Internalizing insight and knowledge from content requires deliberate pacing and repetition

[[ 2021-12-18 ]] #information-curation #internet #pkm

Ever since I discovered the world of PKM, my relationship to content and my approach to content consumption has changed a lot. One of the most notable changes is “static” content. Rather than simply consuming a whole bunch of things, whether videos, articles or books, in a constant, endless stream, I find myself stopping, thinking about the information being presented and how it may relate to my other notes. I ask myself, “do I care enough about this information to create flashcards to memorize it in the long run?”

Sometimes, I return to the same article multiple times, scanning through it for more bits of insight to be turned into atomic notes in my zettelkasten.

This approach feels a lot slower and less productive. But the output, usually flashcards and atomic notes, are tangible and can compound, whereas fleeting intangible thoughts that are not externalized rarely go anywhere ( [[ personal knowledge management is a way to process information for the purpose of creating knowledge that compounds throughout life ]]).