It’s no secret that Obsidian has become my go-to for deep dives and building a robust Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) system. However, I constantly hit a wall when it comes to capturing thoughts or quick notes on the fly. That’s when I realized the missing piece wasn’t a new PKM tool, but rather an accessible tool for those spontaneous ideas.
Enter Google Keep. Its lightning-fast interface and native mobile apps proved to be the ideal solution for quick capture and allowed me to jot down anything, anywhere, and then seamlessly transfer those thoughts into Obsidian. This combination has transformed how I interact with and build upon my knowledge.
Where Obsidian falls short
For quick capture
I have spent countless hours in Obsidian, and there is no doubt it’s a powerful tool. I love how I can connect ideas, see relationships in graph view, map out ideas using Canvas, and use its search to instantly find anything I have ever written.
The fact that it’s all in plain Markdown means my notes are future-proof, which gives me peace of mind. Overall, it’s a place where I build a true second brain with minute details.
However, for all its brilliance, I quickly discovered where Obsidian falls short for a particular kind of note-taking: quick capture. Obsidian’s core strength and desktop and mobile apps aren’t designed for a ‘fire and forget’ kind of note.
There’s just a bit too much friction – opening the app, creating a new note, thinking about where it should go. All I want to do is capture a thought before it vanishes. It’s simply not optimized for those quick reminders or ideas that need to be recorded at the moment.
Obsidian also leaves a lot to desire when it comes to real-time collaboration. After all, these Markdown files aren’t designed for quick sharing.
Google Keep is the perfect complement
The solution
This is where Google Keep truly shines and bridges the gap in my workflow. I realized that the solution wasn’t to force Obsidian to be something it’s not, but to find a front-end for quick notes.
Thanks to Google Keep’s excellent mobile apps and home screen widgets, I can literally pull out my phone and jot down a thought in a second. I don’t have to think about where it goes, what tag to add, or how to link it.
Now, let’s come to the collaboration part. Since almost everyone these days has a Google ID, sharing a quick note or checklist with colleagues is seamless. For example, when a client calls with a new requirement, I add it to Keep, add a colleague to the note, and they see it instantly.
And because it’s a Google product, Keep works beautifully with other company apps like Gmail. I often need to refer to my notes while drafting an email. Instead of finding a note in Obsidian, I can access Google Keep right from the sidebar and get the job done.
A dream team to work with
Best of both worlds
Here is where this combination starts making sense. I use Keep for my rapid thoughts and transform them into structured, interconnected knowledge within my Obsidian vault. This usually happens during a dedicated time, often at the end of my workday.
Last week, I was in a meeting. During the discussion, a colleague mentioned a potential solution to a problem we were facing, and a new idea for a feature enhancement for a client popped into my head.
I opened Google Keep and created two quick entries. I didn’t worry about formatting, linking, or even precise wording. The goal was just to get those thoughts out of my head and into a reliable capture system.
Later that evening, when I had some dedicated time for deep work, I opened Obsidian. That’s when I would go to Google Keep web, review those quick notes, and decide their ultimate home. The Explore suggestion note might become a new task in my project management note in Obsidian.
The New feature idea would be moved into my Ideas Inbox folder in Obsidian, where I could then expand on it, link it to the client project note, and tag it for future development discussion.
This two-step process gives me the best of both worlds: the immediate, friction-free capture I need in the moment, and the powerful, interconnected organization I demand for my long-term knowledge.
The power duo
For a long time, I searched for a single tool to handle every aspect of my information flow, but the reality is that different tools excel at different tasks. I have realized that Obsidian isn’t built for the rapid, on-the-go capture that Google Keep provides so effortlessly.
I have created a workflow that leverages each tool’s strengths and removes any friction. If you have found yourself struggling with similar challenges, I highly recommend giving this dynamic duo a try. After that, check out my unique ways to get the best out of Obsidian.