Boost Your Note-Taking: 10 More Essential PKM Tips for Beginners & Beyond

Summary

In this video, Dan, a cloud cost infrastructure billing specialist, shares beginner-friendly tips for note-taking and personal knowledge management. He emphasizes starting simple with note-taking tools like Obsidian, focusing on note-taking and recall, and prioritizing personal ideas over others. Dan advises developing habits for consistency, creating a mashup system from various sources, and discovering plugins based on needs rather than browsing randomly. He stresses writing first and organizing later, building a trustworthy system, and outsourcing decision-making for tools. Finally, he encourages writing notes with future self in mind, ensuring clarity and detail for easy recall.

Takeaways

• 📝 **Start Simple**: Begin with basic note-taking without getting overwhelmed by complex tools or systems.
• 🔧 **Customize to Fit**: Tailor note-taking systems to personal needs, making them as simple or complex as desired.
• ⏱️ **Focus on Core Activities**: Concentrate on note-taking and recall, ensuring all system enhancements support these activities.
• 💡 **Prioritize Personal Ideas**: While noting others' ideas, give more importance to original thoughts and insights.
• 🚫 **Avoid Overwhelming Details**: Don't note everything; instead, be liberal initially and refine as you understand what's useful.
• 🔁 **Build Habits for Consistency**: Establish daily habits to maintain the note-taking system even when initial excitement fades.
• 🧩 **Create a Mashup System**: Combine elements from various sources to form a unique, personalized note-taking system.
• 🔍 **Discover Plugins Purposefully**: Seek plugins to solve specific needs rather than browsing aimlessly for new features.
• ✍️ **Write First, Organize Later**: Capture ideas immediately and organize, tag, or link later to ensure ideas are not lost.
• 🔗 **Build Trust in Your System**: Develop a reliable system where expected data is always accessible to maintain trust and utility.
• 🔧 **Outsource Decision-Making**: Leverage the expertise of others by adopting their proven tools and processes to save time.
• 📬 **Write for Future Self**: Craft notes with future needs in mind, providing context and details that will be helpful later.

Q & A

What is the main challenge for beginners in personal knowledge management (PKM) and note-taking?

The main challenge for beginners in PKM and note-taking is the overwhelming number of options for note-taking tools and the complexity they can introduce, which can be intimidating and make it difficult to know where to start.

What is the speaker's name and what is his profession?

The speaker's name is Dan, and he is a cloud cost infrastructure billing specialist by trade.

What is the speaker's tool of choice for note-taking and why is it recommended for beginners?

The speaker's tool of choice for note-taking is Obsidian. It is recommended for beginners because the principles discussed in the video are applicable across various tools, making the advice useful regardless of the specific application one chooses.

What are the two core activities in a note-taking system according to the speaker?

The two core activities in a note-taking system are taking notes and recalling notes. All work within the system should be in service of improving one of these two activities.

Why should beginners prioritize their own ideas over someone else's when taking notes?

Beginners should prioritize their own ideas over someone else's because personal ideas offer more flexibility for building connections and eventually create a note-taking system that is unique to the individual, reflecting their thoughts and insights.

What advice does the speaker give regarding the quantity of notes to take when starting out?

The speaker advises beginners to be liberal with note-taking in the beginning, not to stress about writing down everything, and to let their note-taking habits evolve over time to find what works best for them.

How does the speaker suggest maintaining a note-taking system once the initial excitement fades?

The speaker suggests developing habits to maintain the note-taking system once the initial excitement fades. These habits can be as simple as writing a few words daily or reviewing notes on a set schedule.

What is meant by a 'mashup' system in the context of note-taking?

A 'mashup' system refers to a personalized note-taking system that is a combination of various ideas, habits, and practices borrowed from different sources, such as books, YouTubers, or other individuals, rather than a single, unmodified system.

What is the speaker's recommendation on discovering plugins for note-taking tools?

The speaker recommends prioritizing the discovery of plugins based on functionality gaps in one's own note-taking process rather than browsing for inspiration. This approach is more likely to lead to plugins that enhance the individual's specific workflow.

Why is it important to write first and organize later when taking notes?

Writing first and organizing later ensures that the ideas are captured in real-time without the distraction of perfecting the note's structure or format. This approach allows for the initial capture of thoughts, which can be organized and refined later when the immediate context is no longer present.

How can outsourcing decision-making around tools and processes benefit a note-taker?

Outsourcing decision-making around tools and processes can save time and effort by leveraging the expertise of others who have already tested and vetted various tools and workflows. This allows the note-taker to benefit from the experiences of others without having to go through the same trial and error process.

What is the speaker's advice on writing notes for future reference?

The speaker advises writing notes with future self in mind, providing enough context and detail so that the future self can understand the note without needing to remember the specific circumstances of when it was written.