|||

PTPL 142 · Done-for-You Markdown Dates for Organising an OBTF

With Plus-Minus-Next reviews to guide the week ahead

Some daily-note makers use paper, some use digital files, and some use both. All are valid, and I’m in the latter category. My analog daily notes are kept on scrap paper in a Paper Saver notebook and in my Wonderland222 planner while digital daily notes live in One Big Text File, known as an OBTF.

I freely admit that there’s no need to organise an OBTF with Markdown headings, none at all. In-file search will surface any date (assuming the entries are dated, which they should be) or topic. But I do it anyway!

Black text on a white background showing Markdown headers on the left, and an outline of months and weeks for 2025 in a narrow column on the right

At the beginning of this year I took the time to write out the weeks of the year. At the beginning of each new week I cut and paste the coming week’s dates to separate my notes into more easily navigable chunks. Pourquoi pas !

Here they are in case you would like to do the same:

Anne-Laure Le Cunff‘s Plus-Minus-Next is a helpful way to structure regular reviews. I place it at the beginning of the week, going back to fill it in before the next week begins.

The Week XX Notes” section is there as a place marker (for want of a better word) to make it easier to view all Plus-Minus-Next reviews on one summary page. I haven’t bothered with that this year, preferring the simplicity of navigating via the Markdown outline.

Follow this pattern to view all Plus-Minus-Next entries on one page in Obsidian, replacing OBTF with the name of your file:

![[OBTF#WEEK 01 (Dec 29 – Jan 4)]]
![[OBTF#WEEK 02 (Jan 5–11)]]
![[OBTF#WEEK 03 (Jan 12–18)]]
![[OBTF#WEEK 04 (Jan 19–25)]]
![[OBTF#WEEK 05 (Jan 26 – Feb 1)]]

It’s not as laborious as newcomers to block quotes in Obsidian might think. Copy ![[../Pages/OBTF#WEEK to the clipboard, paste it where you want to see the summary, then type the week number and the correct dates will appear. Press enter, then paste again to enter the next date.

Keep in mind that this way of constructing a summary will only work in Obsidian, while reviewing Plus-Minus-Next entries via the outline works well in most Markdown apps. There’s also the option to export the summary page from Obsidian to PDF for use elsewhere.


💬 I love to hear from readers! Comment via email, or message me on Mastodon or Bluesky

If you get value from my work I invite you to share this post with someone you think will like it, or contribute to my support jar. Every gift helps to keep me an independent creator and is greatly appreciated. You may also like to check out the pay-what-you-want resources on my productivity themed Gumroad store.

Follow my RSS feed, or sign up to receive posts in your inbox  

 

Up next Calendar Headers for 2025 OBTF - Sunday Start These Markdown headers help to organise my One Big Text File. They are added at the beginning of each week, and make it easier to revisit specific weeks of the year. PTPL 143 · You Don’t Need Any of the 6 Drafts App Alternatives I’ve Been Playing With Lately
Latest posts Append, Not Prepend, if You Want to Craft a Dashboard at the Top of Your Daily Notes One Big Text File - the What and the Why Yes, Plain Text Friends, Some Open Formats Are Opener Than Others PTPL 151 · Why the Openest of Open Formats Isn’t the One for Me PTPL 150 · Simplicity Is Great but There’s a Key Lesson in This Genius Complexity PTPL 149 · 3 Tiny PKM-Themed Wisdom Snippets to Beat Digital and Analog Overwhelm PTPL 148 · How to Keep Your Googly Eyes on Your Mouse Pointer (and Off Google) There is Peace in Boundaries PTPL 147 · This Is Why You Might Want to Keep Multiple Daily Notes as Well as an OBTF PTPL 146 · Please Leave Me Alone, I’m Deliberately Distracted Changing From Hledger to Beancount PTPL 145 · Folders or Tags or Index Pages? They’re Tools, Not a Debate PTPL 144 · Browser Switching Time! Bye-Bye Arc, Hello Vivaldi PTPL 143 · You Don’t Need Any of the 6 Drafts App Alternatives I’ve Been Playing With Lately PTPL 142 · Done-for-You Markdown Dates for Organising an OBTF Calendar Headers for 2025 OBTF - Sunday Start Calendar Headers for 2025 OBTF - Monday Start PTPL 141 · Using todo.txt in Obsidian (Or Wherever You Like), Part 2 PTPL 140 · Using todo.txt in Obsidian (Or Wherever You Like), Part 1 PTPL 139 · 2 Proprietary Apps Designed to Set Your Data Free PTPL 138 · Daily Notes Don’t Need to Live in Separate Files PTPL 137 · There’s only One Right Way to Type the Date PTPL 136 · Why Do New Year’s Resolutions? Every Day is Already a Fresh Start PTPL 135 · This is Why To Do Apps Fail and What I’m Using Instead PTPL 134 · Paper, or Paperless? Yes Please Kindness, Hope, and a Christmas Carol from Me to You PTPL 133 · Eventually Consistent: a PKM Allegory on Taking Imperfect Action Now PTPL 132 · Happy To Do Lists · Better Queries in Obsidian · Trip Template · Avoiding App Lock-in Classifying Notes in an OBTF, Inspired By the Dash-Plus System 2025 Markdown Calendars If You’re Keeping Tasks in Your Calendar, I Hope You Know What You’re Doing
... ... ... ...