Personal Knowledge Management with AI

Your Brain is for Thinking, Not Storage

You read articles, attend meetings, learn new things daily—then forget 90% of it. A personal knowledge management (PKM) system with AI changes that.

PKM Tools Overview

Notion (Most popular, AI-integrated)

• Database + documents
• AI features: summarization, writing
• Free for personal use
• Best for: All-in-one workspace

Obsidian (Best for networked thinking)

• Markdown-based
• Links between notes
• Plugins for AI
• Best for: Deep thinkers, writers

Evernote (Classic note-taking)

• Web clipper
• AI search and suggestions
• Best for: Simple capture and search

Apple Notes + ChatGPT (Simplest)

• Native, fast
• Use ChatGPT separately for AI features
• Best for: Apple users who want simplicity

This module uses Notion (beginner-friendly + powerful)

The PARA Method

Organize everything into 4 categories:

Projects (active, have end date)

• Client work
• Personal goals
• Anything with a deadline

Areas (ongoing responsibilities)

• Health
• Career development
• Relationships
• Finances

Resources (topics of interest)

• AI learning
• Marketing
• Productivity
• Hobbies

Archives (inactive)

• Completed projects
• Old areas
• Reference material

Everything you save goes in one of these four buckets.

Setting Up Notion PKM

Step 1: Create main databases

Notes database:

• Title
• Type (Meeting, Article, Idea, Learning)
• Category (Project/Area/Resource)
• Tags
• Date created
• Status (New, Processing, Completed)

Step 2: Create capture templates

Meeting notes template:

• Meeting title
• Date
• Attendees
• Agenda
• Notes
• Action items
• Next steps

Article/learning template:

• Source URL
• Key takeaways (3-5 bullets)
• How I'll use this
• Related notes (links)

Idea template:

• Idea title
• Why this matters
• Next steps
• Related ideas

Step 3: Set up quick capture

• Notion mobile app for quick capture
• Desktop: Cmd+N for new note

AI-Powered Capture

Capture from articles:

Option 1: Use Notion Web Clipper

• Browser extension
• Saves full article to Notion
• Then use Notion AI to summarize

Option 2: ChatGPT Summary Pipeline

1. Read article
2. Copy key sections
3. Prompt: "Summarize these key points from [article title]: [paste]. Extract 3-5 actionable takeaways."
4. Save summary to Notion

Capture from meetings:

1. Record with Otter.ai
2. Get AI summary
3. ChatGPT: "Extract action items and key decisions from this meeting summary: [paste]"
4. Save to Notion meeting template

Capture from videos/podcasts:

1. Use YouTube transcript or Otter
2. ChatGPT: "Create a structured summary of this transcript: [paste]. Include main topics, key insights, and timestamp references."
3. Save to Notion

AI Tagging and Organization

Let AI suggest tags:

Prompt:

Suggest 3-5 relevant tags for this note:

[paste note content]

Tags should be:
- Broad enough to group related notes
- Specific enough to be useful
- From this list if applicable: [your existing tags]

Auto-categorize notes:

Prompt:

Categorize this note using PARA:
- Project (active work, has deadline)
- Area (ongoing responsibility)
- Resource (reference, learning)
- Archive (completed, inactive)

Note: [paste]

Also suggest which specific project/area/resource.

Building a Second Brain

Capture everything worth keeping:

• Meeting notes
• Article summaries
• Book highlights
• Ideas
• Learnings
• Templates
• Procedures

Process weekly (30 min):

1. Review unprocessed notes
2. Add tags and categories (AI helps)
3. Link related notes
4. Extract action items to task list
5. Archive completed items

Retrieve instantly with AI search:

• Notion's AI search
• Or: Export notes → ChatGPT: "Search my notes for information about [topic]: [paste relevant notes]"

AI-Enhanced Note-Taking

During meetings:

Traditional: Type everything verbatim (distracting)

AI-enhanced:

1. Otter.ai records and transcribes
2. You focus on participating
3. After: Otter AI summary
4. ChatGPT: Extract action items and key points
5. Add to Notion with links to full transcript

From books/articles:

Traditional: Highlight and hope you remember

AI-enhanced:

1. Highlight key passages
2. Export highlights (Readwise, Kindle)
3. ChatGPT: "Synthesize these highlights into a concise summary with 3 main takeaways: [paste]"
4. Save to Notion with source link

Linking Ideas (Zettelkasten Method)

Connect notes to build knowledge:

Every note should link to 2-3 related notes:

• Similar concepts
• Contrasting viewpoints
• Applications of idea
• Sources and derivatives

AI helps find connections:

Prompt:

I have this note: [paste current note]

Here are my other recent notes: [paste titles/summaries]

Which notes should I link this to and why?

Over time: Network of interconnected knowledge

AI Search and Retrieval

Finding information fast:

Notion AI search:

• Natural language queries
• "What did we decide about the pricing model?"
• "Notes from meetings with John"
• "Resources about productivity systems"

ChatGPT-enhanced search:

When Notion search isn't enough:

1. Export relevant notes/database
2. ChatGPT: "From these notes, find information about [specific query]: [paste notes]"
3. AI surfaces exact information with context

Weekly Review Process

Friday afternoon (30 min):

1. Process inbox (10 min):

• Tag new notes
• Categorize into PARA
• Link to related notes

2. Review projects (10 min):

• Update status
• Extract next actions
• Archive completed

3. Capture learnings (5 min):

• What did I learn this week?
• What worked/didn't work?
• What to remember for next week?

4. Plan next week (5 min):

• Review upcoming projects
• Relevant resources to reference
• Templates to reuse

Templates Library

Create reusable templates:

Project template:

• Goal
• Success metrics
• Timeline
• Resources needed
• Meeting notes
• Decisions log
• Action items

Daily note template:

• Top 3 priorities
• Schedule
• Notes/learnings
• Tomorrow's prep

Resource summary template:

• Source
• Summary (AI-generated)
• Key takeaways
• How to apply
• Related notes

Save templates in Notion. Duplicate when needed.

AI-Generated Insights

Monthly review with AI:

Prompt:

Here are summaries of my notes from the past month:
[paste note titles and summaries]

Analyze and provide:
1. Main themes/topics I focused on
2. Patterns in my learning
3. Knowledge gaps I should address
4. How concepts are connecting
5. Recommendations for next month's focus

AI becomes your thinking partner.

Knowledge Management Workflows

Workflow 1: Article capture

1. Save article to Notion Web Clipper
2. Notion AI: Summarize
3. You: Add key takeaways
4. AI: Suggest tags and category
5. Link to related notes

Workflow 2: Meeting capture

1. Otter.ai records meeting
2. AI summary generated
3. ChatGPT: Extract actions and decisions
4. Save to Notion meeting database
5. Create tasks from action items

Workflow 3: Learning synthesis

1. Collect notes from courses/books
2. ChatGPT: "Synthesize these learnings into a cohesive mental model: [paste notes]"
3. Save synthesis note
4. Link to source notes

Common PKM Mistakes

Over-organizing:

• Don't spend more time organizing than creating
• Simple system > perfect system

Not capturing:

• Ideas you don't write down are lost
• Capture quick, process later

Not reviewing:

• Notes you never revisit are wasted effort
• Weekly review is critical

Hoarding without synthesizing:

• Saving ≠ learning
• Use AI to synthesize into insights

Measuring PKM Success

Track quarterly:

• Notes captured: [number]
• Notes processed (tagged/linked): [%]
• Notes retrieved (searched): [number]
• Time to find information: [seconds]
• Ideas generated from connections: [number]

Goal: Create more than you consume