Overview
Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) is the set of practices, methods, and tools an individual uses to capture, organize, connect, and retrieve information — transforming raw information into usable knowledge.
Unlike organizational knowledge management (top-down, standardized), PKM is designed around the individual’s unique mental models, goals, and ways of thinking.
Key Approaches
- Zettelkasten: A note-taking system developed by sociologist Niklas Luhmann emphasizing atomic notes and emergent structure through linking
- Building a Second Brain (Tiago Forte): PARA (Projects, Areas, Resources, Archives) organization method
- Digital gardens: Public, non-linear knowledge spaces that grow over time — like this one
- Evergreen notes: Andy Matuschak’s concept of notes that are continuously refined rather than written once
Tools
- Obsidian, Roam Research, Notion (note-linking tools)
- Readwise (highlight capture and spaced repetition)
- Anki (spaced repetition for memorization)
Related
- Digital Garden — A PKM approach emphasizing public, growing knowledge spaces
- Culture and Education — Learning paradigms that inform PKM