Creating an effective academic writing workflow can feel impossible when your work is scattered across multiple platforms and tools. From drafting in Word to collaborating in Google Docs, taking quick notes on your phone, and managing references elsewhere, this fragmentation isn’t just inefficient – it fundamentally shapes how we think about and create knowledge.

Fragmented academic writing workflows

Think about your current writing projects. You likely have notes in one place, literature in another, and drafts somewhere else. Each time you switch contexts or platforms, you create small cognitive breaks that interrupt your flow of thought. More importantly, you miss opportunities for unexpected connections and insights that could emerge from seeing your ideas in relation to each other.

The challenge isn’t just about organisation or efficiency. It’s about reimagining how we engage with our own thinking and scholarly work.

What if instead of spreading our intellectual work across disconnected tools, we had an integrated environment where ideas could naturally connect and evolve? Where your literature notes could seamlessly inform your writing, and your casual observations could unexpectedly enhance your formal research?

Connected notes

This is where connected note-taking platforms like Obsidian, Roam Research, or Logseq offer an interesting alternative. Unlike traditional note-taking apps, these tools are built around the principle that knowledge emerges through connection. They allow your notes, drafts, and references to exist in a web of relationships, mirroring how ideas actually develop in our minds.

Traditional note-taking apps work like digital filing cabinets – they’re great for storing individual notes but don’t help you see how ideas relate to each other. Connected note-taking apps like Obsidian take a fundamentally different approach. Instead of organising notes into folders, they allow you to create links between ideas, much like how your brain makes connections while thinking. When you reference one idea while writing about another, you can create an actual link between them. Over time, this builds a network of interconnected thoughts where creative insights can emerge from unexpected connections. It’s the difference between having a collection of separate index cards and having a map of how all those ideas are connected to each other.

But this isn’t about another productivity tool to add to an already overwhelming menu of options. It’s about rethinking how we approach knowledge work entirely. When your writing environment allows ideas to connect organically, you spend less time managing files and more time engaging with the actual substance of your work.

In this conversation with Dave Nicholls, we explored how this connected approach to note-taking has transformed my own academic writing practice. We discussed whether the initial investment in learning a tool like Obsidian is worth it, and I shared specific examples of how it supports both my scholarly writing and creative process:

Building a connected writing workflow

The shift from fragmented to connected writing can:

• Create space for serendipitous discoveries between seemingly unrelated ideas
• Reduce the friction between capturing thoughts and developing them into formal writing
• Build a sustainable, evolving knowledge base that grows with your academic journey
• Allow your thinking to emerge naturally rather than forcing it into predetermined structures

When your academic writing workflow allows ideas to connect organically, you spend less time managing files and more time engaging with the actual substance of your work. This approach recognises that scholarly work isn’t linear – it’s an organic process of exploration, connection, and discovery. The tools we use should support this reality rather than fight against it.

The next time you find yourself bouncing between multiple platforms to piece together your academic writing, consider whether there might be a more integrated way forward. Your best thinking deserves an environment where it can flourish and evolve naturally.

Creating an effective academic writing workflow isn’t about adding more tools – it’s about building an environment where your ideas can naturally grow and evolve. Learn more about building sustainable note-taking practices in the Academic Note-Taking course.