plans even while working on your notes. You can link your notes to events in your calendar and keep a better overview of your day. It pairs well with a reminder plugin to set off an alarm when a task is due. You can see more about it here.
Reminder
The Reminder plugin does exactly what it sounds like. It reminds. The plugin offers the feature of managing markdown to-dos with a reminder. You can use it with Full Calendar to remind yourself of necessary tasks. Using the Reminder plugin is not so straightforward, so you may have to check its usage here.
Tasks
This plugin helps you track tasks across your vault. You can easily query your tasks and mark them as done wherever you want. With the Task plugin, you can add due dates, recurring tasks, or done dates. You can learn more about this plugin here.
Habit Tracking
There are two main contenders for the best habit-tracking plugin: Habit Tracker or Habit Calendar
Think of how inspiring it would be to see thirty consecutive ticks on a habit you are just trying to cultivate. Habit Tracker and Habit Calendar allow you to track your habits and give you a monthly review of how much you stuck to your habits. The Tracker has a more colorful interface, but the Calendar brings simplicity up-front.
Best Obsidian Plugins for Writers and Editors
Writers and editors are some of Obsidian’s biggest fans, so here are some useful plugins for them.
Longform
Longform allows you to write and edit novels, screenplays, and other long projects. It lets you organize a series of notes or scenes into an ordered manuscript. It also supports single-note projects for shorter works. It has several mouth-watering features like writing session goals and automatically displaying word counts. You can see a demo of this plugin here.
Dangerzone Writing
Most writers will admit that the biggest problem they face is distraction. Dangerzone makes you choose between quitting your writing to check Instagram and losing everything you have written. It is a plugin that makes writers more productive by deleting everything they have written if they fail to write for a specified amount of time. You can check it out here.
Advanced Obsidian Plugins
Kanban
A Kanban board is a visual tool for managing projects and tasks. The board typically has several column, with each column having a card or sticky note that carries all the tasks to be done. Each column represents a stage of the working process, and the movement of cards shows that progress is being made.
The Kanban for Obsidian plugin enhances your note-taking and project management experience by bringing the powerful Kanban board methodology to your Obsidian vault. This versatile plugin allows you to visually organize tasks, ideas, and projects using Kanban boards, helping you stay on top of your work and increase productivity.
Dataview
Dataview is an advanced plugin that allows you to relate with your Obsidian Vault like a database. It allows you to query, extract, sort, and filter data. Learn more about it here.
How to Install Obsidian Plugins
The first thing to do when installing plugins is to turn off “Restricted Mode” on the app. If you have that mode on, you will not be able to install community plugins.
Here’s how to turn off “Restricted Mode” and install plugins:
- Click on Settings.
- Select “Plugin security.”
- Turn off “Restricted Mode.”
- Go back to main menu.
- Go to the side menu, and from the options displayed, click on “Community plugins.”
- Click on “Browse” to see a list of available plugins.
- Select the plugins you want and click on “Install.”
- After installing, ensure you click on “Enable.”
Should I Use Obsidian Plugins?
When starting out with Obsidian, choose only a few basic plugins so that things don’t get too complex. Starting simple helps you understand how Obsidian works natively and helps you to better understand its strengths and limitations.
Some minimalistic Obsidian users would even go as far as suggesting that you should not add any plugin until you need to do something and you start thinking, “Gosh, there has to be an easier way,” only then, they say, should you go for a plugin.
That might not be the best piece of advice though. A lot of times, you do not know you need something easier until you see something easier. After all, no one ever thought we needed electricity until someone invented it.
Take Notes More Easily With Obsidian Plugins
What puts Obsidian far above its competitors is its support for plugins, so using Obsidian without getting to know about the best plugins is like buying a self-driving car and then taking to the wheel yourself.
Take time to explore these amazing plugins and more, and let us know what other great plugins you have used in the comment section.
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