There's so much we have to keep track of, but we have so little capacity for it in the "working memory" of our brains. As you know, I love using Obsidian for my Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) system, but I wanted to focus on some of the case studies of where PKM is useful. Platform-agnostic, bring your own system today ;)
Here are my favorite use cases for PKM, the problems they solve, the results, and a glimpse at how you can model something similar:
Mini Essays
Problems:
- Scattered knowledge
- Having references, but nothing that are your own thoughts
- Notes that aren't output- or publish-ready
Results:
- Distilled knowledge
- Publish-worthy pieces that can be combined (e.g. a larger article, book) or as a standalone piece (social media post, blog)
- Study / learning tool
- Improved writing and thinking
How to do it:
The key here is to be very focused. Leave out the unnecessary things like the intro and conclusion unless it makes sense in your case. This isn't about word count. It's about communication.
Try to explain a specific topic as concisely as possible. This allows you to write without losing focus and doubles as a piece that you can copy/paste into larger pieces, almost totally ready to go.
I love how this creator described it: "I write it as if I'm going to teach someone else."
Here's the process:
- Take a topic or an idea that piqued your interest.
- Write down the source(s) that contributed or are referenced
-
Create your detailed note about this topic:
- How can you describe this concept quickly if you need a refresher?
- What impact does this idea have?
- How does it apply to your life? Are there other applications?
- How is it connected to other ideas or notes you've taken?
- If it does connect to others and your system allows for linking, then wire it up so you can see where this fits in with other topics.
Discovery Notes
Problems:
- Hate it when I looked into something new or complex, had ideas or was starting to understanding what's going on, then I leave it for some time. When I come back to it, I have to start all over again.
- Lost my place in the middle of some process—what have I done? What's left to do?
Results:
- Roadmap
- Valuable for others—SOPs at work or content you can share
How to do it:
As soon as you make progress or successfully do this new thing, document it.
That includes all of the mini-progress and successes along the way.
I crack open my notes when I'm starting a new task and do a quick outline as I go:
- Grab URLs from articles that helped
- Copy/paste quotes or snippets from documentation
- Screenshot what the button (or whatever) looked like
- Write down the steps I took
- Write down any mistakes—"Don't do this..." or "Clicking XYZ before ABC will break it..."
There's so much you collect, distill, and throw out in the process of learning or problem-solving. It helps to keep notes as you're making those decisions. This can become a helpful guide for you or someone else in the future.
It can also be a way to troubleshoot or prove what you've done if everything ultimately fails.
Reference Library
Problems:
- Complex or infrequently used information is fastest to be forgotten
- Frequently used information is hard to access or to quickly pull out
- Tips, tricks, and expertise aren't easily accessible
Results:
- Quick access to snippets of information
- Easy way to store copy/paste solutions
- Documentation of processes—checklist mentality / cognitive offloading
How to do it:
Document your processes—this might look like taking your discovery notes and finalizing them into sleek, complete steps.
Write down the things you look up all the time. For example, I have built up a library of code snippets that are small, accomplish something very specific, and that I use throughout my code all the time.
I've found the reference library is most helpful when I'm committed to always storing these kinds of notes in one place. Not on sticky notes, random Slack messages, bookmarked webpages, and emails—it must get put in Obsidian so that I look for it in Obsidian.
Media Trace
Problems:
- How did I get to this conclusion?
- Where did I get this opinion?
Results:
- Able to find your sources
- Able to critique your thought process
- "Genealogy" of ideas, opinions, conclusions
How to do it:
The easiest way might be to simply add a line at the bottom of your existing notes with a short statement and a link for "where this note came from."
This is not a bibliography, it's tracing why you got to the note you're on—not the source of the current note.
I have a snippet that adds prompts and questions to the end of a mini essay / permanent note (thanks to Vicky Zhao's video):
This way I can link-surf my way through my notes and remember various sources (videos, books, articles) I've gone over that lead me to where I am now. Very similar to how you might surf a website—jumping from link to link.
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The other method might be to actually map it out. This could be with a Map of Content system where you have a note on a specific topic (perhaps the conclusion you came to) and then list out the sources or notes in the order you consumed them.
You could also use a visual map of this progress with Obsidian canvas, or any of the many drawing tools out there.
I choose this alternate method when the order of the media matters to me—whether because the knowledge needs to be built upon each step or because I want to remember that order for some reason.
CYBORG
Use these case studies to inspire solutions for the problems you face in your mental and digital spaces.
A lot of these apply to knowledge work, but I've found uses for them in my personal notes as well. What other use cases have you found?