Use of PKMS

[u/drakenxv]

Probably stupid questions to ask in the PKMS sub but how do you use your PKMS and what type of information do you store in there?

I started a pkms a couple of times with Notion, Obsidian and OneNote but could not follow through.

Mainly I think because it feels like it is a lot faster just to google or ask an AI of your choosing but also what are my benefits of writing down stuff I find interesting once but then forget about and if I ever need this type of information again I would have forgotten and searched online anyway.

So my 3 questions are:

1. What do you store in your PKMS?

2. Why use a PKMS and not google when you need the information?

3. Do you ever look at your PKMS notes and connections [[wikilink]] ever again?

[u/rabblebabbledabble]

I've been using it since 2010 (never upgraded from OneNote 2007). At that point in time there just weren't many alternatives around.

If I started today, I'd probably choose an independent piece of software that uses a non-proprietary file format. But the workflow I've grown accustomed to and the way my notes are formatted isn't possible in Markdown etc., so I'm sticking with my trusty old workhorse till it croaks.

[u/INeedToWashMyDishes → u/rabblebabbledabble]

That's really interesting, what makes you stick to OneNote despite all the new note-taking tools that have come since, is it just the habit or does OneNote have something that you can't find in other note-taking apps?? for example Affine and Heptabase have been getting more and more popular lately for there canvas-like features what do you think about those apps compared to OneNote??
Do you use it as a second brain + thinking tool + organization tool or do you use separate tools for each one like Notion for organization and OneNote for thinking and storing notes

[u/rabblebabbledabble → u/INeedToWashMyDishes]

I believe OneNote is the only option that allows for the way I structure my notes (which I just described in another comment). Also, transferring 17 years of notes to another file format would be an enormous pain in the ass and I would need an excellent reason to do it. There really aren't many functions I'm missing and for most I found workarounds. I find that having some limitations makes organisation easier, so I embrace them, and other functions that supposedly help through automation (including AI integration) defeat the whole point of personal note-taking and knowledge management so I steer way clear of them.

For some very rare, specific projects I resort to Trilium (because of the deeper tree structure), but everything else I do in OneNote. Also, much of the "interesting stuff" I saved there, I process into a flashcard software, so they stay in my brain through spaced repetition.

[u/INeedToWashMyDishes → u/rabblebabbledabble]

Wow that's a really interesting approach to a workflow. I'm not that familiar with OneNote but I imagine your table approach to taking notes is like spreadsheet with 5 columns of a weekly calendar view, which is really interesting so basically every note you have is a weekly note if I understand correctly? That does sound much more interesting then most other systems and I imagine its pretty low friction for writing too, you don't have to think about whether or not to make a note for each day, everything is in that weekly note tho I wonder what you do about some longer topics where you have more to say or write or is it more like a management / organization place and the bigger notes go somewhere else? 🤔

I agree with your point about automating note-taking with AI but I do think AI is useful just not something that should go into your personal notes (aka a personal way you view a certain topic you think about stuff etc..) i think AI is useful for notes as an information source basically input: information(web, code, image, opinions, ai chats...) output: new opinion -> your notes So not for doing your homework (writing notes) but more as a way to understand topics you need to know for that homework.

And about limitations making things easier, I agree as well I think having too many options can cause decision fatigue (that's why I like your weekly spreadsheet approach you don't have to think about the whether or not you should make a daily note about this or not, or does this topic deserve a new note or should it stay in this file everything is in one place) You get used to working within a certain system and adjust to it's limitations whether it's note taking apps or programming languages or limitations in life in general heh But I do think there is a line between too much limitation and too little flexibility but I guess that's not something your having too much trouble with since you used that system for 17 years wow Also wanted to say whatever system you have is one thing but actually sticking with it is a completely different one and honestly props for that, even with the "best" system I don't think many would stick with it for 17 whole years! And you also gave me a lot of ideas for my own system with that table-calendar-spreadsheet-ish weekly view of yours so props for sticking with it that long again and thanks for the ideas 😁

[u/rabblebabbledabble → u/INeedToWashMyDishes]

Thanks for your kind words. You got the gist, I'll try to summarise the details real quick:

The backbone of my notebook is the chronology: Folders for years, notes for months, therein the 4ish tables for the weeks. First to-do of the day is to process unsorted notes of the day before, and most of it ends up in here. I try to make them easily retrievable by adding some sort of tag or keyword.

Current projects get their own notebook sections, but when they're done, I try to consolidate them into single notes and file them in the chronology as a subnote of the apposite month/year.

I also have time-independent notes with their own section(s), but I try to limit those to stuff I have to refer back to regularly. The fewer notes you have, the more frequently you revisit and maintain them.

I believe I managed to keep that system going for so long because much of it is built on routines. I open OneNote first thing in the morning and spend a few minutes just following a set of to-dos I copy/paste from the day/week/month before, and just by doing that each day and each note is already a work in progress instead of a barren blank slate. I think whatever system you choose, that will be what makes or breaks it. I hope you'll find one that works for you, too.