Before the AI lesson · At your own pace
A home for your notes with Obsidian
Keep a small collection of notes that belongs to you: your goals, useful context, the results you want to keep, and what you learned.
Finlay’s tip · Start with Obsidian
I recommend Obsidian because your notes are ordinary files you can find, keep and reuse. Start with one folder and a few notes. You can explore its other features as you need them.
About 10 minutes · Optional setup. Obsidian is free to use, including for work. The app is proprietary, rather than open source; your notes use the open Markdown format. Its paid Sync and Publish services are optional, and you do not need an Obsidian account for this desktop setup.
Markdown is plain text with simple formatting, such as # for a heading and - for a list. It makes your notes easy to read, edit and paste into an AI conversation. You do not need to learn a special “AI-preferred” file format to take part.
1. Get the app
Visit the official Obsidian download page and choose your device.
- Mac: open the downloaded installer and drag Obsidian into Applications. Open it from Applications.
- Windows: open the downloaded installer, follow its prompts, then open Obsidian from Start.
If you are using a managed work computer, follow your organisation’s installation rules. You can keep using your existing notes app if installation is unavailable. For other devices, use Obsidian’s installation instructions.
2. Choose a home for your notes
Obsidian calls its notes folder a vault. It is an ordinary folder on your device, not a special encrypted container.
- If you completed the files-and-folders hunt, choose Open folder as vault → Open, then select the AI Orientation folder you made in Documents. Your Practice subfolder stays inside it.
- If you have not made that folder, choose Create new vault → Create. Name it AI Orientation, choose Browse and select Documents, then choose Create.
- Find the AI Orientation folder in Finder or File Explorer. Notice where it actually lives. Documents may already be synced through iCloud or OneDrive.
Follow one of the first two routes; you do not need to create a second vault inside the first. See the official vault setup guide.
3. Make one useful note
- In Obsidian, press Command+N on Mac or Ctrl+N on Windows to create a note.
- Name it My context, then add the starter below. Use fictional details if you prefer.
- Find My context.md inside your vault using Finder or File Explorer. It may be in the currently selected subfolder. Open it again from Obsidian to check that your text is there.
# My context ## What I want help with One small task that matters to me: ## Useful background Details that help with this task: ## How I like to work For example: explain one step at a time. ## What I will check A useful result would:
Later, add a note called Useful results and another called Learning log. Record which result you checked, what you changed and one thing you want to try next. Keep project-specific details in a separate project note as your collection grows.
Obsidian stores notes as Markdown files; Finder or File Explorer may hide the .md ending. You do not need plugins, AI connections or synchronisation to do this. See creating a note and how notes are stored.
4. Share a little, deliberately
For the AI lesson, copy only the relevant part of My context into your chat. Keeping a note in Obsidian does not automatically give a web chatbot access to it. If you later connect an AI tool to your vault, check what that connection can read and change.
Your full portfolio stays in your notes; the course only asks for a short reflection. A note saying “do not share this” is not an access control, so leave material you do not want to share out of the text you copy.
Keep a recoverable copy
Include the vault folder in your normal backup, or keep a dated copy on a separate drive. Check that you can reopen a copied note. Synchronising devices and keeping a recoverable backup are different jobs: a deletion can synchronise too.
Ready? You can find your vault, open your note, and choose which sentences to give your AI. That is enough setup for the first lesson.