Obsidian is the tool I teach in. Keep the one you have.
The creator addresses criticism about switching to Obsidian after previously promoting other tools, clarifying that his tool-agnostic ICOR methodology remains unchanged and that Obsidian is simply an interface layer for his folder-based system. He emphasizes that the underlying folder structure, AI automation, and productivity principles are identical regardless of which tool visualizes the content.
Summary
The creator responds to community concerns and YouTube comments questioning why he's now recommending Obsidian after previously advocating against it. He explains that his philosophy has never changed—what evolved is his understanding of which tools best implement his ICOR methodology, a system-agnostic productivity framework based on connecting information to action. Over the past decade, he has intentionally switched between multiple tools (Evernote, Roam Research, Obsidian, Notion, Mem, Tana, Heptabase) while maintaining the same underlying system structure.
The creator clarifies that Obsidian is merely an interface layer, not a fundamental shift. His core folder-based system with AI agents (myPKA, now called ICOR for Life) operates independently of any interface. Previously, he built custom applications and a cockpit interface to visualize this folder content, but realized that creating bespoke tools was unnecessary when Obsidian—a free, open-source platform designed for knowledge management—could serve this purpose more efficiently. He has built over 10 free plugins for Obsidian to enhance visualization and functionality.
He addresses specific criticisms: that people feel overwhelmed by constant tool changes, that the approach should have happened six months ago, and accusations of sponsorship or selling products. He maintains that ICOR teaches users to "fish" rather than serving them pre-made solutions, enabling people to make informed decisions about tools rather than being dependent on his recommendations. The folder structure itself remains 99% similar whether accessed via Obsidian, VS Code, Claude desktop, or the terminal—the interface is what changed, not the system. He emphasizes that people should only switch tools if it makes sense for their workflow, and can continue using their existing setups while learning from ICOR principles.
About this episode
I did not move to Obsidian. I replaced the interface on a folder that never changed. 👉 The folder in this video is free inside myICOR: https://www.myicor.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=UMItyF00isg&utm_content=description WATCH THIS NEXT The full deep dive with Paco, where we answer the same questions for over forty minutes: https://youtu.be/WoH0KLkT9XY ABOUT THIS VIDEO A week after the ICOR for Life release the comments split in two. Plenty of people were glad. Others said I had flipped on Obsidian overnight, that everything they built is now double work, and one asked whether Obsidian was paying me. This video answers those, one at a time, with the folder open on screen. The short version is that nothing changed underneath. This channel has over 600 videos of tool switching, from an iPad and handwriting apps to Evernote, Roam, Obsidian, Notion, Mem and Tana, and the thing that survived every one of those moves was a tool agnostic system. Systems are not tools. The folder is the system. Obsidian is a shell that opens it, and it does nothing without the content already in there. Why I switched, honestly. So Paco and I can teach in one tool. He runs his own application and has not switched to anything, and we are still aligned, because the methodology sits a layer above the tool. I needed one interface I could show on camera, and I can build plugins for Obsidian far faster than I could keep building an app that nobody but me was using. That reason is mine. It does not transfer to you. What did get added: over ten plugins that ship free inside the scaffold, a canvas that gives me everything I used to open Heptabase for, in a plain local file, and a plugin that puts your myICOR lessons and AI search inside the vault. The same folder still opens in a terminal, in Cowork, or in VS Code, and the AI team acts inside it exactly as before. So do not switch because I did. Download the folder for free, open it in whatever you already use, and see whether the fundamentals change how you work. Once you understand your own system, the tool question stops being scary and starts being a decision. CHAPTERS 00:00 The comments this video answers 01:39 Aged like milk, and 600 videos of tool switching 03:26 What changed this year: AI on the folder 05:03 Did Obsidian sponsor you? All of it is free 06:25 Every video you change everything, and what stops that 07:34 The real reason I switched: one tool to teach in 09:12 myPKA is now ICOR for Life, and nothing breaks 11:32 PKM renamed into the inner world, and the AI team 14:19 Why Obsidian: the user stays in the driver's seat 15:09 Downloading the free scaffold, and a blank vault 17:31 Opening the ICOR for Life vault for the first time 18:09 The canvas: everything I had in Heptabase, locally 21:00 The myICOR plugin: lessons and AI search inside Obsidian 22:26 What don't switch yet actually means 24:46 I replaced the interface, not the folder WHAT I AM USING Obsidian with the free ICOR for Life scaffold and its plugins, the same folder open in VS Code when I am building, and Claude running on the folder from a terminal or from Cowork. No app I built myself, no database, no second login. You can download the folder for free here: https://www.myicor.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=UMItyF00isg&utm_content=description The release this video answers, where the folder moved into Obsidian and ICOR for Life went free: https://youtu.be/GLO1voinujQ ABOUT Tom helps professionals build AI productivity systems that work, using the ICOR Methodology, courses, coaching, and the myICOR community. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomsolid/ X: https://x.com/TomSolidPM Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@productivitylikeapro All third-party marks and logos shown are the property of their respective owners and are used for identification in editorial commentary only. No partnership or sponsorship is implied. #Obsidian #ICOR #myPKA #PKM #AIProductivity #notetaking #notetakingapps
Key Insights
- The creator argues that systems and tools are fundamentally different—a tool-agnostic system can be applied across different platforms, which is why ICOR works in Obsidian, Notion, Tana, or VS Code interchangeably.
- The shift to Obsidian was driven by practical efficiency gains in plugin development and local data access, not a change in philosophy—Obsidian became the best interface for an existing folder system that already contained 300GB of data and 60,000+ notes.
- The creator built custom cockpit applications for users to visualize folder content, but realized this was counterproductive because it created unnecessary customization requests and maintenance burden when Obsidian already solved the problem better.
- The creator claims that the full folder structure, AI team automation, and organizational principles remain 99% identical whether implemented in Obsidian or his co-founder's custom tool, with differences only in specific features like database handling and AI integration.
- Obsidian functions as a 'shell' that doesn't inherently do anything; its value comes from visualizing markdown files and wiki links structured according to ICOR principles, making it interchangeable with other interfaces that access the same underlying folder.
Topics
Transcript
[0:00] I want to start this video referring to some comments I got on a previous video that I will address in this video now with some follow-up about How I use Obsidian. Why I use Obsidian now. Thanks so much for everybody and obviously our members. There was amazing feedback. Then there are people Who are happy that I'm sharing this, but they have concerns. And obviously also members inside our community also shared some concerns that we already addressed inside the community. We had, live coaching calls with Paco and me addressing these questions, and so on. And in this video, I just want to dive deeper into this topic, [0:33] and this is one, comment that I…
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