How to Break Free from the PKM Cycle of Procrastination and Start Creating Meaningful Notes
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Chapter 1: Understanding Personal Knowledge Management (PKM)
Recently, I sketchnoted a 20-minute video on personal knowledge management (PKM) that offered valuable insights. The speaker, Sam Matla, is a business coach, author, and entrepreneur with a profound grasp of the challenges many of us face. Almost instantly, he highlights why we often focus on refining our systems instead of utilizing them.
Sam delves into the essence of PKM, clarifying common misconceptions. He introduces concepts like the Optimization Procrastination Trap and the Collector’s Fallacy. He also shares five guiding principles designed to help us concentrate on what truly matters, minimizing distractions and the fear of missing out (FOMO) when encountering enticing new applications that promise the world.
One standout principle is the fourth: Enhance your work capacity and productivity BEFORE organizing your system. Only after you’ve consistently engaged with your notes for 2–3 hours or more should you consider structuring them. Sam’s perspective is enlightening; we often overestimate the amount of structure we require.
The organization of knowledge can take various forms, from folders to plugins and super tags. My own approach to managing knowledge is inspired by analog methods. I believe that, when used wisely, folders can be effective tools for organizing information. This principle holds true whether you're utilizing a modern AI-assisted notes app or prefer traditional methods like I do.
If you were to explore my Obsidian vault, you would find what appears to be a meticulously organized setup. I utilize the four PARA folders alongside several additional ones. However, those extra folders emerged naturally as a response to my specific organizational needs.
Section 1.1: The Dangers of Imitating Others
Copying someone else's system can be a misguided approach. It's crucial to remember two key points: your structure should be adaptable, and it should be developed through experience.
As Sam points out, a complex and polished PKM system is not a prerequisite for producing quality work. While it's perfectly fine to gather intriguing materials and integrate them into your system, this effort becomes counterproductive if you fail to create something meaningful from it.
Why can this be counterproductive? When you focus excessively on the aesthetics of your system, you may neglect the essential work that leads to growth and creativity. Valuable time can slip away, opportunities can vanish, and your potential can wither.
But this won't be your reality. Since you’re here, it's clear you’re eager to cultivate your knowledge effectively.
Chapter 2: The Value of Sketchnotes in Learning
Sketchnotes, while visually appealing, often provide greater long-term benefits to their creators due to the cognitive effort involved in translating information into this format. I hope that even though this graphic reflects my viewpoint, it may still offer value to others.
Additionally, you can access free productivity resources, including an Obsidian Planner demo vault and a Plus Minus Next Weekly Review template, available in my Gumroad store. For more insights into productivity in plain text, check out my Plain Text, Paper-Less Productivity Digest.
In this first video, titled "Stop Procrastinating With Note-Taking Apps Like Obsidian, Roam, Logseq," the speaker discusses effective strategies for leveraging note-taking applications to combat procrastination and enhance productivity.
The second video, "Don't fall into the procrastination trap! [Here's how to STOP PROCRASTINATION]," provides actionable tips for overcoming procrastination and staying focused on your tasks.
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