obsidian-notes

Obsidian-Compatible Note Formatting

This skill defines the user's preferred markdown formatting for notes — mirroring the structure and visual style of their Apple Notes but using clean, Obsidian-compatible markdown with no HTML tags.

Core Rules

• No HTML. Everything must be valid markdown. No <div>, <br>, <b>, <ul>, etc.
• Emoji titles are standard. Every note starts with an emoji that reflects its content.
• Use blank lines for spacing. Where Apple Notes uses <div><br></div>, use a single blank line.
• Bold labels for key-value pairs. Use **Label:** value for structured data.
• No decorative separators. Don't use --- horizontal rules, dashes, or Unicode box-drawing characters between sections. Use headings and blank lines for structure instead.
• Prefer bold labels over tables. For relationship data or key-value pairs, use **Name** — description rather than markdown tables. Tables are OK for genuinely tabular data (budgets, schedules) but not for simple lists of people or settings.
• Inline lists in prose. For simple lists within a sentence, don't use bullet points — just write them inline: "Key skills include: Python, JavaScript, and SQL."

Formatting Reference

Apple Notes HTML	Obsidian Markdown
<h1>Title</h1>	# Title
<h2>Section</h2>	## Section
<h3>Subsection</h3>	### Subsection
<b>text</b>	**text**
<i>text</i>	*text*
<ul><li>item</li></ul>	- item
<ol><li>item</li></ol>	1. item
<tt>code</tt>	`code`
<a href="url">text</a>	[text](url)
<div><br></div>	blank line
<s>text</s>	~~text~~

Preferred Structure

Title Format

Every note starts with an emoji + h1 title:

# 📋 Note Title Here

Choose an emoji that reflects the note's content:

• 📋 plans, trackers, lists
• 📅 meetings, events, check-ins
• ⚠️ issues, warnings, incidents
• 🎯 audits, goals, strategy
• 💳 expenses, purchasing, finance
• 👥 people, contacts
• 🗒 reference, context, background
• 🔧 tools, setup, technical
• 📱 apps, platforms
• 🗂️ organization, planning
• 💡 ideas

Subtitle / Date Line

Immediately after the title, add an italic line with context (participants, date, source):

# 📅 2026-03-20 — Meeting Title

*Oliver, Ashley, Cass, Kathy (Community Events/Wellness)*

For notes with a last-updated date or status:

# 📋 Task Tracker

*Last updated: March 20, 2026*

Sections and Subsections

Use ## for major sections, ### for subsections within them:

## Action Items

### Immediate (This Week)

- [ ] First task
- [ ] Second task

### Near-Term (Next 1-2 Weeks)

- [ ] Another task

Bold Labels for Key-Value Data

For structured reference data (contacts, tools, settings), use bold labels:

**Title:** Social Media Strategist
**Reports to:** Ashley Legacy
**Start date:** March 11, 2026

For people/contact entries with descriptions:

**Ashley Legacy** — Manager, Digital Communications & Engagement. Values autonomy and collaboration. Weekly 1-on-1s (Wednesdays preferred).

**Cass Lang** — Digital Communications Strategist. Background in marketing, PR, and graphic design. Currently in burnout recovery — be mindful of transition pace.

Task Lists

Use GitHub-flavored markdown checkboxes:

- [ ] Open task
- [x] Completed task — DONE: details about completion

For completed tasks, use a checked checkbox ([x]) and add resolution details after an em dash. Do not use strikethrough on completed tasks — the checkbox is sufficient.

Spacing Rules

• After a heading to content: One blank line (standard markdown)
• Between list items that have descriptions: No blank line needed within the list
• After a list: One blank line before the next section
• Between people entries or reference blocks: One blank line
• Between sections: One blank line

Links

Provide context for links — never use generic text:

[YouTube: "Learning to Fly" — FlightChops (126K views)](https://youtube.com/...)

Special Characters

Use & directly in markdown (no HTML entities needed). Use → for arrows/flows:

Facebook bill → Jerry Couture (billing) → Bonnie (accounting) → receipt from me

Note Type Patterns

Meeting Note

# 📅 2026-03-20 — Meeting Title

*Participants: Oliver, Ashley, Cass*

## Context

Brief background on what this meeting was about.

## Action Items

- [ ] **Task name** — details and context
- [ ] **Another task** — more details

## Learnings

- Key insight from the meeting
- Another important takeaway

## People

**Name** — Role; relevant context from the meeting

Reference Note

# 🗒 Reference Title

*Description of what this note contains. Updated as needed.*
*Last updated: March 20, 2026*

## Section

**Key:** Value
**Another key:** Value

## Another Section

- Bullet point with context
- Another point

Task Tracker

# 📋 Task Tracker

*Last updated: March 20, 2026*

## 🔥 Immediate — Week of March 24

- [ ] **Task name** — details
- [ ] **Another task** — details
- [x] Completed task — DONE: resolution details

## Upcoming

- [ ] **Future task** — details

## Events Calendar

- **March 30** — Event name
- **April 10** — Another event

Idea / Concept Note

# 🎯 Concept Title

The core idea or observation — what it is and why it matters.

Strategy / Planning Note

# 📋 Campaign or Project Name

## Research To Do

**1. Talk to Danielle**
- What do they need most on the battery assembly line?
- What's their biggest limiting factor?

## The Strategy

Interview successful graduates about why they chose BETA...

Brainstorm Capture Note

When reformatting someone's voice notes or stream-of-consciousness:

• Preserve original language and voice — don't paraphrase away distinctive phrasing or tone
• Keep the nuance and detail — structure for clarity, but don't compress into generic bullet points
• Preserve specific names, questions, and action items exactly as stated
• Keep emotional/tonal content — if they said something emphatically, keep that emphasis

The goal is organization, not compression. A well-structured long note is better than an over-summarized short one that loses the original thinking.

Example — preserve this kind of voice:

What if we could model the look of SpaceX — but not made by a dick — made by working class Americans.

Don't flatten it to: "Consider SpaceX aesthetic for blue-collar positioning."

Quick Note

# 💡 Short Idea or Observation

Brief content — one or two lines explaining the idea or thing to remember.