I do this by creating a markdown file on my desktop and opening it in VSCode alongside whatever project I'm working on. Once open, I right click the file's tab in VSCode and click "Pin" which locks it into its own tab container. I can then reference it quickly and it doesn't get in the way of other open files. To search, just Cmd+F.

I tried several different extensions but ended up with Obsidian. The biggest obstacle is that VS Code is projects centered and I don't want to recreate notes structure every time I start new. At the same time Obsidian offers consistent linearly growing tree of notes in your preferable structure.

I can switch projects several many times a day in VS Code and almost never switch vaults in Obsidian. For every project I have its own structure and can copy-paste items between if I need.

Just share how I organized my workflow.

You could use a dedicated project for your global notes, and maintain specific notes in your project.

I have been taking notes in VS code for more than three years now in plain text. I use this extension for colors and syntax highlights: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=canadadu...

I did it for a while (in Sublime Text and then later in VS Code), but ended up switching to Obsidian. I could still open up my Obsidian vault in VS Code if I wanted/needed.

I tried several extensions for notes in VS Code and none of them really worked how I wanted them to work.

I use https://wiki.dendron.so/

I journal and keep my to-do list on a Jekyll site, which I store in Github and edit in VS Code

for each day I a have a page. Easy to search and you can also write reminder for the future. It is surprising to see some todo when you start working next day.

I do. Although most of them are scrambles.