Study less, get more Results: the Madness of Personal Knowledge Management

Hey everyone,

recently, I found out that I'm a huge PKM (Personal Knowledge Management) Nerd. This means that I am passionate about productivity software and constantly conduct research to identify the most suitable system to integrate into my daily routine. The more sophisticated the organizational system becomes, the greater the potential results it can yield.

I have previously discussed TickTick in one of my blog posts and continued to utilize the app until now. The app offers an advantage over simply jotting down tasks because it is specifically designed to enhance productivity. And all in all, it's a great way to get started with organizing your life with a simple yet effective GUI.

But as I'm documenting my progression, I inevitably have to mention the next programs I want to transition to. I'm talking about well-known powerhouses:

Notion and Obsidian

Both of these programs offer a steeper learning curve compared to TickTick. For example, Notion looks like this:

And Obsidian looks like this:

Notion

Notion is unique in that it goes beyond the typical task management app (like TickTick) and offers a powerful text editor that allows for extensive customization.

While it does offer the traditional task management features such as deadlines, tags, and priorities, it also provides the ability to link and format text, images, and other types of data in any way you can imagine. This level of customization allows users to tailor the app to their specific needs, creating a highly personalized and efficient experience. Additionally, Notion's collaborative capabilities and support for multimedia make it an ideal tool for teams, students, and anyone looking to better organize and manage information.

Obsidian

Obsidian has the steepest learning curve out of the programs I've mentioned so far. As you can judge by the image I provided, the GUI can look intimidating at first, but it goes way beyond anything you could imagine. While Notion is a solid choice for note-taking and task organization, Obsidian excels as a particularly powerful tool for note-taking and personal knowledge management.

The program operates on a unique and clever note-taking system that allows users to interlink notes in a way that forms a network of ideas. This is made possible through the use of a backlinking system, which automatically creates links between notes based on the content they share. These links can be used to navigate between related notes and build a more comprehensive understanding of a particular topic.

This means that you will start to notice connections between thoughts you had, that you never noticed before, and obsidian literally does that for you! That's partly what creativity is about, finding connections that others have never thought of.

What both applications offer

An essential characteristic of both apps is their affordability. Notion and Obsidian are both completely free for individual users, which is a fantastic reason to download them right now and try them out yourself.

While many people recommend either Notion or Obsidian as powerful productivity and knowledge management tools, I find the idea of combining both apps into a single system particularly compelling. By leveraging the unique strengths of each app, such a system has the potential to be completely overpowered. Such a system could mean a lot less studying, or even none, even in university.

Additionally, another useful feature of Notion and Obsidian is their ability to automatically import book highlights from readwise.io, keeping all your notes organized in one place. This feature can be particularly helpful for students or those who read frequently.

Conclusion

In conclusion, finding the right productivity software is important for personal knowledge management. Notion and Obsidian offer powerful features beyond TickTick, including a customizable interface, collaborative capabilities, and unique note-taking systems. Additionally, both apps are completely free for individual users, making them highly accessible options. By combining the strengths of both apps, users can create an efficient and personalized system to improve their productivity and learning.

Give Notion and Obsidian a try today and have a beautiful Sunday!