How I Quickly Capture Ideas using Obsidian MD and Fleeting Notes

A fast capture workflow for Obsidian depends on “fleeting notes”: lightweight, temporary reminders that get processed later—so ideas can be captured instantly without slowing down during walks, podcast listening, or while browsing. The core claim is that direct note-taking inside Obsidian becomes too friction-heavy when the vault is large (the transcript cites 4,000+ notes and hundreds of megabytes), and copying into a separate tool like Google Keep creates extra manual steps. Fleeting notes solve that by letting ideas land quickly and then syncing them into a structured Obsidian vault when the user is ready.

The workflow centers on an app called Fleeting Notes, described as free and designed to integrate with Obsidian. It supports linking and automatic syncing with the vault, aiming to meet three criteria for quick capture: it works across devices, stays easy to use, and syncs smoothly into a “second brain.” Capture starts in multiple ways. On mobile or in a browser, users can share content to Fleeting Notes, which automatically creates a note and generates a link; if the capture comes from a video, it can also attach a timestamp. Users can then dictate text via keyboard voice-to-text, add a title, and later connect related ideas by sharing the same video again to create a new note that links back to the earlier one.

On desktop, Fleeting Notes also supports saving highlighted material. A Chrome extension can send selected text into a fleeting note while preserving a link to the source. If nothing is highlighted, the extension icon allows quick typing directly into a new fleeting note. Importantly, the notes can be interconnected inside Obsidian using standard link syntax (square brackets), letting later processing preserve the “thought process” rather than isolating each idea.

Once a batch of fleeting notes exists, the next step is syncing. In Obsidian, Fleeting Notes is installed as a community plugin and enabled, then configured with login details to activate syncing. Sync settings let users choose where notes land (a dedicated folder), whether syncing is automatic, and the directionality: one-way sync from Fleeting Notes to Obsidian, optional deletion of fleeting notes after syncing to keep the app clean, or two-way sync if Fleeting Notes is used as a knowledge base. A key feature is template customization for importing—using variables to populate fields like created date, tags, and source links. The transcript describes a template modeled after an Obsidian default note template, including statuses, tags, and a “seedling” tag to register imported items.

Processing is handled through Obsidian commands. One command inserts all unprocessed notes, which requires an ID tag to make them eligible; another inserts notes containing specific text, searching both front matter and content. After review, users can move notes into the correct Obsidian templates (e.g., turning an idea into an “input” note or a “thought” note), link them to relevant concepts, and then delete or relocate the original fleeting note depending on the chosen template strategy. The workflow functions as a filter: capture first, then decide later whether an idea is worth turning into a permanent note—typically at the end of the day and end of the week for brainstorming and writing.