MentisCell – Patterns to Make Linking Easier
Summary
Linking is the foundation of networked thought.
This note explores how links and backlinks work in Obsidian, and provides practical guidance on what to link in order to reveal meaningful patterns.
Link to this note
MentisCell – Patterns to Make Linking Easier
Content
Links and backlinks
- Links: explicit connections between notes (WikiLinks
[[Note]]or Markdown[text](url)). - Backlinks: implicit connections created automatically when a note is linked elsewhere.
- Unlinked mentions: references detected by Obsidian based on note names or aliases, even without explicit links.
- Bidirectional linking: when both notes explicitly link to each other, creating incoming and outgoing references.
What should we link?
- Ideas: derived concepts should link back to their source.
- Locations: to identify common places across notes.
- Dates and times: for temporal analysis (see Managing time in notes).
- People: to track who did what.
- Acronyms: to unify terminology.
- Activities: events, exercises, or recurring actions.
Why link?
- Linking reveals patterns in behavior and context:
- Example: more Pilates on rainy Wednesdays.
- Example: meeting a colleague more often at a restaurant than at the office.
- Example: two authors with similar views because they co-published.
- Linking transforms isolated notes into a knowledge network.
- Start simple, expand gradually, and refine over time.
Essence
- Links = explicit connections.
- Backlinks = implicit connections.
- Unlinked mentions = opportunities.
- Link ideas, people, places, dates, acronyms, and activities.
- Linking reveals patterns and insights.
Interconnections
- Note linking process — workflow for creating and refactoring links.
- Managing time in notes — linking dates and times.
- Notes Best Practices - Linking — best practices for linking.
- Semantic linking — advanced linking strategies.
Tags
#linking #patterns #bestpractices #mentiscraft #obsidian
Contributors
Created with the support of Microsoft Copilot on 2025-10-04.
Validated and edited by Jorge Godoy.