WelcomeLong time no see! ❤️ I'm back from vacation, and "almost" ready to get back to work. We had a wonderful time in Brittany. The sun was with us, we enjoyed the magnificent views like this one:  Côte de Granit Rose in Brittany More importantly, I got to eat tons of delicious pancakes! 😂  Lovely pancakes from Brittany Unfortunately, I have to deal with unexpected issues at home. Currently, my living room looks like this:  My living room And my cellar is not much better:  My cellar A heating pipe under the tiles of the living room had a leak, and it flooded the entire cellar. It probably lasted for a few days before we came back... We had to throw away almost everything that was in the cellar. And now, we have to find a tiler to redo the living room and the dining room. Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you gonna get — Forrest Gump
It's no fun, but hey, life is full of surprises, right? I always try to stay positive. Worse things happen all the time. It's annoying, but it's not the end of the world. Unfortunately, it's really costly in terms of time, so I have to pause my efforts for a few weeks. I have to wait to continue recording my course, and also have to delay upcoming coaching sessions. But I'll be back soon. Meanwhile, it's time to share some news and interesting resources with you, because I missed you all! 😄 Alright, let's gooooo 🚀
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BusinessAs you probably know by now, my business is not going well. Many of you enjoy the work that I do, my articles, my products and courses, but the revenue those generate is far below what I need for the business to become default-alive. Right now, I'm doing my best to cut expenses, and thinking about the best next steps to take to "fix" the situation, and be able to keep going. There's some good news though. This newsletter has now reached $1,000 ARR, meaning that it's now cash flow positive. Going forward, I hope that I will convince many more of you to support my work, and help me reach financial stability with my entrepreneurial efforts. It's a milestone I'm proud of, and I want to celebrate it with you:  Reached $1K ARR with the newsletter Out of 1635 members, you are now 18 to have decided to make a difference for me, and I can't thank you enough for that:  Free vs Paid subscribers for this newsletter Right now, my company's expenses are at around $1K per month, and I think that I can bring those down to $600. This will increase the financial pressure on a personal level, but if it's the price to let me continue working for you, then I'm willing to pay it, at least for a while longer. I strongly believe that I'm on the right path, serving you all, and making a real impact for others, and I simply don't want to give up. I didn't mention this before, but a few weeks back, I actually had an opportunity to embark as co-founder/CTO in a very interesting startup project in the Knowledge Management space, but I decided to pass. I considered many things when taking that risky decision... It would have brought in some money, and could have led to interesting places, but it probably would have meant losing my momentum and giving up on some parts of this business, and I couldn't come to terms with that. I want to remain consistent with my goal of building a calm company, gaining more freedom, and avoiding venture capital like the plague. "Easy money" is appealing, but I'm not willing to play that game anymore. What I want is to keep working on my own terms, without external influences, while keeping as much freedom (speech & action) as possible. Ultimately, my goal is to maximize freedom, and maximize impact for our community. I want to empower you. If it means that I have to make sacrifices and take the harder/longer road, then so be it. During my vacation, I also read "The Millionaire Fastlane" by MJ DeMarco, and it just reinforced my viewpoint. I really am on the right path. I just need to find the right ways to make progress, and the correct way to assemble the pieces of the puzzle. One idea that I've been thinking about a lot is the fact that I need to further niche down. And I'm thinking about focusing on entrepreneurs, founders & leaders who want to get to the next level. People who want to be (sanely) productive, and build solid systems for productivity and growth. And I know I can help them. If you're one of those, please reach out to me. We need to talk! ❤️ As soon as I can get back to work, I'm going to continue focusing on delivering my Knowledge Management course, and growing my core offer; the Knowledge Worker Kit.
Knowledge Worker Kit and community (BETA)
Who is this for?You are an entrepreneur, founder, executive or leaderYou are a Knowledge Worker or Lifelong LearnerYou feel lost and overwhelmed by the pace of innovation, disorganized, or unproductiveYou want to be a top performer and stay ahead of the curveYou want to join a community of like-minded people you can exchange with, and learn fromYou want a solid system that scalesYou want to learn with the bestWhat is this?TL;DR: This is a private community accompanied by a detailed guide exploring many topics (e.g., Knowledge Work, Personal Organization, Learning, Time Management, Project Management, etc), sharing proven and scalable systems/guidance. The content will keep expanding over time, with courses, workshops, and more!The Knowledge Worker Kit is an evergreen project. You buy access once, and you get lifetime access to all the past and future content, courses, and events, including all the bonuses:Private communityDeep Dive Guide covering all the areas, as well as templates, references, and resourcesFree access to all future workshops, meetups, knowledge-sharing sessions, invited talks, AMAs, and to all the recorded sessions ...Included bonuses:Knowledge Management for Beginners Course ($69.99)Obsidian Starter Course ($69.99)Obsidian Starter Kit ($89.99)Personal Knowledge Management Library ($59.99)Beginner’s Guide to ObsidianTotal value of the included bonuses: $289.Evergreen ContentThe Knowledge Worker Kit is a living project, and a community of practice. It will continue expanding over time, and the value you will get out of it will keep growing. Day after day, week after week. Buy it once, and you will have access to all future content, courses, and events.Who is behind this?Hi, I’m Sébastien DuboisI’ve been passionate about Knowledge Management, Learning, Knowledge Work, Personal Organization, and Productivity for more than 20 years. As an author, entrepreneur, coach, and father of 3, I needed efficient and effective solutions to stay organized, focused, and productive. The Knowledge Worker Kit includes everything I know about these topics, and more!I have a proven track record of delivering at work, and with my side projects. I have worked as a software developer, team leader, project manager, IT architect, CTO, founder, coach, consultant, solopreneur, and more. I have also published 3 books, 300+ articles and newsletters, created courses, YouTube videos, digital products, and manage various communities. And I did it all with a busy life, a 9-5 job, and 3 kids.My personal system works and helps me learn quickly, achieve my goals consistently, with high quality standards, and without sacrificing my health and precious family time. And that’s why I want to share it with you: my system. Actually, my goal is not only to share my experience, but also to create a community of like-minded people, and help each other grow as much as possible.Tell me more...Being a Knowledge Worker today is much more challenging than it ever was. Getting started isn’t easy, and there are many traps to avoid. Spare yourself some time and benefit from my experience and battle-tested systems. I’ll share everything I know with you: my approach, my systems, my routines, my templates, guidance, my courses, my starter kits, and more! My mission is to help you be part of the top 1% of Knowledge workers.After you finish exploring the guide, you’ll have:Clarity in your life and an obvious path forwardSolid habits, routines, and systemsClear ideas about how to “manage” your careerAn effective approach to learning new thingsSolid knowledge management and personal organization systemsKnowledge about how to organize, plan, control, and manage projects (large and small!)A toolkit to prioritize workA system to manage your tasks at scaleEffective means to focus your attention and manage your timeWork methods that will propel your career forwardWhat’s included?WARNING: The Knowledge Worker Kit is in BETA. The content will be added and expanded over time. If you buy access now, you’ll benefit from the lowest price. The product is already available so that I can find early adopters and get as much feedback as possible in order to make it great for everyone.If you buy access to the Knowledge Worker Kit, you’ll get lifetime access to:The guide, the templates, guidance, references, and resourcesThe private communityAll past, and future courses (e.g., the Knowledge Management for Beginners course, the Obsidian Starter Kit)All past, and future community events (meetups, workshops, knowledge-sharing sessions, invited talks, etc)Ask Me Anything (AMA) Q&As with meMy starter kits (e.g., the Obsidian Starter Kit)In addition, you’ll also get free access to all future content updates. Over time, I’ll continue expanding the guide with new ideas, techniques, systems, templates, and more!What’s in the guide?The guide is a Notion space that includes detailed explanations, guidance, deep dives into the systems I rely on daily, links, references, templates, and various resources that all Knowledge Workers should explore.You will get to explore the content at your own pace, and to focus on what is useful to you right now, as each section is actionable on its own.Importantly, the guide will keep growing. It’s an evergreen knowledge base. Over time, we will grow the content further, adding new guides, deeper explanations, videos, and more.It covers the following topics:01. Clarity: values, behaviors, goals, non-goals, priorities, and intentions02. Habits, routines, systems, processes and methods03. Career Management and Anticipation04. Learning05. Projects Knowledge Management and Journaling06. Projects Organization07. Planning and Prioritization08. Task Management09. Focus, Attention, Time Management and Action10. Personal Development11. Control: periodic reviews, progress tracking, course-adjustment12. Personal Organization13. WorkOverview of the main topics01. ClarityThis part explores key elements that help bring clarity to one’s life:NeedsValuesPrinciplesGoalsPrioritiesEach of those is important to know what matters, what has value, and what to focus on.02. Habits, routines, systems, processes and methodsThis part explores the base elements of productivity systems:Habits and routinesSystems, processes, and methodsThose are key to building an “effortless” life, requiring as little willpower/motivation as possible to make things happen.03. Career Management and AnticipationThis part focuses on career management: its importance, your responsibility, the mindset you need to acquire, and all the related ideas.04. LearningThis part shares ideas about how to…Learn how you best learnLearn more effectivelyExplore new topicsResearchFilter informationLeverage AI and LLMs…05. Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) and JournalingThis part explores how to collect, organize, and link all your knowledge and information. It explores the main concepts of PKM, note-taking, note-making, tools of the trade, and structures/tips to help you keep everything useful, manageable, and maintainable as your knowledge base grows.It also introduces journaling and how to approach it to support your whole life.06. Projects OrganizationThis part focuses on how to organize projects and their information in a way that enables you and your teams to make focused progress.It shares ideas about how to organize project information, how to document projects, how to organize backlogs, etc.07. Planning and PrioritizationThis part focuses on how to plan projects and tasks, how to deal with deadlines, and how to prioritize work using various methods.08. Task ManagementThis part focuses on task management for personal and professional projects. It explores ways to keep tasks under control, how to organize personal work, and how to make the link between your different backlogs and your day-to-day life.09. Focus, Attention, Time Management and ActionThis part focuses on how to make things happen every single day, regardless of whatever is going on in your life. It’s all about techniques, tips & tricks, and tools to help you better manage your time, focus, and attention in order to ACT.10. Personal DevelopmentThis part explores important aspects of Personal Development that can make a big difference in a Knowledge Worker’s life. A sane mind in a sane body.11. ControlThis part is dedicated to control. How to control your progress, your trajectory, your projects, etc. And also, how to adjust course when things don’t go as expected.12. Personal OrganizationThis part helps better organize yourself and your information. It shares “zen” techniques you can use to remain organized, independently of how much information you have to juggle with.13. WorkThis part is all about WORK. How to do the work, how to improve your attitude, your results, and your recognition. It also dives into how to better collaborate with others to achieve your goals and those of your company/group.
Gumroad
The lab 🧪I've recently released version 2.1.0 of the Obsidian Starter Kit: This release includes new plugins, updated templates, and many improvements, such as a more powerful home note. I'll soon release version 2.2.0 including the book management solution that I'm now using and enjoying (cfr next section). Note that I'm going to increase the price of the starter kit along with that release, so if you're on the fence, then now is probably the best time to get your copy:
Obsidian Starter Kit and community
Who is this for?You are just getting started with note-taking or you’ve recently switched to ObsidianYou wonder how to take smart notesYou want to know how to properly organize your notes and avoid creating an overwhelming messYou want a solid system that scalesYou wonder what Zettelkasten, the PARA method, and the Johnny decimal system areGetting started with Obsidian is not the hardest thing in the world, but it takes a lot of trial and error to figure out how to structure and organize your knowledge base. You have a busy life, and you don’t want to spend weeks or even months figuring out the “right” approach.Note that this product is included in the Knowledge Worker Kit.What is this?This is NOT just a template. It’s a complete system with a detailed user guide.I’ve been passionate about information, knowledge management, and PKM for more than 20 years. As an author, blogger, knowledge worker, and entrepreneur, I needed solutions to store and organize an enormous amount of information.Over the years, I’ve explored, used, and advocated many tools but have been using Obsidian extensively since 2020. With the Obsidian Starter Kit, I offer you the result of my own research and experimentation. It’s like a cheat code to jump straight to stress-free note-making.I’ve spent months refining and perfecting my Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) system, and have spent countless hours tweaking my system. I’ve published a few articles to share some ideas about this. My system combines the Zettelkasten approach, the PARA method, the Johnny decimal system, and other ideas to create a solid basis for my work as an author, blogger, and content creator.The Obsidian Starter Kit is a ready-made Obsidian vault that includes my recommended organization system and plugins, as well as example notes to help you get started. It also comes along with a user-friendly guide.What’s included?If you buy access to the Obsidian Starter Kit, you’ll get:The Obsidian vaultA comprehensive and solid structure with support for Journaling and ZettelkastenLeveraging the PARA method and the Johnny Decimal systemMany recommended plugins to boost productivity and automate actionsA clear system for Journaling, Meeting Notes, Periodic reviews, etcMany templates to improve consistency and productivityA powerful dashboardMaintenance notes (e.g., find duplicate and orphaned notes)Automation rulesVarious examplesThe user guideLifetime access to the Personal Knowledge Management community for support and knowledge sharingIn addition, you’ll also get free access to all future updates. Over time, I’ll expand it step by step to include tutorials about the various aspects; from exploration/curation to summarization and reuse.What’s in the user guide?The user guide is a growing and evergreen knowledge base about how to take smart notes. It includes:Installation instructions.Details about the contents of the Obsidian Starter Kit (i.e., Obsidian vault structure, key design principles, included plugins, etc.)A clear overview of Obsidian and its core concepts (everything you should know and care about)Clear explanations about...The Zettelkasten methodAtomic notesProgressive summarizationThe PARA methodThe LIFT principleThe Johnny Decimal systemJournalingMaps of Content (MoCs)Periodic reviewsWhy and how to tag notesTemplatingThe Markdown syntaxWhy you need a single source of truth for everythingThe collector’s fallacyThe Inbox Zero principleHow to capture informationHow to capture quotesHow to capture information about persons of interestHow to extract knowledge from daily notesHow to save mental contextsObsidian tips and tricksWhat’s in the video course?The Obsidian Starter Course is a video course (~2h20) of content covering:Obsidian: installation, user interface, key features, plugins, automation, tips and tricks, etcThe Markdown syntaxYAML metadataPersonal Knowledge Management techniques and principles: the Johnny Decimal system, the PARA method (e.g., the Zettelkasten method, the LIFT principle, Atomic notes, Maps of Content, knowledge capture & extraction, etc)JournalingPeriodic reviewsTemplatesAutomationTask managementBest practices and recommendationsHands-on explanationsand more!Evergreen contentThe user guide of the Obsidian Starter Kit is expanding day after day, week after week. It will soon include:More theoryDetailed processes (e.g. when to take notes, how to use Zettelkasten in practice, daily notes, periodic reviews, ...)Additional how-to guidesMore tips and tricks...The Obsidian vault also evolves over time:The structure improvesNew templates are addedNew plugins are addedetcRefunds policyIf you’re not 100% satisfied, then just let me know, and I’ll issue a full refund. I’ll only ask you a single question: How can I improve the product?If you think about asking for a refund, then consider reaching out to me with your issues, questions, and remarks. I’m always available and happy to help. My goal is to help you succeed.Testimonials”Finally clickeđ how awesome @Obsidian is! Thanks to your excellent Obsidian Starter Kit!”— Cal Desmond-Pearson (@CalSocialHermit)“Off and running w/ @obsdmd. I’ve installed the app & have @dSebastien Starter Kit & my own fresh start Vault open. Learning from former & putting into practice w/ real content in latter. So far, so good”— Raymond D Sims (@rsims)“Great content - got me up to speed with what I was looking for fast ! Sébastien answered some questions by mail also which was much appreciated ! Thanks”— Sam Gonzales”As someone who has bounced around trying to find the right Knowledge tool, I’ve realized that many of my issues have been related to the complexity of the tools and the processes. The structure, design and explanations provided in the Obsidian Starter Kit have finally given me the foundation I’ve needed. 100% worth it”— Michael Aaron (via e-mail)“I absolutely love your kit and it has been so immensely helpful”— Ashwin Appiah (via e-mail)“Thanks for making the product. I’m making efforts to start using Obsidian more in my daily workflow and having a place to start makes the task much less daunting!”— Liam Weight (via Twitter DM)“I’m very new to PKM, but the Obsidian Starter Kit has been a tremendous help in getting me started”— Fredrik Nordström (via the PKM community Slack)“Sebastien’s Obsidian Starter Kit is a powerful tool for those looking to dive into the world of Obsidian without being overwhelmed. It’s a comprehensive solution that significantly shortens the learning curve, providing an impressively structured way to start capturing notes and facilitating daily journaling. The kit’s integration of automated tasks and pre-designed templates are a boon to beginners, alleviating the initial intimidation of starting from scratch. If you’re new to Obsidian and need a solid starting point, this starter kit comes highly recommended. It doesn’t just help you navigate Obsidian, but also empowers you to harness its full potential right from the get-go.”— Lubos KolouchFredrik (via the PKM community Slack)“Just to thank the work and content that allowed me to discover the background of a custom vault. It was a real boost for me and given the price, it was a real investment of time and learning.”— Trobrillant
New articlesI've published an article explaining how I created the book management solution that I'm now using with Obsidian: It enables me to create cool book summaries such as that one, as well as effortlessly capturing all the metadata I need (not yet visible on my public notes). As I've mentioned in the previous section, this will soon be part of my Obsidian Starter Kit. Note of the week What makes a "good" note? Quotes of the weekThis week, I read one more book by Paulo Coelho, "By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept", a wonderful story about life, love, meaning, and spirituality. I want to share a few quotes I've captured with you: - Dreams mean work
- Fortunate are those who take the first steps
- If I must fall, may it be from a high place
- It's one thing to feel that you are on the right path, but it's another to think yours is the only path
- Love doesn't need to be discussed. It has its own voice and speaks for itself
- Love is always new. Regardless of whether we love once, twice, or a dozen times in our lives, we always face a brand-new situation
- Seek to live. Remembrance is for the old
- The secret of life, though, is to fall seven times and to get back up eight times
- Waiting is painful. Forgetting is painful. But now knowing which to do is the worst kind of suffering
- We will only understand the miracle of life fully when we allow the unexpected to happen
Paulo Coelho is really an amazing author. The story itself wasn't extraordinary, but there's real depth in the ideas that Paulo shared. ❤️
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Thinking and learningBob Doto has recently released his book "A System for Writing", and I'm eager to read it and summarize it soon 🚀 Writing IS thinking, and that's the key idea to keep in mind. You don't need to write for the sake of writing. You need to write to think more deeply: Is PKM a distraction or something that really helps? Well, it depends on you! If you use it the wrong way, put too much emphasis on capturing, spend too much time tweaking your system to make it "perfect", then it's probably just procrastination in disguise... I really like the thinking behind Capacities' focus on individuals: An interesting discussion about the value and importance of (digital) note-taking: Retrieval-Augmented Generation (aka RAG) is where the future is at. Those are generative AI models that use your data as input for generating outputs. In the future AI agents are going to use RAGs extensively, I have no doubt about that. And if you already have a knowledge base to feed those, then your RAGs will be RAD: With the accelerating AI landscape, I agree that earth is getting more and more intelligent. But what will earth want once it becomes sentient? It's always interesting to look at how others manage their projects and information. Here's how Theo Stowell manages large projects in Obsidian: I personally prefer using the Projects and Kanban plugins in Obsidian though... I've recently stumbled on a cool newsletter called ☕ 0xCAFE. Get your daily dose of tech with quick news 📰, must-read articles 📚, and interesting GitHub repositories 💻—all packed into a concise 15-minute read. 📧✨ Ready to get to the next level?If so, then check out the Knowledge Worker Kit, the Obsidian Starter Kit, the Obsidian Starter Course, the Knowledge Management for Beginners course, the PKM Library, a PKM coaching session with me, my collection of books about software development and the IT Concepts Wall 🔥.
If you want to discuss, then don't hesitate to join the Personal Knowledge Management community or the Software Crafters community. About SébastienHello everyone! I'm Sébastien Dubois (you can follow me on Twitter 🐦). I'm an author, founder, and CTO. I write books and articles about software development & IT, personal knowledge management, personal organization, and productivity. I also craft lovely digital products 🚀
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