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This Day in History

The This Day in History module shows notes you created on the same date in previous years. It's a personal time capsule that reveals what you were thinking about and working on in the past.

What It Shows

Notes created on today's date in previous years, displaying:

  • Note title
  • Year it was created
  • Brief excerpt or summary
  • How long ago it was created

How It Works

  1. Date Matching - Finds notes created on the same month and day
  2. Year Grouping - Organizes results by year
  3. Content Preview - Extracts relevant excerpts from each note
  4. Presentation - Displays chronologically, oldest to newest

Example Output

This Day in Your History

January 24, 2023 (2 years ago)

"New Year Goals Planning"

Outlining my focus areas for 2023: improve writing consistency, build a reading habit, explore new tools for knowledge management...

January 24, 2022 (3 years ago)

"Book Notes: Atomic Habits"

Key takeaway: Focus on systems, not goals. The 1% improvement concept...

January 24, 2021 (4 years ago)

"Daily Journal"

Started exploring Obsidian today. First impressions are positive...

Why This Matters

Track Personal Growth

See how your thinking, interests, and priorities have evolved over time.

Anniversary Reminders

Notes about events, projects, or milestones resurface on their anniversary.

Pattern Recognition

Notice recurring themes or seasonal patterns in your note-taking.

Memory Trigger

Revisiting past notes often triggers memories and context you'd forgotten.

Configuration

This module uses note creation dates, which can come from:

File Creation Date

The filesystem timestamp when the file was created.

Frontmatter Date

If your notes include a created or date field in frontmatter, this takes precedence:

---
created: 2023-01-24
---

Modification vs Creation

This module specifically looks at creation dates, not modification dates, to show you what you were starting on this date.

Tips for Best Results

Consistent Dating

If you use frontmatter dates, be consistent across your vault. This ensures accurate "this day" matching.

Daily Notes

If you keep a daily journal or daily notes, this module becomes especially valuable for year-over-year comparisons.

Let It Accumulate

This module becomes more valuable over time. A vault with years of notes will have richer historical content to surface.

Reflect and Connect

When you see an old note:

  • Consider how your thinking has changed
  • Look for connections to current work
  • Update the note if you have new insights to add

Empty Results

If no notes appear for today's date:

  • You may not have created any notes on this date in previous years
  • Your vault may be relatively new
  • Check back tomorrow - different dates have different coverage