PKM: A means of storage, archiving, learning and actionable knowledge application

In a deep, deep sleep of the innocent
I am born again
In a fast German car
I'm amazed that I survived
An airbag saved my life

In an interstellar burst
I am back to save the universe

— Airbag, Radiohead

Learning through navigation as open systems

It’s the zero hour, a turning point for events that occur in the coming years could be an uncertain future. From the most optimistic to the most dismal. The touch point of the future is the Now in the doing. Zero is your friend; it gives and it takes, to leave you with a new response plan. You are working with zero. Employed by the company of zero. You are zero. You exist in your own company before you are a company.

Singing [The National anthem] as you hear the principal talk about matters of school, watching the sun above you, distant and blinding. Did the system prepare you for all the challenges of life and what it had in store for you? Were you able to look back and clearly say you always made an informed decision? If not, why?

If a state breaches its contractual function, it behaves like a pathogen overwhelming a living system, destabilising the intricate harmony of interconnected parts, undermining trust, suppressing individual vitality through misaligned policies or methods of required response of the ground action, and choking the mutual bonds that sustain it. Like an overactive immune system attacking its cells, this overreach sparks systemic breakdown, as the body politic resists, craving the restoration of balance between freedom and shared purpose. The cancer of corruption must be traced to a point of origin before it inwardly spreads through the organs of systems, resulting in the decline of the otherwise healthy entity, an organism striving for vitality.

Autonomy blooms in the rebellion of a mind that curates its knowledge, free from the shadow of collective control, to balance a misaligned system. It is a silent, necessary defiance that must respond as an independent unit to keep the system balanced through actions informed by salient information. The consensus and the curriculum are valuable only in that it highlights the essential requirements, not the adaptive know how of long-term growth capabilities.

Whether you’re a high school student, a PhD graduate, a professional navigating career challenges, or a self-taught learner on the outskirts of society, you face the same reality: the future is uncertain, and traditional paths—work hard, follow the rules, trust the system—may no longer guarantee success. The world more often than not does not work as you think it would; the natural harmony is through increased disorder and non-mechanical (Murphy’s Law). Concern yourself then with complete obedience towards your exaltation, finding your place in the scheme of things that is true to you. Your order over yourself for growth expansion through context with fluid adaptivity and agility (Antifragility) while being aware that an overly rigid attitude can impede you. Version 1 will thank you from the future present, harking back to the day you decided to act because you remember exactly what you did.

You question everything: Do your parents’ lessons still apply? Can institutions keep up with a rapidly changing world? The constant cycle of needing experience to gain a position, yet needing a position to gain experience, feels like an unbreakable wall. What is the workaround for the Wall, the inhibitor of forward motion? How do you coordinate a response plan for prepared vigilance of your better versioning? How do you anticipate the barrier before you? How do you gain autonomy over the system, or could you become a system?

In a world of mass information and uncertainty, starting from “zero” is your strength—a blank canvas to build your knowledge. Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) and Connectivism Learning Theory empower you to own your learning, creating a “second brain” with Obsidian’s networked tools to navigate the digital age.

They offer a framework for autonomy, helping you break through barriers by building a personalized knowledge map. Obsidian, with its directional linking and graph view, is the perfect tool to bring this framework to life, transforming scattered information into a constellation of insights you can navigate, like stars guiding you through the chaos of the digital age.

You will create your path, finding yourself in an open system of which you will attain capabilities specific to your individual person, while at the same time fulfilling the requirements of what is expected of you in the industry. Deconstructing, unlearning, acquiring, refining and organizing is your default mode of action.

Just as systems must adapt to modern realities, you can take ownership of your learning by building a knowledge network with Obsidian. Connectivism teaches that knowledge is distributed across networks, and Obsidian’s graph view lets you create a personal system, free from institutional constraints.

Your goal in life is simple- gain autonomy. The approach is varied, learning is limitless, constrained only by time, you decide based on resource, affordance. Be focused on the pursuit of autonomy without negative feedback loops. Do not compromise what has been given to you. There are stars of information out there. You are not likely to find all of them, but you can create a knowledge map of your star as you navigate through the world for a system of personal knowledge. By curating your knowledge, you build resilience against external control, creating a system that evolves with you.

Drift all you like, from ocean to ocean — Man of War, Radiohead

Who do you learn for? Yourself, your school? Your job or company? The correct answer is the first one; it should be for yourself. It’s the only one that matters. You can squeeze the others in to fit the big picture. Autonomy and extension of autonomy, augmentation rather than dependence through the use of technology, contextual adaptivity, clarity, and information into agency are values you can stand by through personal information management.

What is Personal Knowledge Management (PKM)

Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) is a process for collecting, organizing, and sharing information to enhance personal and professional growth. PKM is summarized by Harold Jarche as:

Seek: Actively find and filter relevant information from diverse sources.
Sense: Process and internalize information through critical thinking and reflection.
Share: Distribute insights to networks, fostering collaboration and feedback.

PKM is an autodidact’s tool. For information hoarders, the days of saving links in random places. I used to store links in my email draft to a point where there were 300 drafts on my email that I lost track of what I wanted to view. I now store them in my PKM. The PKM is a software space by itself with a myriad of different apps available, which you can consider. What comes to mind of the few are Logseq, Anytype, Joplin and Obsidian.

Personal Knowledge Management with Obsidian

PKM is your digital hub to organize scattered ideas and replace chaotic bookmarks or email drafts with a structured system. With Obsidian, you can explore diverse knowledge sources, connecting them into a cohesive system. Learning is natural when it is self-determined and motivated by your interest, which is the effort you must first address before you move forward to find out for yourself. You are a blueprint of potential in version 1, sitting with 0 because you have no action map of what it takes to get to version 1. PKM is your “second brain,” a system to collect, organize, and share knowledge, empowering you to navigate the information deluge. Just as a healthy organism resists pathogens, PKM strengthens your autonomy against overreaching systems.

This article introduces you to PKM through Obsidian, which is how I discovered the PKM space. Obsidian’s open system lets you tailor your knowledge base to your goals and needs. Create separate vaults for work, personal projects, or hobbies, each with plugins like Dataview to query notes or Canvas for visual brainstorming, reflecting connectivism’s emphasis on varied, adaptable networks. Connectivism is a learning theory model which, in this article, is paired with PKM. Various learning models can be used in practice in the use of PKM.

Connectivism: Learning in a Networked World

Developed by George Siemens, Connectivism views learning as creating connections across networks of people, ideas, and resources. In a fast-changing world, knowledge is distributed, not confined to institutions. Connectivism emphasises:

• Accessing diverse perspectives.

• Building adaptable, evolving knowledge networks.

• Applying insights in real-world contexts.

Obsidian is a note-taking app, as is true for most PKM software. What makes Obsidian interesting is a feature called the graph view. The graph view allows you to see all your interests from notes as a constellation of networks; the more notes and categorization, the richer the representation of your second brain.

How Obsidian Enhances PKM

Obsidian, on first viewing, seems simple, the blank canvas, but don’t let that fool you. It’s the type of software use that is shaped by interpretative usage, differ by user’s approach. How you use the software is dependent on how you organize your information, and with so many different community plugins, you might have your essential plugins for each vault. The vault is like a project folder.

Each vault representing your subject interest can have its plugins integrated, or you could use one vault and mesh all your notes irrespective of subject area. There is a sort of learning curve but I would describe it as more on how you would like to organize your information, so you would probably take some time getting to know the software.

Obsidian uses the markdown format, a document format that is easy for human and machine readable while being able to convert to HTML format. Prior to markdown web writers often had to prepare the document to use HTML tags to format their content, which could be time-consuming.

Write once, markdown text can be converted into a wide variety of formats, including HTML, PDF, DOCX, and more. Markdown format is more compact than HTML or Word document equivalents. You spend 1 year writing on a variety of things with a Word document and exporting as markdown format would be the process of archiving and then organising your information, as you link your notes, you begin to see new perspectives between the relationships of your materials.

• Graph View: Visualize notes as a network of interconnected nodes, reflecting your thought patterns.

• Vaults: Create separate folders for work, hobbies, or projects, each with tailored plugins like Dataview for querying notes or Canvas for visual brainstorming.

• Plugins: Customize functionality with community-developed tools.

• Mobile App: Capture ideas on the go, embedding images or notes into your knowledge network.

For example, a dense cluster of notes around “heart rate” might prompt deeper exploration of a subtopic like “nutrition.”As you add more items to your vault of articles, you get an endless supply of interpretative material from your work. It’s the gift that keeps giving.

Who Benefits from PKM with Obsidian?

Learner: Students, professionals

Do you believe all this AI talk to the point that you think you won’t surprise yourself? This is not an AI denial article; this is an AI augmentative article. It’s about how do you best use AI as a tool to augment your learning, there is a major potential here you might have not considered.

A learner starts with notes, digesting and learning. As you organize your information you are integrating your learning since you decide how to organize and link your information. This organisation requires you to think through of how you think about the information, and why did you categorise it in a certain way. Was there something you had missed? Run it through the artificial systems, export those conversations into your PKM. Organize and arrange it since you are starting to see how it fits together.

What if there are different learning theories out there? Is there a way to apply the model to your notes? Could you structure notes based on that learning model theory? Maybe you want to see where things go as you reorganise your notes according to that learning model. Having AI as your collaborator and the PKM lets you take control of learning on your terms.

The days of quiet sarcasm in the classroom are over. PKM is your knowledge space, own it, shape it, take control of it, it’s yours. Hold yourself accountable for the responsibility of becoming the best version of yourself. Commit to it because regret is had I known better.

Obsidian is intimidating because the blank space overwhelms you but it’s just the freedom to learn, curate and structure your notes to reflect your thinking is terrifying, how will you shape and plan your canvas, there’s just too many options, What works best for you? Get to it to find out.

Prior to AI, when it came to learning, you would have to follow a timeline because you lacked a necessary know-how to reach your end point to accomplish something. You can use AI to customize a track for you, very specific to you, through conversations as it narrows down, maybe you learn a few different things but you are trying to tie it back to the main thing, a unique module just for you. Do it.

Factors to consider when you learn something, you should ask yourself this question, what is the payoff of what you learn, what is the time to acquire what you learn over a short term or long term, how will it be important to you, does it fall under self-indulgence, if so how does it meet your overall goal, is there a way to tie it all together, how do your organize your priorities of your learning journey? How will it give back to you, and how would it help you accomplish your future goals? Information is power. Applied information is better.

Analyst: Researcher, information connoisseur

Obsidian can also store pdf or images. You can collect a repository of resources and organize them. You’ve got a couple of reports to check out, you are excited to review this, you ve got a killer book in the works or the ultimate epic business proposal integrating all the information from various sources, including AI systems.

You are deconstructing the report or book, as you organise the deconstruction of the report, you see an overlap of the different reports. Observing your deconstruction of the report from the third person as you accumulate more information. Test ideas in real-world contexts, such as applying a new concept in a project, and refine your understanding based on outcomes. Could I keep my financial sheets, receipts and important documents in place for management? You can.

Content creators: writers, media, etc

You’ve found everything I just shared a bit overwhelming, you have lots of questions, and this is good and healthy. How about trying this? You’re a writer or a social media consultant. You have been attending events, using the Obsidian mobile app you are private blogging your move in the city, this is offline blogging. You come across a business card, looking at it you take a picture because you think it might be important. While Obsidian’s mobile app doesn’t let you take photos directly, you can snap a picture with your phone’s camera, share it to Obsidian, and embed it in a note, creating a visual node in your knowledge network.

As a writer exploring data logging as a means to see yourself from the outside, as the notes expand, you are starting to report a piece on the observations of the city. Little by little, a commentary description is writing itself. Engage with online communities, such as forums or professional groups, to discover new perspectives and resources.

Addressing PKM Criticisms

Finally, it’s worth considering some criticism of PKM. The complaints being that some people spend so much time organizing their notes that they take on optimization as the main activity admiring their notes rather than an actionable outcome. I think people should not feel a pressure to fulfil a purpose; integrating a PKM into practice is a good way to ride out an AI future. Factor a practice in which:

• Dedicate 20 minutes daily to organizing notes, prioritising actionable outcomes like projects or shared insights.

• Balance reflection with practical application, ensuring your second brain fuels real-world results.

• Avoid over-optimization in note-taking.

It's like watching a slow burn movie that starts boring but becomes interesting as you step back to see the bigger picture.

Benefits of PKM and Connectivism

PKM enhance learning agility by curating and connecting information, learners stay adaptable in fast-changing fields. Personalized Knowledge Systems allows learners to tailor their knowledge management to their needs, while connectivism ensures access to perspectives.

You can optionally exchange notes to share insights to strengthen networks, fostering mutual learning and innovation as a kind of modular learning for collaborative growth. It is a means of resilience to information overload, filtering and organising information reduces overwhelm, enabling focus on what matters.

Building and maintaining a knowledge network demands time; learners must balance active participation with focused reflection. Obsidian is a note-taking software and the freedom of how an application functionality could be extended from plugins to accommodate the needs of user’s management of their information bank.

In summary:

• Learning Agility: Curate and connect information to stay adaptable in fast-changing fields.

• Personalized Systems: Tailor your knowledge management to your needs.

• Resilience to Overload: Too much information (info paralysis). Filter information to focus on what matters.

• Collaborative Growth: Share insights with networks to foster mutual learning.

Important: Before you start a new vault, create the main folder on a sync drive. Work on your files directly from there, as this would sync your files rather than a manual update. I would go as far as to recommend that you adopt this approach for all your activities on your computer which is never spoken about as it falls under the category of “best practice” advice, which is optional rather than essential.

Conclusion: Your knowledge is fuel for agency

Obsidian and Connectivism empower you to own your learning, transforming scattered information into a networked “second brain.” Your knowledge is yours to shape. Start small with Obsidian—create one note, link one idea, share one insight.

Maybe you will find the answers [daydreaming], as you come around the bends looking at your integrated knowledge map, you will do something about what you see, so you can have a [nice dream] [The best you can is good enough].

References

https://www.xda-developers.com/free-obsidian-plugin-turns-voice-notes-pc/

https://www.wgu.edu/blog/connectivism-learning-theory2105.html

https://thecreativelife.net/second-brain/

https://www.xda-developers.com/i-found-best-open-source-obsidian-alternatives/

https://360learning.com/guide/learning-theories/connectivism-learning-theory/