DeveloPassion's Newsletter 199 - LifeOS
A newsletter discussing AI, Knowledge Work, Knowledge Management Systems, Zen Productivity, Personal Organization, and everything in between!
Hello everyone! I’m Sébastien Dubois, your host. You’re receiving this email because you signed up for DeveloPassion’s Newsletter. Thank you for being here with me ✨
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Welcome
Another week, another newsletter! I hope that you all had a great one 🤩
Just got back from a wonderful vacation in Brittany (France) with family & friends. Despite being exhausted (mostly thanks to little Raphaël 😅), we had an amazing time. Great weather, beautiful location, and quality time with loved ones. Now I'm recharged and ready to dive back into exciting projects!
Also hit some nice milestones: 100 students for my Knowledge Management for Beginners course, 400+ subscribers on Bluesky and received my first Udemy payout! Small wins, but they all add up 🎉
Alright, let's gooooo 🚀
This Week's Highlights
- Major price drop on my Knowledge Management course
- Upcoming Obsidian Starter Kit 3.0
- Deep dive into my LifeOS, finally documented and visualized!
- Successful Knowii community events that were absolute 🔥
- Free Knowledge Management Workshop
- Solopreneurship is HARD
Before You Go Any Further
I want to reach more people. Got 20 seconds? Then share the link with one friend/colleague who would benefit from joining us! And of course, don't forget to also mention the Knowii Community ❤️
And if you bought some of my products or courses? Then please leave a rating/review. It really helps a lot ❤️
The Lab 🧪
Big news! I've reduced the price of Knowledge Management for Beginners to just $69.99. If you've been waiting for the right moment to dive deep into Knowledge Management, this is it!
These last weeks were packed with achievements:
- I've released OSK v2.3.0 with improvements that make your knowledge system even better
- I've delivered two successful Knowii events: Knowledge Management 101 and Personal Organization 101
- I've added two more products as bonuses for Knowii paid members: the AI Master Prompt recording AND the new AI Ghostwriter Guide! 🤖
- I've started documenting my LifeOS concept (more on this below!)
The Knowii community is growing, and we're organizing really cool events! The Personal Organization 101 session was an absolute blast. For the first time, I finally took the time to document and visualize my own complete system. Seeing members' reactions as I walked through how everything connects was priceless! 🤯
I'm also still deep in the trenches refining my AI Assistant, and I've made great progress! The combination of context engineering and my PKM system is creating something truly special. Can't wait to share more about this.
On other news, I'm now working on v3.0 of the Obsidian Starter Kit! This version will be truly special: simpler, more powerful, AI-ready, and even better organized with multiple built-in Obsidian Bases. It's everything I've learned from helping 1000+ people build their knowledge systems.
👉 Don't wait for 3.0. Grab the current version at the reduced price and get the upgrade for free when v3 comes out: Get the Obsidian Starter Kit
Latest Articles
I've published "The Reasons I'll Never Switch from Obsidian to Tana", which sparked interesting discussions. Not only about the specific tools, but about the shift in perspective when you think about the lifelong aspect of knowledge management.
Sebastien Dubois
LifeOS: An Operating System for Your Life
Throughout my life, "organization" has been a key enabler for me, alongside curiosity, learning, and craftsmanship. At 42, I have REALLY solid systems in place for organizing and managing most aspects of my personal and professional life.
Not that I'm acting like a robot (not at all!), but there's an underlying organization system behind almost everything I do, whether working my day job, side gigs, as a parent, founder, or creator. These systems free my mind, reduce stress, help me think clearly, and make steady progress toward my goals.
Combined together, these systems represent what I call a "LifeOS", an operating system for life. Mine consists of multiple integrated sub-systems:
Personal Organization System:
- Clarity System: My compass, including core values, principles, personal manifesto, life design, career design, goals for different time horizons, projects, and plans
- Information Management System: Organizing files, documents, and knowledge to capture/organize/leverage thinking, ideas, priorities, projects, plans, tasks, processes, and progress
- Productivity System: Managing time, attention, and focus to work on the right things at the right time, maximizing impact while minimizing waste/noise/stress - all without relying on motivation or willpower
Health Management System: Ensuring I pay attention to physical and mental health without burning out
Continuous Improvement System: Looking back objectively to improve myself and my systems (Kaizen!)
Through Knowii, I'm formalizing and documenting these systems to share them completely. There's more value in understanding how they work together than in the individual parts.
Here's a visualization I've created and explained during the workshop:
These systems help me achieve what I care about while respecting myself. When I talk about "Zen Productivity," it's serious. I'm 100% against hustle culture. Instead, I share ideas that help achieve greater things while staying sane, having a life, and enjoying it. This approach is valuable whether you feel disorganized/overwhelmed or are already well-organized (discovering how others approach things never hurts!).
Why share this now? Because documenting and sharing these systems with the Knowii community (for paid members!) might be my next big step. I KNOW this works, just like I know my Knowledge Management system works.
Want to dive deeper into my LifeOS? 👉 Join Knowii as a Knowledge Builder or Master. I'll be dissecting my complete system in upcoming exclusive sessions!
Free Knowledge Management Workshop
Check out my latest free Knowledge Management workshop: https://www.dsebastien.net/free-knowledge-management-workshop
Sebastien Dubois
Solopreneurship is HARD
Bootstrapping is the hardest thing I've worked on in my entire life. One day you're king of the world. The next day you wonder if you'll be able to pay rent. It's a crazy ride.
There's no path in front of you. It's all guesswork, long delays between efforts and effects. There's no free money coming at you. There's nobody coming to save you. For 1% of solopreneurs (maybe even less), there's light at the end of the tunnel. And just nothing for all the other ones. But the road is long and steep, no matter which side you're on.
I've spent two years working on a bootstrapped startup project that went down the drain. Opportunity cost: ~200K. I've then focused on building a media business. Wrote multiple books, 400+ articles/newsletters, created multiple products, courses, guides, workshops, coached people, created multiple communities, a YouTube channel, a podcast, a substack, a medium publication. crosspost to various Websites and social media networks, ... And I've tried oh so many other things.
I sacrificed 50% of my revenue for multiple years already. I don't even want to think about what I've put on the table to focus on all this.
I work almost every single day on the business. There's no real time off, ever. I'm always thinking about what I should do/try next. I'm always worried about whether I'm going to finally reach a comfortable situation, or at least a point where I'm able to pay myself at least $1.
I've literally helped thousands and made ~$45K so far (in 5 years!)
But I've reinvested almost every penny into the business, paying for my Website, domains, email marketing/automation software, AI tools, ... taxes, accounting, and tons of other things I rely on or can't avoid paying for.
The net result? I haven't paid myself a single cent since ~2023. I just can't. It would kill my business in a jiffy. There's not enough runway. Plus I live in a place where entrepreneurs are taxed like crazy (~50%+), and I'm not able/willing to move abroad. I have 3 kids, and I love the place where I live. I accept and embrace those constraints.
I'm not depressed or burned out. I have energy, willingness to keep going. I have a passion for what I'm sharing/teaching. And those who follow me know it.
I've made many small bets. And I'll continue making new ones. I'm not giving up just yet. But it is REALLY HARD. The mental toll is huge. Everything inside of me tells me to give it all up and just go back working a normal full-time job. That's the easy way out. I already have a day job (I work 60% of my time as an employee). And my colleagues there would be thrilled if I decided to come back full-time. They really appreciate the work that I do.
But I don't want to. What I want is to reach the next level. Reach a point where all the hard work I've put into this finally pays off, for real. If/when I achieve that, I'll just keep going, because that's not the finish line. That'll just be the STARTING POINT.
PS. This is not a rant. It's just my reality. I fully accept it and embrace it. I am where I am because it's where I need to be right now. Maybe I'll manage to get to the next level. Maybe I won't. But I'll do my best no matter what.
Weekly Challenge
Map your current "Life Operating System"!
Create a simple diagram showing:
- Your level of clarity: values, vision, goals and plans
- Your information management approach
- Your productivity methods
Notice the gaps. That's where real change begins!
Quotes of the Week
- Time is the only currency you spend, without ever knowing your balance. Use it wisely
- Your mind is only as strong as your mission is clear
- Time is the only currency you spend, without ever knowing your balance. Use it wisely
- Generalists are the winners in an age where specific knowledge is free
- Better thinking makes you a better person. And writing is a great way to improve your thinking
- Life is a marathon, not a sprint
- Data ownership trumps convenience when building systems for life
- The secret of Knowledge Management is understanding that it's, first and foremost, a practice that needs to be fully integrated in your life & work before you can reap the benefits
New & Interesting Links
PKM & Knowledge Work
- Obsidian's New Bases Feature is the biggest improvement since properties: https://medium.com/obsidian-observer/obsidians-new-bases-feature-is-the-biggest-update-since-properties-2aad08a102eb
- And that's why they'll get first-class integration in v3 of the Obsidian Starter Kit!
- XDA article on using NotebookLM with Obsidian and Google Drive
- Nature article: Writing is thinking
- Obsidian bases: https://www.xda-developers.com/obsidians-new-bases-feature-replacing-notion-workflow-for-good
- Are daily notes really harmful? https://literallythevoid.com/daily-notes-considered-harmful
- A free Obsidian PKM series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWhMzDKA7vJ7p50vW-oeZgKR2aDReZFW6
- Obsidian on a Steam Deck: https://www.xda-developers.com/obsidian-steam-deck-is-useful/
- New Obsidian templating plugin - Pochoir
- Creating and tracking goals in Obsidian by Tim Miller: https://obsidian.rocks/creating-obsidian-goals
- On the future of Scrintal: https://medium.com/@danielasgharian/scrintals-crossroads-innovation-communication-and-the-cost-of-divided-focus-beafe333fe1c
AI & Automation
- Andrej Karpathy on the present/future of software development: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCEmiRjPEtQ
- NotebookLM now includes featured notebooks: https://x.com/stevenbjohnson/status/1945494128667640151
- Gemini 2.5 DeepThink: https://blog.google/products/gemini/gemini-2-5-deep-think/
- ChatGPT's new "Study mode": https://simonwillison.net/2025/Jul/29/openai-introducing-study-mode
- Prompt engineering: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKuFqQKYRrA
- The Prompt Report - comprehensive prompt engineering study
- Claude Code Agents
- Claude + Obsidian + Model Context Protocol (MCP)
Cool Finds
That's it for today! ✨
About Sébastien
I'm Sébastien Dubois, and I'm on a mission to help knowledge workers escape information overload. After 20+ years in IT and seeing too many brilliant minds drowning in digital chaos, I've decided to help people build systems that actually work. Through the Knowii Community, my courses, products & services and my Website, I share practical and battle-tested systems. You can follow me on X 🐦 and on BlueSky 🦋.
I am an author, founder, and coach. I write books and articles about Knowledge Work, Personal Knowledge Management, Note-taking, Lifelong Learning, Personal Organization, and Zen Productivity. I also craft lovely digital products.
If you want to follow my work, then become a member and join our community.
Ready to get to the next level?
If you're tired of information overwhelm and ready to build a reliable knowledge system:
- 🎯 Join Knowii and get access to my complete knowledge transformation system
- 📚 Take the Course and Master Knowledge Management
- 🚀 Start with a Rock-solid System: the Obsidian Starter Kit
- 🦉 Get Personal Coaching: Work with me 1-on-1
- 🛒 Check out my other products and services. These will give you a rock-solid starting point for your note-taking and Knowledge Management efforts
