how i maintain my second brain: chaos to cortex
so, my obsidian vault wasn't supposed to be this. started back in the day like a typical notepad. folder full of text files. local storage. simple. write some thoughts, vibe out. standard stack: markdown, finder, system defaults.
but then the seedbox happened. notes weren't just staying static. they were connecting. they wanted to grow. saw the signal, decided to pivot. hard.
the pivot
notepad -> garden -> second brain. sounds crazy on paper but the graph view doesn't lie. moved from just capturing text to cultivating ideas. realized the value wasn't the storage, it was the synthesis.
the stack
kept it powerful to move fast. core:
- obsidian (the operating system)
- templater (standardization, because i'm lazy)
- smart connections (ai serendipity, finding links i missed)
- excalidraw (visual thinking, drawing my brain)
- kanban (project flow management)
- git (version control, syncing)
feature: the flows
this is the heartbeat. wanted something organic but structured. built "the growth cycle".
my entry point is always the Daily Note. it’s the scratchpad. everything goes there—tasks, random thoughts, meeting notes. it’s a stream of consciousness.
i start with a daily note in the following template as it helps me actively make better notes from my day:
# 2025-12-19 — Daily Note
## 1. Top Priorities (3 max)
-
## 2. Notes & Thoughts (Fleeting Notes)
-
## 3. Meetings / Conversations
- Topic:
- Key points:
- Follow-ups:
## 4. Tasks
- [ ]
- [ ]
- [ ]
## 5. Things to Turn Into Permanent Notes
-
-
-
## 6. End-of-Day Reflection (2–3 sentences)
- What worked?
- What didn’t?
- What did I learn?
but a stream washes away if you don't build dams.
at the end of the day, i review the daily note. if a bullet point has weight, i refactor it into its own note in the 🌱 Seedbox.
i force myself to link aggressively. if i write about a concept, i [[wrap it in brackets]] immediately, even if the destination note doesn't exist yet. this creates "ghost nodes" in the graph—empty placeholders that demand to be filled. it drives the system forward.
most notes start in the 🌱 Seedbox. they are messy, incomplete. tagged #state/seedling.
as they connect and grow, they move to ⚜️ Cortex. tagged #state/forest.
this isn't just filing; it's gardening. ideas compete for attention. the strong ones survive and become evergreen.
management style: buckets & tags
folders are big buckets. ⚙️ Meta for the tools, 💧 Sources for the inputs, 📌 Draw for the visuals (excalidraw is heavily used).
tags are for state. #state/seedling -> #state/bud -> #state/forest.
i don't prioritize sorting. i prioritize connecting. indexes and MOCs (maps of content) act as the highways between the trees.
graphs etc
the graph isn't just pretty pictures. it's the nervous system.
clusters emerge naturally around projects or topics (#on/dev, #on/marketing).
if a node is isolated, it dies. if it's connected, it thrives.
visualizing the brain helps me see where the density is. where i'm spending too much time, and where i need to focus more.
what's next
the vault is evolving. it’s not just a wiki anymore. it’s becoming an active partner in thought. building more automated workflows now. more styling with standard themes.
i'm also working on setting up a deadman's trigger to publish some of the notes to the web. i believe strongly that death gives purpose and that's my memento mori.
captured with intent. connected with speed.