Markdown - Write once, works everywhere

I spent three years writing notes in Word. Copy-paste formatting broke all the time. Switching between devices, half my formatting disappeared. Bullet points turned into weird symbols. Headings lost their sizes.

Then I found Markdown. Plain text with simple syntax. Write once, works everywhere.

The problem with rich text editors

Word, Google Docs, Notion's rich editor - they all have the same issues:

  • Formatting breaks when you copy-paste
  • Files become incompatible between versions
  • Different rendering on different devices
  • Can't version control properly with Git
  • Slow when documents get large

You spend more time fixing formatting than writing content.

What Markdown does differently

Markdown is plain text with markup syntax. Instead of clicking Bold button, you type **bold**. Instead of selecting Heading 1, you type # Heading.

The key benefit: it's just text. No hidden formatting codes. No compatibility issues. Open it 10 years later, it still works.

GitHub, Reddit, Discord, Slack - they all use Markdown. Learn it once, use it everywhere.

Basic syntax you need

Headers

# H1 - Biggest
## H2 - Medium
### H3 - Small

One rule: space after the #. That's it.

Text formatting

**bold**
*italic*
~~strikethrough~~
`code`

No buttons. Just type the symbols around your text.

Lists

1. Numbered item
2. Second item
   1. Nested item

- Bullet point
- Another point
  - Nested bullet

I use bullets for ideas, numbers for steps. Simple.

[Link text](https://example.com)
![Image description](/path/to/image.png)

Code blocks

```python
def hello():
    print("Hello")
```

Syntax highlighting works automatically. Way better than pasting code in Word.

Tables

| Left | Center | Right |
|:-----|:------:|------:|
| L    | C      | R     |

Not beautiful to write, but renders perfectly everywhere.

How I use Markdown with Obsidian

Obsidian is a note-taking app built on Markdown. It extends standard Markdown with features I use daily.

[[Note name]]
[[Note|Display text]]
[[folder/note]]

Links between notes. No more organizing files in folders. Just link them.

I have over 500 notes now. Finding anything takes 2 seconds because of links.

Frontmatter for metadata

---
title: Note title
tags: [topic, project]
date: 2025-12-08
---

Add metadata to files. Use it to filter, search, query notes.

Embedding notes

![[Another note]]      # Embeds entire note
![[Note#Section]]      # Embeds specific section
![[image.png]]         # Embeds image

I write atomic notes - one idea per file. Then embed them in bigger notes. Build knowledge bottom-up.

Callouts

> [!NOTE]
> Important information here

> [!WARNING]
> Watch out for this

Obsidian renders these as colored boxes. I use them for warnings, tips, important points.

Plugins I actually use

Dataview: Query notes like a database. "Show me all notes tagged #project with status = active". Sounds complex, but the syntax is simple:

TABLE status, due
FROM #project
WHERE status = "active"

Templater: Dynamic templates. I have templates for daily notes, meeting notes, project notes. Hit a hotkey, template fills in with today's date, auto-generated headings.

Tasks: Task management across all notes. Write - [ ] task anywhere in any note. The plugin shows all tasks in one view.

QuickAdd: Quick capture. Random thought? Hit Ctrl+Shift+N, type, saved to Inbox. Review later.

Common mistakes I made

Headers not showing

# Wrong: #NoSpaceAfterHash
# Right: # Space after hash

Took me a week to figure this out. Always space after #.

Code blocks not rendering

# Wrong - using quotes
'''python
code
'''

# Right - using backticks
```python
code
```

It's backticks (below Esc key), not quotes.

Tables not working

# Wrong - missing separator line
| Header 1 | Header 2 |
| Data 1 | Data 2 |

# Right
| Header 1 | Header 2 |
|----------|----------|
| Data 1   | Data 2   |

You need that |---|---| line. No exceptions.

How I organize my vault

/Inbox       # Brain dump goes here
/Notes       # Permanent notes
/Projects    # Active projects
/Daily       # Daily notes
/Templates   # Note templates
/Assets      # Images, files

Everything starts in Inbox. Once a week, I process Inbox - turn quick notes into proper notes, link them, move to right folder.

Daily notes for journaling. Projects for work. Notes for knowledge.

Simple structure. Doesn't matter much because search and links are so good.

Why Markdown over alternatives

Notion: Great app. Proprietary format. Can't easily export. If Notion dies, your notes die.

Markdown: plain text files. Works in any text editor. Will work 50 years from now.

OneNote: Good for handwriting. Terrible for text. Sync issues. Can't version control.

Apple Notes: Locked to Apple ecosystem. Rich text has same issues as Word.

Markdown works everywhere. Phone, tablet, Linux, Mac, Windows. Any text editor.

Who should use Markdown

Makes sense if you:

  • Write documentation
  • Take lots of notes
  • Want to version control your writing
  • Work across multiple devices
  • Care about long-term access to your files

Doesn't make sense if you:

  • Mainly deal with handwritten notes
  • Need complex page layouts for publishing
  • Already happy with your current system and it works

Getting started yourself

1. Pick a Markdown editor

  • Obsidian: Best for note-taking and linking
  • Typora: WYSIWYG, good for writing
  • VS Code: If you're already a developer

I use Obsidian. Takes 5 minutes to download and set up.

2. Learn the basics

Don't learn all syntax at once. Start with:

  • Headers: #
  • Bold/italic: **bold** *italic*
  • Lists: - and 1.
  • Links: [text](url)

That covers 80% of what you'll write.

3. Start writing

Open a new file. Write a note about something you learned today. Use headers. Add some bullet points.

Don't worry about organization yet. Just write.

4. Add more syntax as needed

Need to show code? Learn code blocks. Want to add a table? Look up table syntax. Need an image? Learn image syntax.

Learn incrementally. No rush.

Bottom line

I've written over 500 notes in Markdown. I've written blog posts, documentation, project plans, daily journals.

It's not perfect. Tables are ugly to write. You need to memorize syntax. No WYSIWYG formatting.

But it's reliable. My notes from 2020 open instantly in 2025. Same formatting. No corruption. No compatibility issues.

If you write a lot and want your writing to last, try Markdown. Start with basic syntax. Add features as you need them.

One month in, you won't go back.