Take Project Notes in Obsidian

Obsidian can handle project management cleanly by introducing a dedicated “project note” layer that acts as an entry point, a curated container for related fleeting notes, and a staging area for turning accumulated permanent notes into finished writing artifacts. The core idea is to stop letting fleeting notes sprawl across the vault. Instead, fleeting notes get attached to a specific project context—like a newsletter or a book—so the knowledge stays organized until it’s time to produce something concrete.

The system starts from the Smart Notes framework’s note types—fleeting, literature, permanent, and project notes—but rejects the idea that these categories move in a simple linear chain. Fleeting notes can remain fleeting, become literature notes, or mature into permanent notes as they’re refined. That flexibility is useful, yet it creates early confusion about how to manage projects in Obsidian. The solution is to add project notes as the organizing spine: a project note groups the right inputs, links to the permanent notes that represent reusable research, and provides a single place to launch writing.

In practice, the creator maintains a Projects folder with two main kinds of project notes. One is a “manuscript” project note for large bodies of work such as a book or video course. The other is a “long-running project” note for ongoing efforts like a newsletter, blog, or work project. The purpose is consistent: when the effort is done, all associated notes can be moved into an archive.

For a long-running project like “Knowledge Worker,” the project note functions as a dynamic dashboard. It includes a top-level entry point (e.g., a short mission statement) and a curated list of fleeting notes specifically tied to that project—ideas for video courses, research topics, and implementation details. This prevents the common failure mode where fleeting notes pile up everywhere and become an overwhelming, undifferentiated list.

Inside the same project note, the system also links to permanent notes that serve as writing prompts and research building blocks. For example, newsletter ideas are organized under headings, and each newsletter outline links to permanent notes such as “attention capacity” or “usage agreements.” Those permanent notes then connect to downstream artifacts: the newsletter itself, a tutorial output, and potentially a larger manuscript later. The workflow uses Ulysses as the “editor” stage: once enough smart notes accumulate to form a body of work, the creator cuts the relevant notes into a Ulysses draft. A green check mark marks that cutoff point.

For manuscript-style projects, the project note balances two needs: maintaining an evolving outline and staying ahead of research. Fleeting notes feed new ideas, while tags (including collections like “reclaim” and chapter/section identifiers) help the creator retrieve research quickly as chapters are written. Finished sections—such as a 2,000+ word chapter—are based on multiple permanent notes built over time from several books, with quotes and research references attached.

Finally, the system keeps everything in one tool—Obsidian—while still integrating with external writing via Ulysses. Each project gets its own folder so the entire knowledge set can be moved, archived, or removed cleanly later, preserving the project’s entry point and all its linked notes in one package.