PKM

The Only 2 Concepts Knowledge Workers Need to Know to Start Setting Up Their PKM

2 min read

Before starting any journey, you need to know one critical piece of information: your destination.

How can you begin a trip without knowing where to go?

Concepts

Concepts are an essential element in the learning and understanding processes.

Defining things correctly will save you a lot of time, your life’s main asset.

So, let’s define what a PKM is.

What is a PKM?

I love Wikipedia’s definition of PKM!

“PKM is a process of collecting information that a person uses to gather, classify, store, search, retrieve and share knowledge in their daily activities, and the way in which these processes support work activities.” — Wikipedia

There’s one concept clearly defined in the definition above, but the second one is a little bit hidden.

Let’s find them out!

Concept 1: Managing Data

The first concept is crystal clear: how you manage data.

This includes these basic processes:

  • Capturing.
  • Processing.
  • Storing.
  • Recalling.

This is all about organizing the information. Period. Let’s keep going!

Concept 2: Doing Something with that Data

The second point is this: “Well, I have all this data collected and organized… now, what?”

Here comes for me the essential element of talking about a PKM because: Why do you want information if it drives you nowhere?

Things should always make sense in life.

After more than 30 years working with data, I’ve concluded your data should drive you to:

  1. Action, or
  2. Thinking

Action always leads you to do something. It’s the process where you set goals and create processes to accomplish them.

Thinking leads you to understand concepts better, learn, grow and achieve the life of fulfillment you’re aiming to.

In the end, we all want to be happy, don’t we?

Thinking will generate new actions, and there you have the positive feedback loops that make people evolve.

Takeaways

  • I’m 100% pragmatic.
  • That’s why I state concepts are always the first step to success.
  • Concepts let you understand where you’re going.
  • Knowing where to go is a must to reach your destination.

 

Photo by Gabriella Clare Marino on Unsplash.