PKM System: The Beginner's Guide to Not Overcomplicating It

You've decided to build a PKM system. You've read about the power of the pkm system. You're ready to capture, organise, and leverage your knowledge within a pkm system.

And now you're lost in a maze of frameworks, tools, and competing advice about your pkm system.

PARA vs Johnny Decimal. Notion vs Obsidian. Zettelkasten vs BASB. Atomic notes vs evergreen notes. The PKM community loves complexity, and that complexity in a pkm system paralyses beginners.

Here's the thing: you don't need any of it.

The beginner's trap

New PKM practitioners make the same mistake: they start with systems instead of behaviour.

They spend weeks researching tools, comparing features, designing folder structures. They build elaborate systems before capturing a single note.

Then they try to use the system and discover it's too complex for their actual workflow. The system dies. They conclude PKM doesn't work for them.

But the system was the problem, not PKM itself.

Start with behaviour

Effective PKM begins with one behaviour: capturing what resonates within your pkm system.

You read an article that sparks an idea? Capture it. You have a thought during a meeting? Capture it. You notice something you want to remember? Capture it.

That's it. No organisation. No categorization. No elaborate process. Just capture.

Once you're capturing consistently—which takes weeks to become habitual—then you can think about organisation. Not before.

The minimum viable PKM

Your first PKM system should be embarrassingly simple:

One capture tool. Pick one. Apple Notes. Google Keep. A physical notebook. Doesn't matter. Just one place where everything goes.

Zero organisation. Don't sort, categorise, tag, or organise anything. Just capture. Let everything pile up.

Simple search. When you need something, search for it. That's your only retrieval method.

This sounds too simple to be useful. It isn't.

You'll capture more because there's no friction. You'll find things because search works. You'll build the habit that more elaborate systems depend on.

When to add complexity

Add complexity only when the simple system fails. Not when you read about cool features. Not when the PKM community recommends something. Only when you hit specific problems.

Problem: "I can't find things with search."

Solution: Add basic folders or tags. Not elaborate hierarchies—just enough structure to assist search.

Problem: "Related notes don't connect."

Solution: Add simple linking. Or use AI tools that suggest connections automatically.

Problem: "I capture too much junk."

Solution: Add a lightweight review process—but only after you've been capturing consistently for months.

Each addition should solve a specific, experienced problem. If you're adding features because they seem cool or because someone recommended them, stop.

The frameworks you don't need

PARA (Projects, Areas, Resources, Archives): This is a legitimate system, but it's organizational overhead you don't need as a beginner. Folders aren't where PKM value comes from. Capture is where value comes from.

Zettelkasten: Beautiful in theory, overwhelming in practice. Atomic notes and dense linking require significant effort per capture. Beginners should capture fast, not craft perfectly.

CODE (Capture, Organise, Distill, Express): The stages after capture require regular processing. Most beginners abandon systems that require ongoing maintenance.

These frameworks were invented by people who'd been doing PKM for years. They're refinements, not foundations. Start with capture, add structure when needed.

The tool question

Beginners obsess over tools. Forums are full of "which app should I use?" questions.

Here's the truth: the tool doesn't matter much. What matters is:

• Capture speed (faster is better)
• Search quality (good search reduces need for organisation)
• Friction (less is more)

Whatever tool you can capture with fastest and search well enough is the right tool. You can always migrate later. Don't let tool research delay actually building your PKM practice.

The first 90 days

Here's a roadmap for your first three months:

Days 1-30: Capture everything.

Use the simplest possible system. Capture anything interesting—articles, thoughts, quotes, ideas. Don't organise. Just capture.

Goal: Develop the capture habit. Make it automatic.

Days 31-60: Notice friction points.

Keep capturing, but pay attention to what's frustrating. Can't find things? Capturing is slow? Notes feel disconnected?

Goal: Identify the specific problems your simple system has.

Days 61-90: Add minimal solutions.

For each friction point, add the minimum change that fixes it. Nothing more.

Goal: Evolve your system based on experience, not theory.

After 90 days, you'll have a PKM system that actually fits your workflow—because it grew from your workflow.

What matters long-term

In five years, what will determine your PKM success isn't the framework or tool. It's consistency.

A simple system used daily beats an elaborate system used occasionally. A messy capture habit beats a perfect organizational structure you never build.

The PKM practitioners who succeed aren't the ones with the most sophisticated systems. They're the ones who keep capturing, year after year.

Sophistication can come later. Capture must come first.

My personal experience

I've been building PKM systems for years. My current system is simpler than what I started with.

Early systems had elaborate folder structures, detailed tagging, careful processing workflows. They all failed—too much maintenance.

My current system: browser extension for instant capture, AI for automatic organisation, search for retrieval. That's it. I capture more, maintain less, and find things faster than any previous system.

Simple scales. Complex collapses.

The beginner's advantage

As a beginner, you have an advantage: no bad habits to unlearn.

PKM veterans carry baggage—elaborate systems they maintain through sheer momentum, organizational choices they'd never make today, tools they're too invested in to leave.

You can start fresh with the simplest possible approach. Don't squander that advantage by adopting someone else's complexity.

Build tiny. Stay tiny as long as possible. Add complexity only when you've earned it through experience.

That's the beginner's guide to PKM that no one tells you: the best system is the one that barely feels like a system at all.

Ultrathink is PKM without the complexity. Instant capture. Automatic organisation. Start simple, stay simple. Try it free.