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Obsidian Plugins — My top plugins in the Obsidian app thumbnail

Obsidian Plugins — My top plugins in the Obsidian app

Linking Your Thinking with Nick Milo·
5 min read

Based on Linking Your Thinking with Nick Milo's video on YouTube. If you like this content, support the original creators by watching, liking and subscribing to their content.

TL;DR

Disable Safe Mode to enable community plugins, then browse by downloads to prioritize widely vetted options.

Briefing

Obsidian’s community plugins can turn daily-note writing from a static log into an interactive workflow—especially when four tools are combined: Calendar, Natural Language Dates, Review, and Note Refactor. The payoff is practical: dates become effortless to schedule, highlighted ideas can be split into their own notes instantly, and content can be pushed forward into future review sessions so it resurfaces at the right time.

The walkthrough starts with how to find and safely use plugins. Users must disable Safe Mode to enable third-party community plugins, then browse the catalog sorted by downloads—an informal proxy for community vetting. Once plugins are installed, the Command Palette (Command P on macOS / Ctrl P on Windows) becomes the central control surface. It’s positioned as the universal fallback when remembering hotkeys or plugin commands slips, letting users search for actions like “mind map,” “note refactor,” or “tables” without memorizing everything.

For daily use, three plugins are singled out. Sliding Panes adds a workbench-like interface: holding Shift and using the mouse scroll wheel slides notes horizontally, with focus indicated by vertical bars. Hotkeys Plus Plus speeds up formatting decisions mid-draft by toggling list types—turning plain lines into bullet lists or numbered lists without manual retyping. Better Word Count provides live word and character counts for the current selection, including a quick way to check whether text fits constraints like a 240-character tweet.

When randomness or structure is needed, additional plugins fill gaps. Smart Random Note (by Eric Hall) introduces “deliberate serendipity” by opening random notes filtered by search terms or tags, not just any note in the vault. Advanced Tables (by Tony Grassinger) generates Markdown tables quickly: typing pipe-delimited headers and pressing Tab triggers table creation, with alignment tweaks supported via colons. Paste URL into Selection streamlines linking by converting selected text into proper Markdown URL links via a hotkey.

The most consequential section ties four plugins together into a daily-note engine. Calendar (by Liam Kane) adds a calendar view where dots indicate roughly 250-word daily notes and supports weekly review templates. Natural Language Dates (by Argentina Ortega-Sans) parses phrases like “tomorrow” or “in two days” into actual dates through a hotkey. Review (by Ryan Murphy) then moves selected content into a scheduled review note on a chosen future date. Note Refactor (via a hotkey) takes headings highlighted inside a bulky daily note and extracts each section into its own linked note, preserving the structure while making ideas easier to reuse.

The result is a system where a messy daily note can quickly become a network of focused notes, each automatically connected to the day it belongs to and the future date it should be revisited. The closing emphasis is that all of this still runs on plain-text Markdown files, keeping the workflow portable even if Obsidian changes or users switch tools.

Cornell Notes

Obsidian plugins can upgrade daily note-taking into a workflow that schedules, refines, and resurfaces ideas. The core daily setup highlights Sliding Panes (workbench-style navigation), Hotkeys Plus Plus (instant list formatting), and Better Word Count (live word/character counts). For “when needed” moments, Smart Random Note enables tag- or search-filtered randomness, Advanced Tables speeds up Markdown table creation, and Paste URL into Selection converts selected text into Markdown links. The biggest workflow leap comes from combining Calendar, Natural Language Dates, Review, and Note Refactor: dates are parsed from natural language, content is pushed into future review notes, and highlighted headings are extracted into separate linked notes. This matters because it turns daily notes into an evolving knowledge system without leaving Markdown.

Why does Command Palette (Command P / Ctrl P) matter when using many plugins?

It acts as a universal entry point for plugin actions and hotkeys. Instead of memorizing every shortcut, users can press Command P to search for commands like “note refactor,” “tables,” or “random,” then run the action directly. This reduces friction when switching between plugins or forgetting exact keybindings.

How does Sliding Panes change day-to-day note navigation?

Sliding Panes lets users shift between notes horizontally like moving index cards on a workbench. The interaction is mouse-driven: holding Shift and scrolling moves panes left/right, and clicking a note brings it into focus. The plugin adds visual focus indicators (vertical bars) and supports rapid side-by-side editing.

What practical writing tasks do Hotkeys Plus Plus and Better Word Count target?

Hotkeys Plus Plus focuses on formatting speed: it toggles list types (unordered bullets or numbered lists) so a writer can convert a line into a list without manual reformatting. Better Word Count focuses on constraints and editing feedback: it shows live word and character counts for the current selection, including quick checks against a character limit (the transcript uses a 240-character tweet example).

How does Smart Random Note create “deliberate serendipity”?

Instead of opening any random note, it can open random notes from search results or from tags. For example, filtering by a hashtag like #quote yields a random note containing that tag, and the plugin also supports “open a tagged random note” across tags such as “develop.” This keeps randomness useful by steering it toward a topic.

What’s the workflow logic behind Calendar + Natural Language Dates + Review?

Calendar provides a daily-note calendar view and templates (including weekly review). Natural Language Dates turns phrases like “tomorrow” or “in two days” into actual dates via a hotkey. Review (paired with those dates) then schedules highlighted content into a future review note on the chosen day, so items resurface when they’re due.

How does Note Refactor turn a bulky daily note into reusable knowledge?

Note Refactor extracts highlighted sections—especially headings—into separate new notes and links them back to the source. In the example, a daily note with multiple headers is split into multiple notes, each containing the content under its respective heading. This makes it easier to link specific ideas elsewhere and reduces the “one big note” problem.

Review Questions

  1. Which four plugins are combined to transform daily notes into a scheduled review and extraction workflow, and what does each one contribute?
  2. How do Command P and plugin-specific hotkeys work together to reduce memorization overhead?
  3. Describe a scenario where Note Refactor would be preferable to manually creating header links.

Key Points

  1. 1

    Disable Safe Mode to enable community plugins, then browse by downloads to prioritize widely vetted options.

  2. 2

    Use Command P / Ctrl P as the universal way to find plugin commands and hotkeys on demand.

  3. 3

    Adopt Sliding Panes for rapid horizontal navigation that mimics moving physical index cards.

  4. 4

    Use Hotkeys Plus Plus to convert plain lines into bullet or numbered lists instantly while drafting.

  5. 5

    Use Better Word Count to track live word/character counts for selections, including constraint-based writing.

  6. 6

    Combine Calendar, Natural Language Dates, Review, and Note Refactor to schedule future resurfacing and split daily notes into focused, linked notes.

  7. 7

    Keep the workflow portable by relying on plain-text Markdown files stored in a local folder.

Highlights

Sliding Panes turns Obsidian navigation into a “workbench” experience by sliding notes left/right with Shift + mouse scroll.
Better Word Count provides live word and character counts for the current selection, making constraint writing (like tweet-length checks) immediate.
Natural Language Dates can convert phrases like “tomorrow” or “in two days” into real dates through a hotkey.
Note Refactor can extract highlighted headings from a bulky note into separate linked notes in one action, making ideas easier to reuse.
Calendar + Natural Language Dates + Review create a loop where content is pushed into future review notes tied to specific dates.

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