PIM Methods

Last week I participated as a guest in a Knowledge Management course.  During my week in the course the class was studying personal knowledge management and our discussions were focused on this topic.  Participating in this discussion allowed me to reflect on my past approaches to personal knowledge management; especially as our discussions inevitably lead to personal information management.

Since I have always been a stickler for organization, I soon embraced personal information strategies as I entered the workforce.  Perhaps this started with my TrapperKeeper in grade school.  Once in the workplace I began using software like Sidekick but adopted the Franklin Planner after attending a professional time management seminar on the Covey method.  After sticking with the Franklin Planner for many years I moved back into technology once the Palm was released where I used the Palm III (and later the Palm V) with my Outlook software.  From there I tried the PocketPC, Lotus Organizer, Ecco Pro, and the BlueSky planning calendar.  Now I find myself armed with a iPhone with access to my email, calendar, contacts, and Remember the Milk task list.

My PIM tools over the years have changed and so has my approach to my personal information management.  After years of following the Covey planning method of my Franklin Planner, I read Getting Things Done and discovered a more dynamic way to task management.  I also found that Remember the Milk as a closer match to this GTD method than Covey's planning system method.

One thing we learned this week in the Knowledge Management course is that personal knowledge management and personal information management are exactly that; personal.  Each individual has their own working style and this style may also be influenced by the position and the organizational culture.  Tools that work for me may not work for others.  Experimenting and discovery is the key to finding a successful PIM or PKM method.