Natural Seeking, Intuitive Sense-Making, Economical Sharing
This week we are going to recap Level 2 of Maslow’s Hierarchy and map the different topics to the concept of Personal Knowledge Management (PKM).
Introduction and Connection to Last week:
Last week, we touched on self-regulation and how automation can be used to recalibrate our regulation systems.
This week, I thought it would be a good idea to map and recap the different elements of Maslow’s Hierarchy Level 2: Financial Security and Mental Safety (see Entry #6 for the overview of this Level).
We have covered a lot of topics and concepts over the last 5 weeks and you may be wondering how they all tie together.
The answer? Augmented Personal Knowledge Management (PKM).
Let’s dive in ✨
What is Personal Knowledge Management?
Personal knowledge management (PKM) or personal knowledge mastery can be defined as:
An individual, disciplined process by which we make sense of information, observations and ideas.
You likely have a PKM system, even if you have not thought about it in that way. However, most PKM systems are not ready to handle the amount of information we consume on a regular basis.
We consume an absurd amount of information each day. In fact, we consume more information in one day than a person in the 1500s did in their entire lifetime.
This volume of information is overwhelming to say the least. To help prevent burnout and that feeling of being overwhelmed, we need to establish systems that help us filter information to avoid information overload. That said, we want to be very intentional about our filtering processes so that we do not filter out valuable information.
Most people do not think about this problem. Instead, they doomscroll on social media, consuming more and more information without applying filters to what they are consuming. This indiscriminate (unfiltered) scrolling puts them at the whim of social media and news algorithms whose sole intent is to try and make money from their attention.
Capitalism does not care that your attention span is shortening and that you feel burnt out from information overload. It cares about making money. I highly recommend reading Stolen Focus to learn more about this problem.
While we cannot solve this problem easily at a systemic level (though collectively, we can try), we can work to improve how we each individually process information through personal knowledge management workflows.
The systems used for information processing will vary from person to person and content type to content type. It is a unique processing system that uses a personalized filter to control information intake and forge useful knowledge from that information.
What you find interesting and valuable, someone else will find useless and boring. The goal is to find something that works for you.
Personally, I can get decision fatigue and organizational paralysis when I receive too much information. I overthink where I should put the information and how it can best be used. I use a PKM to help solve these personal issues.
I like to think of PKM as a way to keep my thoughts and knowledge organized, while also providing a workflow structure that optimizes the generation of new and original ideas.
A PKM system helps reduce the decisions I make on a daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly basis by filtering new information into a place it will be the most effective within my system and life.
Seek, Sense, Share
Referring to the graphic below, there are three parts to a PKM:
- SEEK new information and experiences;
- make SENSE of the new information (converting it to knowledge); and
- SHARE the knowledge and information with our social networks.
By creating workflows for our information intake, we establish boundaries on the types and amount of information we receive on a daily basis. These workflows can improve the quality of the information we receive while also reducing the volume of information to make it more manageable. Furthermore, sharing with our networks can validate our thinking and generate network effects (more on that later).
In Building a Second Brain by Tiago Forte, Tiago refers to note-taking within a PKM using the CODE method: Capture, Organize, Distill, Express.
Mapping CODE to the above PKM graphic:
Capture = Seeking
Organizing and Distilling = Sensing
Expressing = Sharing
In other words, we can seek new information and experiences, capturing them in a way that works individually. Some common capturing include: notes, journalling, poetry, art, photos, voice notes, and more. We can then review the captured information and organize (filter) it into its proper location within our PKM system.
When reviewing the information, we can distill it to its essence, convert it to knowledge, and make it easier to review in the future (saving us time and energy). Once distilled, we can express the knowledge by sharing it with others to foster community and validate information.
If you would like more information on the structure and processes of a PKM, this article has a great overview on Networked Learning and PKM. Here’s a quick summary:
By seeking, sensing and sharing on an individual basis, we create the building blocks for a dynamic community of knowledge workers, continuously pushing at the edges of our disciplines. Network learning lays the foundation for the ongoing process of idea management, a necessity in complex work environments that require continuous adaptation. This sharing and using of ideas is at the core of business innovation.
Recapping and Mapping to Personal Knowledge Management
In the Recalibrating Series: Level 2 of Maslow’s Hierarchy, we have focused on the first two parts of the PKM system (seeking and sensing) and have briefly touched on the third part (sharing). We have also talked about the concept of a second brain to improve the mental health and efficiency of creators and knowledge workers by augmenting our income generating flywheels.
Let me share my map of what we’ve covered so far and relate the map to the PKM model to help you make sense of what you’ve sought so far.
Note: I will continue expanding on these topics for my paid subscribers. If you find the concepts of PKM and building a second brain helpful (i.e., making sense of information overload), please consider upgrading to a paid subscription to learn more about my solution and to join the community ✨
Part I of PKM: Natural Seeking
Much of our society focuses on what we should do instead of what we actually want to do. We are conditioned to seek certain types of information and experiences and value them more than others, even if we do not particularly resonate with them.
This lack of resonance is, in part, caused by hierarchical organizations that prioritize money over employee happiness and mental health. We are told to do things “the way they have always been done”.
This is not the way.
Let’s take a look at Entries 6-10 to see how they come into play. Note that the capitalized phrases are subtitles of the Entries to provide additional context.
In Entry #6: Financial Security and Mental Safety, I talk about Prioritizing Individual Mental Models for Income Generation. I provide an overview of operating as a creator/knowledge worker in the modern era of the Internet Economy and the Creator Economy, explaining how the value of intangible (non-physical) assets has risen by 430% over the last 50 years.
The existing models were designed for working with physical goods (industrial revolution) or as a part of systems that required working in-person (traditional knowledge work). With the Internet, these models are outdated for many types of income generation (work).
The existing mental models of “working” lead to burnout and feeling overwhelmed. This burnout and overwhelm applies to corporations and creators alike, with corporate employees trying to keep up with outdated practices and creators trying to keep up with inhuman algorithms. Clearly, there has to be a better way to operate.
If you want to learn more about burnout recovery methods, I have an intro article here.
Instead of looking forwards to solve this problem, I propose looking backwards. In Entry #7: Building a Sustainable Creation System, I talk about Analyzing Natural Self-Expression To Identify Existing Value.
Instead of thinking: “what can I do to make money in the creator economy”, ask: “what am I already doing naturally that could be reframed in a valuable way for others?”
The Creator Economy thrives on authenticity. The best way for me to assess what could be valuable for others is to identify what I am already doing to bring value to myself. Creation should inherently be something that is for yourself first.
In other words, to determine what to SEEK as part of your PKM, look backwards to see what you have naturally been seeking all along. These existing experiences and information will provide a natural compass to point you in your direction.
This compass is not fixed to a specific “right” direction. Instead, it is something that should be recalibrated on a regular basis to ensure you are still going in a way that works for you. Our society often encourages a lack of change and growth, but this stagnation arises from fear and is not to be trusted.
Part II of PKM: Intuitive Sense-Making By Learning and Reflection
Continuing with Entry #7, I discus the impact of self-reflection and analysis. Phrased another way, making SENSE of what you have been SEEKing.
In a way, this Entry #11 is a form of making sense of Entries 6-10 that came before it. I am analyzing the information I have researched and produced, reflecting on its meaning and how I can recalibrate my systems to make more sense than before.
In Entry #7, I also discuss Bloom’s Taxonomy and how information can be processed to develop knowledge and maximize its impact.
Reflection is an important part of the PKM system. If we do not review what we have done, how can we assess the impact of our actions? This reflection process should consider the types of actions we like doing, but also the types of action that burn us out (discussed more in Entry #8).
Developing mindfulness and metacognition (thinking about thinking) skills are a great way to reflect and analyze our PKM systems. I discuss both of these topics at length in Entry #10. Additionally, here is an introduction to mindfulness.
That said, while mindfulness will continue to make regular appearances within this newsletter, my continued discussion of metacognition and its application to life and PKM systems will be mostly behind a paywall for my paid subscribers. If you are interested in learning how to organize your thoughts better and to think differently, please consider supporting me by upgrading to a paid subscription ✨
Part III of PKM: Economical Sharing by Generating Passive Income
With the Sustainable Creation System and the concept of 1000 True Fans talked about in Entry #7, I expand on these topics in Entry #8: Creating Income Without Burnout. This system is designed to Maximize Momentum and Minimize Friction of a passive income flywheel.
To generate income, we must leverage the third part of the PKM model: SHARE. Publishing content (including creations and knowledge work) to the public is an essential act that spins the passive income flywheel.
If we do not share the information we have consumed and the knowledge we have gained, there can be no external impact, AKA no passive income generation.
To assist with the publication process, we can leverage new and existing technologies, such as automation systems and AI. In Entry #9, How to Learn to Live With AI, I talk about using AI as a tool to augment creation and knowledge work. In Entry #10, Automating Self-Regulation to Solve Future Problems, Now, I talk about how our habit systems can be used to our advantage to solve our consistent problems.
That said, these tools are merely that, tools to help share my publications. To meaningfully increase the impact of my publications, I need to build our 1000 True Fans. Community.
Summary of Personal Knowledge Management
In summary, to maintain Financial Security and Mental Safety, we can:
- seek out what we have already been doing;
- make sense through analysis (metacognition) and self-reflection, creating based on what we are seeking;
- share what we have created to spin our passive income flywheels, generating financial security over time.
It is important to recognize that financial security from passive income does not happen immediately. It is a slow build over time. 1% better every day is 37 times better than last year (one of my favourite quotes from Atomic Habits).
The greatest impact on a passive income system will come from fostering a community (1000 True Fans) to support you.
But what does it mean to “foster a community”?
To answer that question, we must move onwards, outwards, and upwards to Level 3 of Maslow’s Hierarchy: Belonging and Love (Community).
Looking Ahead: Storytelling as Social Sharing
With an understanding of the Seek and the Sense portions of PKM and one aspect of sharing (passive income generation), we have now finished our review of Level 2 of Maslow’s Hierarchy: Financial Security and Mental Safety. This entry brings an end to the physiological needs of the hierarchy.
The third part of PKM , sharing, bridges perfectly into the next level of Maslow’s Hierarchy: Belonging and Love Needs (Community), the first aspect of psychological needs. To address this topic, we will be reviewing the most ancient and effective form of sharing: Story.
Stay tuned ✨
P.S. I realize there is much more to be said about the topics we covered in Level 2. Metacognition, second brains, AI, passive income, automation systems, etc. These topics take a lot of time and energy for me to elaborate on as I structure a natural creation system template for myself and others.
In light of the extra effort I am putting into this system, I am saving my most valuable discussions for my paid subscribers. If you are interested in learning more about PKM, using AI, and building automated income systems (all as a part of your second brain), please consider upgrading your subscription to paid. Your support means more than you know 😌 ✨
If you are not interested in a paid subscription but would like to show your support, feel free to buy me a coffee to help keep my energy levels up as I write more ☕️ 📝
P.P.S. You may have heard of the Blue Supermoon this week. I managed to capture it despite the clouds and have shared it on my print shop in extremely high resolution. Check it out if you’re interested in seeing one of my best moon photos to date:
