Obsidian & Gemini CLI Workflow for ADHD

If you’ve ever opened Obsidian with big plans and then… frozen, this video might feel uncomfortably familiar. Especially if your brain jumps tracks the moment things get messy.

The YouTube video “Obsidian & Gemini CLI Workflow for ADHD” walks through a workflow built by someone who clearly knows that feeling. It’s not another “just use this template” setup. Instead, the creator treats personal knowledge management like a living software project. Structured, automated, and a little opinionated in a good way.

You can watch the full walkthrough here:
https://youtu.be/JGwFsyyewYc?si=F7Y-T_LYCC5I86st

At the center of the system is Obsidian paired with the Gemini CLI. The idea is simple but powerful. Let tools handle the boring decisions so your attention can stay on thinking. Folder structures are generated automatically. Daily notes don’t rely on willpower. AI “skills” live in dotfiles, like reusable commands instead of one-off prompts.

What stands out is how deliberately this is built. The creator leans on concepts like deterministic execution rules, symlinks, and git versioning. Not because it’s fancy, but because it’s predictable. And predictability is gold when ADHD turns friction into avoidance.

There’s a concrete example in the video that really grounds it. A prompt that asks Gemini to generate a minimal Obsidian folder structure for a software engineer who takes daily notes and wants a long-term second brain. From there, the video shows setting up a fresh vault, configuring plugins like Templater and Calendar, and even managing attachments with AI assistance.

This isn’t about outsourcing thinking. It’s about removing the constant “what should I do next?” loop. Over time, a system like this can quietly organize itself while you focus on the work that actually matters.

It’s a thoughtful approach. Calm, structured, and refreshingly honest about how messy real brains can be. And that makes it worth your time.