Welcome to Old Neander — this is my first post here.
I’m a government worker in South Korea. I’m not a developer, and I can’t code. But over the past few years, one free app has quietly changed how I work: Obsidian.
Here are five reasons I think every knowledge worker — especially the non-techy kind, like me — should give it a try.
1. You Forget More Than You Think
Here’s a truth nobody tells you at work: any task you do only once a year, you will forget how to do.
Annual budget reports. Year-end filings. That one system you log into every March. Twelve months later, you’re starting from zero again, digging through old emails.
Obsidian fixed this for me. Every time I finish an unfamiliar task, I write down the exact steps in a note. Next year, future-me opens that note and finishes in ten minutes what used to take an afternoon.
2. Your Notes Are Yours — Forever
Obsidian stores everything as plain text files (Markdown) on your own computer.
No company server. No subscription that holds your notes hostage. If Obsidian disappeared tomorrow, every note would still open in any text editor.
For notes you want to keep for decades — and work knowledge is exactly that — this matters more than any fancy feature.
3. Links Beat Folders
For years I organized notes in folders, and for years I lost things. Does a note about a park budget go in “Parks” or “Budget”?
Obsidian solves this with links. Type [[ and connect any note to any other note. The budget note links to the park note, and both link to the meeting where it was decided.
Over time, your notes stop being a pile of documents and start becoming a second brain — a web of everything you know.
4. It’s Free, and It Works Offline
The core app costs nothing. Not freemium-with-a-catch — actually free for personal use.
And because your files live on your device, it works on a train, on a plane, or behind a strict office firewall. No internet required.
5. It Grows With You
I started with simple memos. Then daily notes. Now my whole system runs on it — task lists, a bullet journal, timeboxing my calendar, reading notes.
You don’t need to learn any of that on day one. Obsidian meets you where you are, and there’s always one more level when you’re ready.
Start Stupidly Small
Don’t build a giant system on day one. Download Obsidian, create one note, and write down the steps of the last task you struggled with.
That single note is your second brain’s first neuron. Even an old brain like mine — hence the name Old Neander — works better with a good tool in hand.
I’ll be writing here about Obsidian, second brains, bullet journaling, timeboxing, and how an ordinary office worker can work smarter. See you in the next post.