notesandprompts.com

Author: Siv W

  • 5 Ways Claude and Obsidian Help to Manage Work Projects

    If you are juggling more than one project on top of a full time job, there is a good chance something is slipping through the cracks right now, an email you meant to reply to, a decision nobody wrote down, a deadline that crept up on you.
    In this video I’m going to show you five ways I use Claude and Obsidian together to manage my work projects without dropping the ball.
    I used to keep it all in my head, spread across emails, Slack messages, and a notebook I never opened twice, and I was constantly catching things late instead of ahead of time.
    But one of these five changed how I handle a busy week completely, and it is the one I now do every single Sunday without fail.
    Let’s get started.

    Workflow

    Here’s the setup behind all of this. Every active project gets one main note in Obsidian, and that note becomes the single place everything about that project lives. Claude is what helps me get information into that note in the first place, and it keeps me honest about what is actually happening week to week.

    With that, let’s get started.

    Way 1 — Turn Messy Thoughts Into a Clear Project Plan

    Every project starts the same way for me, a mess in my head. Tasks, worries, deadlines, dependencies, all mixed up together, and by the time I sit down to plan properly I have forgotten half of it.

    Now I open Claude and just brain dump everything, tasks, worries, deadlines, dependencies, in whatever order it comes out, no structure at all. Then I ask Claude to turn that into a proper project plan. Once I am happy with it, I copy the final version into Obsidian and that becomes the hub for that project.

    On screen here you can see me typing out a rough brain dump into Claude, then Claude turning it into a structured plan, which I then paste into a new note in my vault.

    There are three ways this helps someone with too much running through their head at once.

    The first is you get everything out in one go, so nothing gets forgotten just because you did not have time to write it down properly.

    The second is Claude gives you the structure, so a messy dump turns into a plan you can actually work from without you doing any formatting yourself.

    And the third is the final plan lives in Obsidian, so it becomes the one place you can go back to, instead of being buried in a chat you will never scroll back to find.

    Once that plan exists, the next problem is making sure it does not get scattered the moment the work actually starts.

    Way 2 — Create One Project Control Centre in Obsidian

    Before I did this, project information was everywhere, an email here, a Slack message there, a document somewhere else, and half of it just sitting in my memory.

    Now every project gets one main note in Obsidian, what I call the project control centre. It holds the goal, the current status, the key deadlines, the next actions, the decisions made, the risks and blockers, and links out to any meeting notes for that project.

    On screen here you can see one of my project control centre notes open, with every one of those sections filled in and ready to check at a glance.

    There are three ways this helps someone with information scattered across too many places.

    The first is you stop digging through four different apps just to answer where things stand.

    The second is anyone, including future you, can open the note and get up to speed in a minute.

    And the third is decisions and blockers get written down as they happen, instead of being kept in your head to explain to someone later.

    Once each project has its own control centre, the next question is how you keep it updated, especially after meetings.

    Way 3 — Use Claude to Summarise Meetings Into Actions

    After a meeting I used to have rough notes, half typed, and by the next day I had forgotten who was meant to do what.

    Now straight after a meeting I paste those rough notes into Claude and ask for the decisions made, the actions by owner, the open questions, the risks, and the follow ups. Then that goes straight into the project’s control centre note.

    On screen here you can see me pasting a page of messy meeting notes into Claude, and it coming back with decisions, actions, and follow ups clearly laid out, which I then drop into the meeting notes section of my control centre.

    There are three ways this helps someone who leaves meetings with good intentions and messy notes.

    The first is nothing gets lost in translation between what was said in the meeting and what actually happens after it.

    The second is actions get assigned to a person, not left vague, so following up is straightforward.

    And the third is it takes minutes, so you actually do it after every meeting, not just the ones where something already went wrong.

    Once your projects are updating themselves after every meeting, the next step is keeping an eye on all of them at once.

    Way 4 — Build a Weekly Review System

    With more than one project running, it is easy to lose track of what actually needs your attention this week and what can wait, and you can end the week not fully sure what got done and what quietly slipped.

    Now I use Obsidian to keep a list of every active project, and once a week I paste that list into Claude and ask it to review these projects and tell me what needs attention, what looks blocked, what I may be forgetting, and what I should prioritise this week.

    On screen here you can see me pasting my project list into Claude and it coming back with a clear read on what needs my attention first.

    There are three ways this helps someone juggling several things at once.

    The first is you get a second opinion on your week, not just your own read of it.

    The second is things that would have quietly slipped get flagged before they become a real problem.

    And the third is you start the week already knowing what matters most, instead of guessing on Monday morning.

    The last piece is making sure every project you start gets treated the same way, instead of you rebuilding your system from scratch each time.

    Way 5 — Use Templates So Every Project Is Managed the Same Way

    Without a template, every new project becomes its own thing, a new structure to invent from scratch, and it is easy to end up managing five projects five different ways.

    Now I use one Obsidian project template for everything. It covers the outcome, the current status as green, amber or red, the key dates, the next actions, what I am waiting on, the risks and issues, the decisions, the meeting notes, and links. I ask Claude to help me improve that template over time as I notice what is missing.

    On screen here you can see me creating a brand new project note straight from that template, ready to fill in within a minute.

    There are three ways this helps someone starting yet another new piece of work.

    The first is every project starts from the same point, so you are never staring at a blank page working out what to include.

    The second is the green, amber, red status means you can tell how a project is doing at a glance, without reading the whole note.

    And the third is because Claude helps you improve the template, it keeps getting better instead of staying fixed the way you first wrote it.

    This gives you a second brain plus a second pair of eyes. The real benefit is consistency, you stop reinventing your project management system every time a new piece of work lands on your desk.

    Closing Wrap

    So those are five ways Claude and Obsidian help me manage work projects without dropping the ball. Turning messy thoughts into a clear plan. One project control centre per project. Meetings summarised into actions. A weekly review that tells me what needs attention. And templates so every project runs the same way.

    Every one of them comes back to the same idea: Claude helps you think, Obsidian helps you keep it.

  • 5 Steps I Use Claude to Plan My Entire Week in 20 Minutes

    If Sunday planning takes you the best part of an hour and you still start Monday feeling behind, you are not the only one.
    In this video I’m going to show you how I use Claude to plan my entire week in twenty minutes, from my vision board right down to what actually lands on my calendar.
    I used to sit with a blank notebook every Sunday night, guessing at what mattered most.
    Now Claude walks me through five steps and I’m done before my coffee goes cold.
    But one of those steps writes straight into my Google Calendar without me typing a single date in myself, and that’s the part people don’t expect.
    Let’s get started.

    Workflow

    Here’s how I’ve got it set up. I keep a Vision Board note in Obsidian that covers everything I care about this year, health, relationships, home, family, money, and the channel. Alongside it I’ve got a Weekly Check-in note that measures how the week actually went against that board. Every Sunday I open both with Claude and we work through my plan for the week together.

    With that, let’s get started.

    Step 1 — Start With the Vision Board

    Before I did this, my Sunday planning had no anchor. I’d write a to-do list based on whatever felt urgent that morning, and by Wednesday it had nothing to do with what I actually wanted my year to look like.

    Now the first thing I do is ask Claude to read my Vision Board note. It’s one file with a section for each area of my life, so instead of starting from a blank page, I’m starting from what I already said mattered to me.

    On screen here you can see my Vision Board note open in Obsidian, with sections for health, relationships, home, family, wealth, and the channel. I ask Claude to read through it before we plan anything.

    There are three ways this helps someone with a busy schedule.

    The first is that every week ties back to the bigger picture instead of just whatever’s loudest in your inbox.

    The second is you’re not re-explaining your goals every week. Claude already has them, so you go straight into planning.

    And the third is it catches the areas you’ve been quietly ignoring. For me that’s usually the house. It’s easy to let it slide when it’s not written down anywhere I look every week.

    Once Claude has the full picture, the next step is turning that into something I can actually act on.

    Step 2 — Set Goals for the Week

    I used to write things like “lose weight” or “spend more time with family” and then wonder why nothing changed by Friday. Those aren’t goals, they’re wishes.

    So the second step is asking Claude to turn each part of my Vision Board into one specific goal for that week. Instead of “lose 15kg” I get something like “go spinning Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and log my weight Monday morning.” It’s the same ambition, just small enough to actually do.

    On screen here you can see my Weekly Check-in note, with a section for each area of the Vision Board. Claude fills in a goal under each one based on where I am and what’s coming up that week.

    There are three ways this makes a difference for someone juggling work and life.

    The first is you get a target you can actually hit this week, not a target for the year that never moves.

    The second is it keeps you balanced across everything, not just work. If I only planned around work I’d never write down date night with my wife or the trip we’re planning.

    And the third is you can check it against last week, so you know if you’re actually moving or just staying busy.

    Once I’ve got goals for the week, the next problem is turning them into something that fits into actual days.

    Step 3 — Break Goals Into Tasks

    A goal like “go spinning three times this week” sounds simple, but on its own it’s still too big to just do. I’d write it down and then somehow never get round to it because it wasn’t attached to a day or a time.

    So the third step is asking Claude to break every goal down into specific tasks and spread them across the week. Spinning becomes Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings. Reviewing the budget becomes a twenty-minute task on Sunday evening. Nothing sits there as one big vague line anymore.

    On screen here you can see my daily note template, with a task list Claude has filled in for the day based on that week’s goals.

    There are three ways this helps when your week is already full.

    The first is there’s no ambiguity left. You open the day and you know exactly what’s on it.

    The second is the load gets spread out properly instead of piling up on one day because you kept putting it off.

    And the third is when a week feels like too much, I just tell Claude and it helps me cut the list down to what actually matters, rather than me trying to do everything.

    Once the tasks exist, the real problem used to start, actually getting them into my calendar.

    Step 4 — Connect to Google Calendar

    This used to be the part that broke the whole system for me. I’d plan everything beautifully in Obsidian and then have to manually retype it all into my calendar later. Half the time I never got round to it, and the plan just stayed a plan.

    Claude connects directly to Google Calendar, so once my tasks are set, I ask it to add them straight in with times, working around what’s already booked. It can see my existing calendar, so it’s not stacking a workout on top of a meeting I forgot about.

    On screen here you can see me asking Claude to add the week’s tasks to my calendar. You can see them appearing with times already set, based on the gaps I actually have.

    There are three ways this saves real time.

    The first is no more double entry between your notes and your calendar. It happens once.

    The second is it plans around your life realistically, because it can see what’s already there.

    And the third is shared commitments land where they need to. My wife and I have a shared calendar, and things like our Thursday date night go straight onto it, so she’s not finding out about our own plans from me forgetting to mention them.

    That’s the part that changed how reliable this whole system feels. But a plan is only useful if you actually look back at it.

    Step 5 — Track and Adapt

    Before I built this in, my weeks would just end. No pause, no check, straight into the next one, repeating whatever wasn’t working the week before.

    So the last step is going back through the Weekly Check-in note with Claude at the end of the week. We go through what actually got done, what didn’t, and why. Then Claude helps me adjust next week’s goals based on that, rather than me starting from a blank page again.

    On screen here you can see the Weekly Check-in note filled in at the end of the week, with the wins and the misses both written down honestly.

    There are three ways this keeps the whole system working.

    The first is you get an honest picture of your week instead of just moving on and hoping next week is better.

    The second is Claude spots the patterns you might miss yourself, like always skipping the same task three weeks running.

    And the third is next week’s plan starts from where you actually are, not from where you wish you were.

    Closing Wrap

    So that’s how I plan my entire week in twenty minutes. Starting with the Vision Board. Setting weekly goals from it. Breaking those goals into tasks. Getting them straight onto my calendar. And tracking and adapting at the end of the week.

    Every one of them comes back to the same idea: plan from what actually matters to you, not from whatever’s loudest that morning.

  • 5 Ways I Use Claude with Obsidian

    If you use Obsidian, there’s a good chance you spend more time setting it up than actually using it.

    I’ve heard this from so many people I’ve introduced to Obsidian, and I was the same.

    That’s why I started combining it with Claude and it completely changed how I use my vault. Claude remembers my context every session, handles the setup work, and leaves me free to just think.

    In this article I’m going to show you five practical ways I use Claude inside my Obsidian vault. Each one moves you away from configuring and towards actually creating.

    One of them connects Claude directly to the other apps you already use, Canva and Google Drive, without ever leaving Obsidian. That one surprised me the most, and I think it’ll surprise you too.

    Let’s get into it.

    Workflow

    Before I show you the five ways, let me explain the setup I use.

    I have two Obsidian vaults. One is my personal vault. Five years of my own ideas, research, and notes that I want to keep separate. The other is where I work with Claude. I use this second vault for my day-to-day work and Claude handles the heavy lifting inside it.

    I keep them separate because I didn’t want Claude anywhere near my personal notes. That boundary matters to me.

    With that, let’s get started.

    Feature 1 — Personal Assistant Setup (Claude.md)

    Before I set this up, I was repeating myself every single session. Explaining my projects, my goals, my writing style, all of it, every time I opened Claude. It was one of those small frustrations that adds up fast.

    The fix is a single file called Claude.md. You create it in the root folder of your vault. This is where you tell Claude who you are, what you’re working on, and how you want it to help you. Claude reads it at the start of every session so you never have to repeat yourself again.

    On screen here you can see I’ve opened my vault and I’m creating a new file called Claude.md in the root folder. Inside it I’m writing a short description of my projects and what I want Claude to help me with. You only set this up once and then update it as your work changes.

    Once that’s set up, there are three ways this immediately helps someone who is short on time.

    The first is that Claude remembers your context every single session. You don’t have to explain who you are or what you’re working on every time you open it. For someone juggling work and life, that alone saves a surprising amount of time.

    The second is that you can set your writing style, so anything Claude helps you write sounds like you and not like it came from a machine.

    And the third is that you can point it to specific folders in your vault, so when you ask for help with a project it already knows where everything lives.

    Next let’s have a look at the feature I use the most.

    Feature 2 — Daily Note Co-Pilot

    If you’ve tried to keep a daily note habit and it just never stuck, I recommend using Claude to fill in your daily notes.

    I used to forget updating the daily note entirely. Now the difference is that I open it with Claude alongside me and we work through it together. It takes about five minutes and then I actually know what I’m doing with my day.

    On screen here you can see today’s daily note. This is a template with a few sections: Focus, Done, and Notes.

    When I use Claude I ask it to create a new daily note and list out the things I need to do based on my projects and what I did in the last session. I did have problems getting it to set the right date so now I just tell it the date. At the end of a session I can ask Claude to update the note with the things I did today.

    There are three ways this is useful for someone with a busy schedule.

    The first is planning. You tell Claude what you’ve got on and it helps you cut through the noise of a crowded to-do list.

    The second is end of session review. Instead of trying to remember what you did, you just tell Claude roughly what happened and it writes it up properly so you have a real record.

    And the third is when you’re feeling overwhelmed you can ask Claude to create a plan to help you meet your goals.

    This is perfect for me as I am someone who engages with my vault infrequently during the week and the daily note keeps me updated.

    But what about actually creating notes.

    Feature 3 — Messy Notes to Clean Notes

    The third way I use Claude is to turn rough, messy notes into clean structured ones, and this one saves me more time than I expected.

    When I’m researching or an idea hits me, I just type whatever I can as fast as I can. It ends up being bullet points, no structure, and just a brain dump. Now I ask Claude to rewrite it using a template I’ve set up in my vault. It comes back as a proper note with clear headings that fits alongside everything else.

    On screen I’m going to paste in some rough notes from a recent brainstorm. You can see it’s pretty chaotic. Now I’ll ask Claude to rewrite it as a structured Obsidian note with clear headings and bullet points.

    There are three ways you can use this straight away.

    The first is cleaning up meeting notes. Paste in whatever you captured on the day and get back a proper summary you can file and find later.

    The second is sorting out voice-to-text notes. If you use your phone to dictate ideas, you know how messy those transcripts can be. Claude cleans them up in seconds.

    The third is saving articles or pages you want to keep. Paste in the text and ask Claude to summarise it as a note in your vault’s style so it actually fits alongside everything else.

    The next one is the feature that surprised me the most, and I didn’t see it coming.

    Feature 4 — Connectors

    The fourth way took me by surprise because I didn’t realise how much time I was losing moving between apps.

    Every time I finished a note in Obsidian I would then have to open Canva to design something for it, or jump to Google Drive to turn it into a document I could share. It didn’t sound like much but it broke my flow every single time.

    Claude has connectors that let you stay inside your vault and reach directly into other tools. On screen you can see me selecting the Canva connector. I paste in a note about this video and ask Claude to generate a thumbnail concept based on it. Without leaving Obsidian, I get a design brief I can take straight into Canva and build in minutes.

    I use the Google Drive connector when I need to turn a note into a document to share with someone. A plan, a summary, a brief. Instead of copying and reformatting everything manually, I ask Claude to do it and the document lands in my Drive.

    There are three ways this saves real time.

    The first is that you stop losing your train of thought switching between apps.

    The second is that your Obsidian notes become the single source of everything you create, designs, documents, posts, rather than just a place to store ideas.

    And the third is that the output already fits your style because Claude knows your context from your Claude.md file.

    Feature 5 — Generate Ideas

    The fifth way is one I use without even thinking about it now. Using Claude to generate ideas directly inside my vault.

    Before I had this set up, coming up with ideas felt like staring at a blank page. I’d open a new note, write a topic at the top, and just sit there. It was the part of my workflow that cost me the most time for the least output.

    Now I just ask Claude. And because it already knows my projects, my audience, and my style from the Claude.md file we set up in Feature 1, the ideas it comes back with are actually relevant to me. Not generic suggestions you could find anywhere.

    On screen you can see a real example. I asked Claude to suggest five YouTube video ideas for my channel. Here is exactly what it came back with. You can see it has given me a title, a one-line description, and the hook angle for each one. This video, the one you are watching right now, was one of those suggestions. I picked it, built the outline, and recorded it. That is how fast it can move from idea to content.

    There are three ways I use this in practice.

    The first is monthly planning. I ask Claude for a full month of ideas in one go, pick the ones that feel right, and drop them into my content planner.

    The second is when I am stuck on an angle. I give Claude a topic and ask it for three different ways I could frame it for my audience.

    And the third is repurposing. I point Claude at something I have already written or recorded and ask it what else I could make from it. A single note has turned into three videos that way.

    Closing Wrap

    So those are the five ways I use Claude with Obsidian. Setting up your personal assistant with Claude.md. Using Claude as a daily note co-pilot. Turning messy notes into clean structured ones. Connecting Claude to the other tools you already use. And generating ideas that are actually relevant to your work and your audience.

    Every one of them comes back to the same idea: stop configuring Obsidian, start using it. Let Claude handle the memory and the setup so you can focus on the thinking.