Personal Knowledge Management - General

Organize all the information you consume, generating new ideas and improving your productivity.


>What is this for?
Having an organized database of your knowledge frees up brain space and allows you to focus on the tasks at hand, instead of trying to mentally juggle several lines of thought simultaneously. It also forces your ideas to be more clearly defined, as the human brain tends to be satisfied with vague, fuzzy notions.

>Ok, but WHAT is this for?
Remembering what you read. Learning a subject. Learning a skill. Writing papers. Writing fiction. Developing your character. Developing theories. Getting things done.
Virtually anything related to learning can benefit from efficient knowledge management.

>What do I have to do?
In short: Learn to take proper notes. That's it.
When you learn new content, be it from a book or from a martial arts training session, don't let it fade away: turn it into a short reminder. Then, elaborate on it when you have the time and integrate this new piece of information into your favorite PKM method.

>What are the main PKM methods?
- Zettelkasten (ZK): "Slip box", in German. A system of interlinked notes in an organic way, rather than hierarchical. Not meant to be read from start to finish, but rather browsed where the wind takes you (serendipity), in hopes of providing unexpected connections and repurposing "old knowledge" into new context. Its potential grows exponentially. It is recommended to read the book on the subject before starting your ZK, check the resources list. ZKs are great for interdisciplinary learners, academic writers,..
Recommended software: Obsidian, Roam, OCR Space, The Archive, Zotero, Zettlr...

- Personal Wiki (PW): A personal wiki. Used for structuring and linking information in (generally) a more hierarchical way, making sure all points have been covered. Great for planning and executing projects, to-do lists, worldbuilding and cataloguing.
Recommended software: TiddlyWiki, ZimWiki, Trilium,...

- Spaced Repetition Software (SRS): Flashcards. Used for reviewing and remembering large quantities of information. Great for things like language learning, law and medical school.
Recommended software: Anki or Supermemo.

- Software to organize your ebooks and pdf: Calibre

>Which one should I use?
None. Any. All. A little of each, depending on your needs. These are methods to help you to understand and structure your own way of thinking and leaning, not cake recipes. Experiment.

>Should I take notes manually or digitally?
Writing manually requires more focus, thus it is more beneficial.
But digital is more practical, easier to manage, search and archive. Again, experiment. Think of your knowledge database as a lifelong project, so future-proofing is always a good idea

>RESOURCES
Books: Deep Work (Cal Newport), Make it Stick (Brown, Roedinger III & McDaniel), Atomic Habits (James Clear), How to Read a Book (Adler & Van doren), How to take smart notes (Ahrens), Getting Things Done (Allen), The Speed Reading Book (Buzan)
Sites:
Practical examples: https://zettelkasten.de/introduction
Supermemo Guru: https://supermemo.guru/wiki/How_to_solve_any_problem%3F
Some notes (using Evergreen software) to get inspo: https://notes.andymatuschak.org/About_these_notes
About learning, deliberate practice and space rep: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02396/full
Guides: Linking Your Thinking on youtube. You can start with this one: https://youtu.be/QgbLb6QCK88



Feel Free to contribute and ask question