You've been misled about Personal Knowledge Management (PKM).

And it's no one's fault.

But it has set you up to fail.

Here's why, and what you can do about it.

In the 1950's Peter Drucker coined the term "knowledge work". His thoughts have greatly influenced how we think about work and productivity. Cal Newport draws a thread between the 1950's and 2001, when David Allen's book "Getting Things Done" was published.

In the past 20+ years, the field of "productivity" has deeply influenced us.

I will argue that we, this generation, are trying to apply "productivity" to PKM—because it's what we are familiar with—and it's making us weak thinkers with polluted thoughts.

The tension between "getting things done" and "thinking better" is one of The 6 Battlefields of PKM. We see it as the battle between:

• ‍Note-taking vs Note-making - We programmed ourselves to clip and highlight everything. And in our new world of limitless information, it's unsustainable. It's a recipe for disaster.

There is a way to win this battle. For now, I'll sum it up with the first of many Truisms of PKM:

Time spent note-taking is time taken away from note-making.

(We'll get to the other battlefields later. Once you become aware of them, you can do something about it.)

Again, it's no one's fault.

These are incredibly complex societal systems—beyond our total comprehension.

But the result is that it's made us weak-minded note-takers constantly trying to "process" everything we encounter—mainly because we can't help ourselves.

How did we come to think our constant highlighting was good?

The fall of the note-taker

In the 21st century, systems like "Getting Things Done" emerged as a solution to the downpour of information entering our minds through email and the internet.

And for many people with complex lives, G.T.D. is a good fit.

But when it comes to PKM, it's a solution to a symptom—not to the problem.

It's like a tiny band-aid trying to keep an open wound closed. A band-aid is only going to work for a moment before it gets wet and falls off. You need stitches to properly close the wound. That is your best chance to heal. Yes, you'll have a scar—we all have scars—but you won't walking around the world with an open wound and a flimsy band-aid trying to keep yourself together.

When people take a "getting things done" mindset into PKM, the results are damaging.

In the process of trying to "process" endless waves of information (largely through misguided note-taking practices), they have unwittingly snuffed out the flame of inquiry—the spark of curiosity—and made Knowledge into nothing more than a task list and cheap set of highlights they never remember.

I know this because it happened to me. (See: My PKM Story).

It's part of a broader war for the soul of thinking.

But for now, what can we do about our poor thinking habits?

Figure out your filter

Well, first recognize the pattern. You have no filter.

I don't mean "you say whatever comes to your mind".

I mean "you let everything INTO your mind".

If everything seems important, nothing is.

Remember this:

We humans are sensemaking machines.

If you put us in a room with a banana

and a painting of Caravaggio's "Still Life with a Basket of Fruit"

we can't help ourselves...eventually we are going to try to find some sort of connection between the two.

Have you made one yourself yet?

Eventually, some of us might look at the banana,

then back at the basket of fruit,

and we might mutter something like, "Huh, no bananas in that basket".

Freeze!

What just happened?

We experienced The 3 Laws of Sensemaking.

• Encounter
• Connect
• Express

We encountered a banana and a painting; we made a connection between the two; and we expressed it.

These are The 3 Laws of Sensemaking. Encounter, Connect, Express.

They are unavoidable. They exist whether you like it or not.

The good news is, you can use this understanding to break the bad habits instilled in you by the "Productivity Mindset". Bring your awareness to where you are encountering things. And choose to STOP TRYING TO PROCESS EVERYTHING YOU ENCOUNTER.

This is the problem with society's unhealthy "Productivity Mindset". It treats every bit of information as a "task" or "project" to "process" with a "deadline" and a "goal" to "get things done".

(By the way, this is another of the 6 Battlefields of PKM: Destination vs Journey.)

I implore you, before you forget you have a choice:

»»» Don't turn PKM into Productivity «««

Thoughts are not just "tasks" to cross off.

Thoughts are treasures. They deserve better.

So what can we do?

Do less. And do more.

Let's blow up "Productivity". A little bit. In our minds. So we have room.

Room for what?

Room for a better relationship with Knowledge.

We train and develop a better relationship to Knowledge in the LYT Workshop.

But you can improve yours right now.

Just ask yourself:

Where am I Encountering things? How many of those things am I trying to process?

Then...Cut it in half.

This is summed up by two more Truisms of PKM:

Whatever you think is the right amount of note-taking, do less.

Whatever you think is the right amount of note-making, do more.

That's it for now.

This is the opening salvo in a multi-part story on The State of PKM. By the end of this informal manifesto, you will leave with a clearer and empowered sense of PKM. I believe this series will give you more peace of mind and power with your PKM.

Nick

<hr>

For those keeping track at home, so far our series has covered:

The 3 Laws of Sensemaking:

• Encounter
• Connect
• Express

The 3 Principles of Notes:

• ???
• ???
• ???

The 6 Battlefields of PKM:

• Note-taking vs Note-making
• ???
• ???
• ???
• ???
• Destination vs Journey

Truisms of PKM:

• Time spent note-taking is time taken away from note-making.
• Whatever you think is the right amount of note-taking, do less.
• Whatever you think is the right amount of note-making, do more.