TL;DR: Capture, organize, and use information effectively. Build a system with capture, organization, and retrieval layers.
Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) is the practice of capturing, organizing, and using information effectively. It’s the foundation for all note-taking systems.
Why It Matters
In the information age, we face:
- Information overload: Too much to process
- Context switching: Fragmented attention
- Knowledge silos: Information trapped in apps
- Forgetting curve: We lose 70% within 24 hours
Peter Drucker
“Knowledge has to be improved, challenged, and increased constantly, or it vanishes.”
The PKM Stack
Capture Layer
Where information enters your system:
- Browser extensions
- Mobile quick capture
- Voice notes
- Email forwarding
Organization Layer
How you structure information:
- Zettelkasten for ideas
- PARA for projects
- Tags for cross-cutting themes
Retrieval Layer
Finding what you need:
- Full-text search
- Link traversal
- Graph visualization
- Spaced repetition
Tool Landscape
| Tool | Strength | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Obsidian | Linking, local-first | Power users |
| Notion | Databases, sharing | Teams |
| Roam | Daily notes, blocks | Researchers |
| Logseq | Open source, outliner | Developers |
Core Practices
1. Inbox Zero for Notes
Process your captures regularly:
Inbox → Process → Organize → Review
↑ |
└───────────────────────────┘
2. Weekly Reviews
- Review new notes
- Connect related ideas
- Update projects
- Archive completed work
3. Write to Think
As explored in slow thinking, writing clarifies thought:
The Feynman Technique
If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.
My System
I’ve built my PKM around:
- Obsidian as the hub
- Zettelkasten for atomic notes
- Evergreen notes for developed ideas
- Quartz for publishing
The key is consistency over perfection. As noted in digital minimalism, simple systems win.
Common Mistakes
Avoid These Traps
- Over-organizing before you have content
- Tool-hopping instead of note-taking
- Collecting without processing
- Perfecting instead of connecting