PTPL 093 · Projects With a Code Name Work Better Than Those Without

Plus how to move between Obsidian Sync vaults on iOS without stuffing things up

Giving your projects a code name can help you understand the why behind them at a much deeper level, leading to increased motivation and better quality work. The Obsidian Sync noob’s guide to switching vaults on your phone! It’s not as easy as I’d thought.

Naming my projects helps me remember why they exist

When I read Ben Thompson’s words on giving all his projects a name (Medium article) my imagination sparked! So I jumped right in and did the same, with satisfying results.

According to Ben, this practice helps to —

limit scope creep
increase motivation to work on the project
remember what’s on your plate
define and internalise the meaning behind each project (the why)

Plus, there’s no denying it’s a super cool thing to do. Like, we get to be our own (ethical) secret service agency and make important things happen for the good of …whatever our project is about!

Here are the four projects I have in front of me at the moment, and the names I’ve come up with for each.

Project Satellite — Interactive PDF planner for teachers (teachers need to oversee and care for multiple areas of responsibility)
Project Homestead — Planner printables for people who like the DIY approach (inspired by homesteading families on Instagram, I’ve fallen for the delight one can get from doing everyday things simply, by hand, instead of buying ready-made)
Project Wildflower — Growing my digital garden (wild flowers grow scattered in amongst everything else; gathering them into unique bouquets highlights their beauty)
Project Scherzo —Theory of Music card games for children (these games are to be light and playful while teaching what might otherwise be dry and boring)

Naming my projects was a fantastic exercise in digging down into what they’re really about, and much harder than I thought it would be. It took me not minutes or hours, but several days.

You might choose not to name your projects, but could you do it? If it feels too hard to come up with even a hypothetical code name that means something to you, perhaps there’s more work to be done with defining the project’s deeper character and purpose.

↑ Image created by the Author

Moving between Obsidian Sync vaults on iOS was confusing

Obsidian Sync has been working flawlessly on my laptop, iPhone, and iPad since late November 2023. Today I tried to switch to a different vault on my iPhone for the first time, and ran into a wall.

Set up Sync? Create new vault? Neither of those options seemed to fit the bill, but I figured I needed to press one of them, as the long list underneath them didn’t look relevant.

Long story short, I inadvertently ended up creating a new Sync vault on my phone for the vault I was trying to open. Not good!! That thing is huge.

What I should have done was to scroll down-down-down that long list, and pick the vault I was wanting to open. Two seconds later, it was open. Felt like a numpty, I can tell you! Anyway, it’s all good now, and I learned something in the process.

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