Mastering Knowledge Retention with Readwise and Obsidian

As an AI developer, I'm constantly immersed in learning new technologies, techniques and best practices. Managing multiple sources of information can be overwhelming, leading to confusion when I need to find a specific piece of information I have previously encountered. This is where Readwise has made a noticeable difference to my workflow. In this blog post I want to walk you through my knowledge retention process and how it has helped me improve my knowledge retention and streamline my learning process.

1. Centralizing My Reading

Managing multiple sources of information can be tricky. I often switch between e-books, online articles, PDFs, and insightful tweets from AI researchers. Readwise serves as a central hub where all these materials come together, reducing the clutter from different sources.

For instance, when I decided to deepen my understanding of deep learning, I had an e-book on neural networks on Kindle, several Medium articles saved in Pocket, and a few key Twitter threads from thought leaders in AI. Readwise pulls highlights from all these sources into one unified dashboard, making it easy to navigate through my notes without missing any critical information. I recall how this consolidation saved me from the chaos of juggling multiple platforms, allowing me to focus more on learning rather than managing my resources.

2. Highlighting and Reviewing

One of the standout features of Readwise is its ability to resurface my highlights and notes through spaced repetition. This method has been instrumental in reinforcing complex AI concepts.

While studying transformer architectures, I highlighted essential points and best practices across various articles and documentation over several months. Readwise periodically reminds me of these highlights just when I’m working on my latest natural language processing (NLP) project. This timely review helps me recall and apply advanced transformer techniques more effectively, which has directly improved my model's performance. I recall a specific instance where a periodic reminder helped me implement a nuanced optimization that I had almost forgotten.

This is how I utilize Readwise's spaced repetition to maintain a strong grasp of key concepts:

1. Sign up for a Readwise account if you haven't already readwise.io.
2. Connect your reading sources (e.g., Kindle, Instapaper, Pocket) to import your highlights.
3. Set up your daily review by configuring the number of highlights to review and your preferred review time in the Readwise settings.
4. Engage in daily reviews either through the Readwise app or via email, where you can mark highlights as "Remembered," "Forgotten," add notes, edit highlights, or adjust their review frequency.
5. Use the "Inline Tagging" feature by adding tags (e.g., .ai_technique) when highlighting text, which helps in organizing and filtering your highlights.
6. Customize your review experience by creating filters based on books, articles, or tags, and adjusting review frequencies for different content types.
7. Practice active recall by utilizing cloze deletion in your highlights, which encourages you to remember missing information before revealing it.
8. Sync your highlights with note-taking apps like Obsidian, Notion, or Roam Research to integrate your highlights into your knowledge management system seamlessly.

By consistently using Readwise's spaced repetition feature, I reinforce key concepts from my reading, making it easier to recall and apply this knowledge in my AI development work.

3. Integrating with Note-Taking Tools

I rely on note-taking apps like Obsidian and Logseq for project management and maintaining my personal knowledge base—tools I’ve discussed in previous posts. Readwise’s seamless integration with these tools has streamlined how I organize and access my notes.

When I was reading a comprehensive book on reinforcement learning, I highlighted sections on policy gradients and exploration strategies. Readwise automatically synced these highlights to my Obsidian workspace, where I could easily incorporate them into my project templates and documentation. Similarly, with Logseq, I set up custom workflows that link my highlights to specific projects, ensuring that my learning is directly translated into actionable insights for my AI developments. I recall how this integration eliminated the need for manual copying, saving me valuable time and reducing the risk of missing important information.

4. Full-Text Search in Obsidian

During intense development cycles, having quick access to specific information is crucial. I use Obsidian’s full-text search feature to retrieve information swiftly, rather than relying on Readwise’s search. This approach not only saves time but also leverages the powerful organizational capabilities of Obsidian.

This is how I utilize Obsidian’s full-text search to navigate my centralized knowledge base effectively:

1. Open Obsidian and navigate to your desired vault.
2. Access the search feature by:
   • Clicking on the search icon in the left sidebar.
   • Using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+F (or Cmd+Shift+F on macOS).
   • Pressing Ctrl+P to open the Command Palette, then typing "search" and selecting "Search: Show search view".
3. Enter your query in the search bar. For example, to find information about a specific AI technique, you might type "transformer architecture".
4. Review the search results, which display snippets of content where your search terms appear across your entire vault.
5. Refine your search by:
   • Using quotes for exact phrases: "transformer architecture"
   • Using Boolean operators: AND, OR, NOT (e.g., "transformer AND attention")
   • Using file: to search in filenames (e.g., file:.md for all Markdown files)
   • Using path: to search in specific folders (e.g., path:"AI Notes/")
6. Click on any search result to open the corresponding note.
7. Save a search for future use by clicking on the "Save current search" button next to the search bar.

Obsidian’s full-text search feature allows me to quickly locate specific information across my entire knowledge base, making it easier to retrieve and apply concepts I've learned in my AI development work. I recall a time when I was developing a complex AI-driven recommendation system and needed to recall a specific optimization technique I had read about months earlier. Instead of sifting through countless bookmarks, I used Obsidian’s search to locate the exact article and technique within seconds. This quick retrieval saved me valuable time and kept my project moving forward smoothly. I recall how this feature prevented potential delays by providing immediate access to the information I needed.

In addition to the powerful search capabilities of Obsidian, you can also search your Readwise highlights in your browser.

https://read.readwise.io/new

5. Active Reading with Annotations

Engaging deeply with technical content is essential for my work. Readwise’s annotation features have enhanced my active reading experience, allowing me to interact more thoughtfully with the material.

While exploring a new algorithm for generative adversarial networks (GANs), I used Readwise to add annotations with my implementation ideas and questions about potential optimizations. These annotations are saved and resurfaced periodically, helping me refine my understanding and apply the algorithm more effectively in my projects. This practice has been particularly helpful in advancing my work on image synthesis models. I recall a specific annotation that led to a breakthrough in improving the training stability of my GANs.

6. Managing Information Overload

The field of AI is vast, and it's easy to accumulate a large stack of articles, research papers, and documentation. Readwise’s triage workflow has been essential in managing this information overload.

I had a collection of articles on machine learning ethics and bias mitigation that I wanted to stay on top of. Using Readwise’s triage feature, I was able to prioritize the most relevant articles for my current project on developing fair AI systems while filing less urgent ones for future reference. This approach has helped me focus my energy on the most impactful readings without feeling overwhelmed. I recall how this feature allowed me to systematically address critical topics without getting bogged down by the sheer volume of available information.

7. Enhancing Focus and Flow

Maintaining focus while reading dense technical material can be challenging. Readwise offers a distraction-free reading environment that has significantly improved my ability to concentrate.

When I was diving into a whitepaper on a new neural architecture for autonomous systems, the distraction-free mode helped me eliminate interruptions. This enhanced concentration allowed me to fully grasp the intricate details of the architecture, enabling me to implement and optimize it more efficiently in my AI projects. The ability to maintain focus has undoubtedly improved the quality and speed of my development work. I recall how this environment was crucial during long study sessions, allowing me to immerse myself fully in complex material.

Conclusion

Integrating Readwise into my workflow has transformed how I handle reading and knowledge retention. By centralizing my reading materials, reinforcing key concepts through spaced repetition, and seamlessly integrating with my note-taking tools like Obsidian and Logseq, Readwise has become an invaluable part of my learning process. Whether I'm delving into new AI frameworks, keeping up with industry trends, or exploring advanced machine learning concepts, Readwise helps ensure that the knowledge I acquire sticks and is readily accessible when I need it.

References:

Obsidian Officical Documentation https://help.obsidian.md/
Readwise Official Blog: https://blog.readwise.io/