Learn to Thrive

~ [[PKM MOC]]

Personal Knowledge Management Track

Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) is the practice of collecting, organizing, and using information to extend your thinking, enhance your creativity, and amplify your impact. It’s about building an external system that works with your mind to help you think better, not just remember more.

A PKM System is composed of notes, maps, and the links that intertwine them.

  1. It all starts with collecting information.
  2. Then, your job is to make [[Sense Making sense of it]].
  3. From there, you can make it your own by taking [[Note Making MOC notes]].
  4. To tie it all together, you [[Map Making connect it to what you already know]].
  5. Finally, you express it through creative output.
  6. This new creation then restarts the PKM system. It’s a [[Feedback Loop]].
  • Step 1 - Refining Your Capture Habit (be conscious of your information diet + capture your best thinking via fleeting notes)
    • The Who - Where are you getting your information from? Is it nourishing you?
    • Personal thoughts: Spark, Remark, Relate
    • Setting up an inbox
  • Step 2 -

Overview of PKM

  • Note Taking
  • Sense Making
  • Note Making
  • Map Making

  • Create Meaning

Note: If you’re looking for the workshop notes, see here: July 3rd - PKM Workshop.

WHAT IS PKM AND WHY DO WE NEED IT?

When the internet started, your information diet was one you were tasked with curating yourself. Information was something that was out there in the world and your job was to go out and find it.

In today’s world, information is overly abundant and it flows into our lives endlessly. If we’re not careful, we run the risk of drowning in it. Our job now is to control the flow of information in our lives, much like one restricts their eating to certain times of the day.

At it’s core, personal knowledge management (PKM) is about controlling the flow of information in our lives. By using tools and techniques, we can capture information in a way that is intentional, organize it based on how it can benefit us in the future, and retrieve it quickly when desired. We can then use our knowledge to express ourselves.

In so many ways, it is exactly how our brain processes information. We experience something new and determine how it relates to what we already know.

This track takes you from PKM beginner to intermediate practitioner through four progressive phases. Each phase builds on the previous one, ensuring you develop both the foundational skills and advanced techniques needed for a sustainable knowledge system.

Here’s what you’re looking at:

  • Phase 1: Foundation - Why Before How
  • Phase 2: Structure - Note Fundamentals
  • Phase 3: Systems - Building Your Workflow
  • Phase 4: Methods - Advanced Techniques

Phase 1: Foundation - Why Before How

Here, we’ll cover the [[guiding values of PKM]] and how to avoid information overload by [[refining your capture habit]] and avoiding the [[mental squeeze point]].

After this, we’ll explore why it’s important to define why you want to manage your knowledge before you build your process. Before we dive into tools and techniques, you’ll understand the fundamental difference between systems that work and those that overwhelm.

DEFINE YOUR PURPOSE BEFORE BUILDING YOUR PROCESS

Most PKM systems fail because we start with tools and techniques before understanding why we need them. This workshop flips that approach—we’ll define your purpose first, then let that purpose guide everything else.

Key Concept: Build an Active Garden (purpose defines the content) rather than a Passive Garden (content defines the purpose).

What You’ll Walk Away With:

  • Clarity on why you want to manage knowledge (not just what tools to use)
  • A concrete project to focus your PKM efforts
  • Identified information sources that actually serve your goals
  • A personalized process that matches how you naturally think

Ask: Why do I want to manage information? Managing information can be a tedious task. Why do you want to impose extra work on yourself? What’s the reason behind your interest in PKM?

  • For more help on uncovering the motivation behind your why, check out this exercise: [[Defining Your Purpose (The Why)]].

The goal here isn’t to define your life purpose, it’s to get an idea as to what you want your PKM system to do for you. Is it to keep track of important life events, help you make sense of your thoughts and emotions, work towards publishing a book, or something else?

Task: Define a container Now that you’ve gotten an idea of why you want to manage information, your first step is to create an inbox to store it. This presents a barrier between our system and the outside world.

It reminds us that our system should be a joy to peruse through, that it shouldn’t be a neighborhood trash dump. Start by [[refining your capture habit]] and saving information to a read-later app.

Now that you’ve got a place to store information, take some time to define what it is you want to do with it. This is the where we expand on your purpose from earlier and define what it is you want to start working towards.

  • For more help on uncovering the specific application(s) of your PKM system, check out this exercise: [[Creating Your Container (The What)]].

Rule: Develop values to live by This is where the [[guiding values of PKM]] come into play. These are

— DRAFT - Continue at your own adventure :)

📖 Essential Reading:

🎯 Action Items: “Defining Your Purpose Before Building Your Process”

  • First, we’ll start with defining the purpose of our PKM systems. When you’re ready, check out [[Defining Your Purpose (The Why)]].
  • After we better understand our purpose, we can build a container to hold it. For that, we’ll move onto [[Creating Your Container (The What)]].
  • After we decide what we’re going to do, we can understand who can help us get there. Here, we move onto [[Finding Your People (The Who)]].
  • [[Building Your Process (The How)]]

✅ Phase 1 Complete When:

  • You can articulate WHY you want a PKM system
  • You have a specific project to focus your efforts
  • You understand the difference between active and passive knowledge gardens

Phase 2: Structure - Note Fundamentals

Learn the mechanical skills that make knowledge work actually work. This is where most people skip ahead—don’t. These fundamentals determine whether your system thrives or dies.

📖 Essential Reading:

  • [[Note Making MOC]] - Understanding what makes a note valuable
  • [[How to tend to your notes]] - The 6 C’s framework (Connect, Clarify, Color, Critique, Cite, Curate)
  • [[PKM Glossary]] - Key terms and concepts for PKM

🛠️ Core Skills to Master:

  • Note Structure: Proper titles, up/across links, source attribution
  • The Campsite Rule: Leave every note better than you found it
  • Up & Across Linking: Connect ideas both hierarchically and associatively
  • Evergreen Note Principles: Atomic, concept-focused, personally meaningful

🎯 Action Items:

  1. Practice the 6 C’s on 5 existing notes
  2. Create your first 10 properly structured notes
  3. Establish your note-tending workflow

✅ Phase 2 Complete When:

  • Your notes follow consistent structure and naming
  • You automatically think “up & across” when creating links
  • You can explain the difference between note-taking and note-making

Phase 3: Systems - Building Your Workflow

Duration: 3-4 weeks

Core Concept: Input-Process-Output Design

Design systems that match how you naturally think and work, not how others do.

📖 Essential Reading:

  • [[Building a Second Brain (BASB)]] - The CODE method and PARA system
  • [[Zettelkasten]] - Ideas, arguments, and discussions framework
  • [[Sense Making]] - Connecting knowledge to personal experience

🎯 Advanced Frameworks:

  • CODE Method: Capture, Organize, Distill, Express
  • 12 Favorite Problems: Feynman’s approach to guided learning
  • Capture Criteria: What deserves to be saved vs. what doesn’t
  • PARA System: Projects, Areas, Resources, Archives organization

🎯 Action Items:

  1. Set up your PARA folder structure
  2. Define your 12 favorite problems
  3. Establish capture criteria and workflows
  4. Create your first argument chain (claim → evidence → reasoning)

✅ Phase 3 Complete When:

  • You have reliable capture and organization systems
  • You can distinguish between ideas, arguments, and discussions
  • Your PKM serves your actual projects, not just your curiosity

Phase 4: Methods - Advanced Techniques

Duration: 4-5 weeks

Core Concept: Thinking Amplification

Transform your PKM from storage system to thinking partner using advanced connection and creation methods.

📖 Essential Reading:

  • [[The Spark Method]] - Moving from consuming to creating
  • [[The Mapping Method]] - Collect, cluster, collide framework
  • [[Map Making]] - Higher-order notes and MOCs
  • [[OODA Loop]] - Observe, orient, decide, act for knowledge work

🛠️ Advanced Techniques:

  • Spark Method: Turning interesting ideas into personal insights
  • Mapping Method: Building arguments through idea collision
  • MOC Creation: Organizing knowledge clusters for navigation
  • Reminder’s List: Personal knowledge inventory system
  • Progressive Summarization: Distilling essence while preserving context

🎯 Action Items:

  1. Create your first MOC using the Mapping Method
  2. Build your personal Reminder’s List
  3. Practice Progressive Summarization on 10 notes
  4. Develop 3 complete argument chains from your knowledge

✅ Phase 4 Complete When:

  • You regularly create MOCs to organize thinking
  • Your notes generate new insights through connection
  • You can produce finished work from your knowledge system

Quick Reference Resources

Core Concepts:

  • [[Fluid Thinking]] - The goal of all PKM work
  • [[Evergreen notes]] - Gold standard for note quality
  • Idea Emergence - How ideas develop from nothing to something

Troubleshooting:

Advanced Exploration:

  • Pillars of Productivity - Four-pillar framework for systematic thinking
  • [[Refraction Thinking]] - Seeing one thing through lens of another
  • Fluid Frameworks - Adaptable structures for knowledge work
2025-08-27 type/web-note/track, topic/000-pkm, website/tags/tools, architect/renovate