When You Should Split Your Notes?
Splitting notes is a common question that usually leads to two different approaches — and therefore two different workflows:
- Big notes — long, comprehensive documents.
- Small notes — multiple Atomic notes.
Here, I propose a third approach: using both strategies together, in harmony, within the same vault.
Recommended Approach
- Start with a big note.
- Split only when needed — when other notes begin linking to specific parts of it.
- This way, the split creates reusable, smaller notes while the original note remains a single source of truth.
Tools That Help
- Note Composer (core plugin):
- Refactor big notes into smaller ones.
- Embed contents back into the original note.
- Merge small notes into a bigger one if needed.
- This allows experimentation without fear of losing structure.
Why Split Only When Needed?
- Avoids cluttering your vault with many small notes that are only referenced once.
- Keeps navigation and comprehension easier.
- Splitting becomes valuable when:
- Information is reused elsewhere.
- You want a single source of truth for multiple contexts.
Atomic vs. Molecular Notes
- Atomic notes: small, granular pieces of information.
- Molecular notes: groups of atoms that form meaningful wholes.
- Analogy:
- Atoms alone decay (context is lost).
- Molecules are stable and useful.
- If you won’t group atomic notes into molecules, don’t split — keep the molecule intact.
Workflow and Preferences
- Effective use of Obsidian is about defining your workflow.
- Many choices are a matter of preference, but purposeful design saves time in the future.
Avoid Premature Optimization
- Splitting notes just to make them atomic is a form of premature optimization.
- The rule of reuse helps prevent this:
- Split only when the content is needed in multiple places.
Key Takeaway
Start big, split when reuse demands it.
Balance atomic and molecular notes to keep your vault both flexible and coherent.