This vault serves two purposes at the same time. It is a personal knowledge base that evolved past Obsidian, and it is also the source for my public blog, which exists thanks to Quartz. Because of that, the folder structure is intentionally simple and based on intent rather than file type or topic. While I have tested many different ways of organizing an Obsidian vault, such as the Johnny Decimal system or the Zettelkasten method, and I have read countless articles about productivity or building a Second Brain, my experience has been that focusing too much on that actually leads to a loss in measurable productivity.
Each folder represents why a note exists and how it is expected to evolve over time. To aid further organization and ease of finding the notes themselves, appropriate tags are used.
Inbox
The Inbox is the default entry point for new notes. Everything starts here.
Whenever I have a quick thought, an idea, a link, a half formed explanation, or something I do not want to forget, it goes into the Inbox without hesitation. Notes in this folder are allowed to be messy, incomplete, and unstructured. The goal is speed and low friction, not organization. The Inbox is reviewed regularly, and notes are either expanded, rewritten, or moved into one of the other folders once their purpose becomes clear. While the idea is that nothing stays here permanently, it can also be that there can be no other space for a note with the current system. So while the notes are evolving constantly, so is the architecture behind it.
Journal
The Journal contains articles written from my own point of view: personal experiences, reflections, and process oriented writing. This includes things like how I solved a specific technical or non technical problem, how I worked through a task at work or during my training, how I am approaching learning a language, or how my thinking changed over time. These notes are written from a first person perspective and focus on the journey rather than polished explanations. I guess you could call this the essence of the blog, as here you would find traditional blog posts .
Notes
The Notes folder is the core, the knowledge base. It contains research, explanations, summaries, and distilled information. Each note usually focuses on a single concept, tool, or idea and is written to be clear, concise, and linkable. These notes are not diary like and not necessarily written for publication, but they often support journal entries, articles and projects to grant context. This is where understanding is built and connected.
Articles
Articles are standalone pieces of writing intended for readers. These are polished explanations, tutorials, essays, or opinion pieces that are meant to be consumed from start to finish. The tone is more neutral and reader focused than in the Journal, and the structure is deliberate.
Projects
The Projects folder contains documentation related to concrete projects. This includes project overviews, goals, requirements, decisions, architecture notes, implementation details, and post project reflections. Unlike Journal entries, these notes are scoped to a specific project and focus on what was built and why certain decisions were made. Projects often link out to Notes for technical concepts and may also reference Articles or Journal entries for deeper context.