Most of the discussion about knowledge management systems relates to systems put in place by companies and other organizations made of many people—but what about personal knowledge management? With all the pieces of data the average person in today’s world must juggle, it is easy to become disorganized and to lose track of one’s own information. Many people never take the time to organize their information, instead relying on a patchwork of tools that are neither integrated nor particularly organized. That’s where personal knowledge management comes in. It’s a new concept, but it’s rapidly gaining traction.

Defining personal knowledge management and making recommendations for its use can be difficult, however, as the word “personal” truly is operative here. A system that works for one person may not work for another, and there are ultimately as many different systems as there are people. Still, it is possible to define some overlying characteristics that most effective personal knowledge management systems should have.

Integration

The best personal knowledge management systems should integrate as many aspects of knowledge as possible. And knowledge doesn’t just include information that must be kept and remembered indefinitely. It also includes fleeting bits of information that you need to know for a little while and then can forget. For example, the system can include to-do lists, appointments, emails and reading material that need to be caught up on, and so on. Integrating such items with permanent information is one of the challenges.

Avoiding overcomplexity

When we start considering all the items that can be integrated together into a personal knowledge management system, it starts to seem rather large and complex. This is one of those cases where there is always a danger that excessive attention to organization will simply add another time-consuming task onto one’s already busy life. That’s why the best personal knowledge systems should be integrated into one’s habits so that they are as user-friendly as possible.

For this reason, the best personal knowledge system you can design for yourself will probably involve the computer that you use most often. In fact, your personal knowledge system may simply comprise a small group of programs and apps that run in the background and require minimal effort to run and maintain.

Flexibility

Another problem with designing a personal knowledge management system is that there is always a risk of it becoming too rigid. It is important to be able to recognize where your system isn’t working and to correct inefficiencies, or else you’ll be tied to yet another time-consuming task. If an element of your system isn’t working, try to have no qualms about simply throwing it out. Continual renewal is part of any good system.

Staying on top of things

With any personal knowledge management system, one thing to remember is that there is no such thing as total automation. Some elements can of course be aided with technology, but good organization requires that the user have a little discipline. For example, when you need to enter an appointment into your system, do it immediately instead of putting it off. These little things may seem cumbersome at times, but good organization always requires at least a little work.