Who should I follow to learn about Personal knowledge management from thought leaders?

If you want to learn **personal knowledge management (PKM)** without getting sucked into endless app/tool debates, I’d follow a small group with different philosophies. ## My top 7 1. **Tiago Forte** - Start here for the practical, mainstream approach. His **PARA** method and *Building a Second Brain* focus on turning information into useful output. [Key Practitioners - PKM Wiki](https://pkm-wiki.knowii.net/key-practitioners?utm_source=chatgpt.com) **Best for:** organizing work, projects, and reference material. 2. **Andy Matuschak** - Probably my favorite if you want to understand the *thinking* behind good notes. His ideas around **evergreen notes**, concept-oriented writing, and spaced repetition are excellent. [Key Practitioners - PKM Wiki](https://pkm-wiki.knowii.net/key-practitioners?utm_source=chatgpt.com) **Best for:** deep thinking, learning, and building interconnected ideas. 3. **Sönke Ahrens** - Follow him to understand **Zettelkasten** and how note-taking can support writing and research. His *How to Take Smart Notes* is one of the foundational modern books in this space. [Books about Personal Knowledge Management and Zettelkasten - Zettelkasten Forum](https://forum.zettelkasten.de/discussion/2824/books-about-personal-knowledge-management-and-zettelkasten?utm_source=chatgpt.com) **Best for:** research, writing, and intellectual work. 4. **Nick Milo** - Excellent if you're interested in **Obsidian**, Maps of Content (MOCs), and navigating a network of ideas rather than building a rigid hierarchy. LYT is one of the major contemporary PKM approaches. [Die Methoden im Vergleich: Zettelkasten, PARA, LYT](https://blog.jochen-tetzlaff.online/pkm/teil-3-methoden-vergleich?utm_source=chatgpt.com) **Best for:** connecting ideas and navigating a large note collection. 5. **Bryan Jenks** - More hands-on and technical. Good for seeing how PKM concepts actually get implemented in **Obsidian**, Zettelkasten-style workflows, etc. [GitHub - Mindola-ai/awesome-second-brain: A curated, neutral list of tools, methods, and resources for building a second brain: personal knowledge management, note-taking, and personal AI. · GitHub](https://github.com/Mindola-ai/awesome-second-brain?utm_source=chatgpt.com) **Best for:** practical systems and Obsidian. 6. **August Bradley** - His **PPV (Pillars, Pipelines, and Vaults)** approach is worth studying if you're interested in integrating knowledge management with goals, projects, and life management. [GitHub - Mindola-ai/awesome-second-brain: A curated, neutral list of tools, methods, and resources for building a second brain: personal knowledge management, note-taking, and personal AI. · GitHub](https://github.com/Mindola-ai/awesome-second-brain?utm_source=chatgpt.com) **Best for:** an all-in-one life/work operating system. 7. **Chris Aldrich** - A more unconventional rabbit hole. He writes about commonplace books, Zettelkasten, personal publishing, and the history/philosophy of knowledge systems. [GitHub - Mindola-ai/awesome-second-brain: A curated, neutral list of tools, methods, and resources for building a second brain: personal knowledge management, note-taking, and personal AI. · GitHub](https://github.com/Mindola-ai/awesome-second-brain?utm_source=chatgpt.com) **Best for:** going beyond productivity-oriented PKM. ## If I were starting today I'd **not** follow 20 PKM YouTubers. I'd go: **Tiago Forte → Andy Matuschak → Sönke Ahrens → Nick Milo** That gives you four very different perspectives: - **Forte:** How do I organize information so I can use it? - **Matuschak:** How do I develop ideas through notes? - **Ahrens:** How do I turn reading into understanding and writing? - **Milo:** How do I navigate and connect a growing body of knowledge? The important thing is that **PARA, Zettelkasten, and evergreen notes aren't really competing systems**. They solve somewhat different problems; many effective systems combine elements of them. [How to Build a Personal Knowledge Management System](https://www.atlasworkspace.ai/blog/personal-knowledge-management-system?utm_source=chatgpt.com) If you tell me **what you want PKM for** (e.g. learning, research, writing, career, managing a business, or just remembering what you read), I can give you a much more targeted **“follow these 5 people + read these 3 things”** path.

**If you want to learn about Personal Knowledge Management (PKM), follow Tiago Forte, Harold Jarche, and Stan Garfield - they are among the most influential voices shaping the field today.** ### 🌟 Key Thought Leaders in PKM Expert| Focus Area| Why Follow Them ---|---|--- **Tiago Forte** (Forte Labs)| Creator of the _Building a Second Brain_ method| Practical frameworks for capturing, organizing, and retrieving knowledge; highly actionable courses and books. **Harold Jarche**| PKM pioneer, consultant, writer| Emphasizes _sense-making_ and continuous learning; coined the “Seek > Sense > Share” model. **Stan Garfield**| Author of _Profiles in Knowledge: 120 Thought Leaders in Knowledge Management_| Curates insights from 120 KM leaders; runs the SIKM Leaders Community with 1000+ members. **Nick Milo** (Linking Your Thinking)| Obsidian and note-making expert| Focuses on _conceptual maps_ and atomic notes; great for tool-based PKM learners. **Anne-Laure Le Cunff** (Ness Labs)| Neuroscience \+ productivity| Explores mindful productivity, learning science, and PKM systems for creative professionals. **GO-TKM Top 50 Influencers (2025)**| Tacit knowledge management| Recognized for advancing organizational and personal knowledge practices globally.[GO-TKM Reveals Top 50 Most Influential People in Tacit Knowledge Management 2025 - GO-TKM](https://go-tkm.org/go-tkm-reveals-top-50-most-influential-people-in-tacit-knowledge-management-2025/)[50 Outstanding Voices on Organisational Knowledge](https://www.consultclarity.org/post/outstanding-voices-organisational-knowledge)[Profiles in Knowledge: 120 Thought Leaders in Knowledge Management | Lucidea](https://lucidea.com/ebooks/profiles-in-knowledge/) ### 📚 Recommended Resources * **Books & Guides** * _Building a Second Brain_ by Tiago Forte * _Profiles in Knowledge_ by Stan Garfield (free eBook with curated leader insights)[Profiles in Knowledge: 120 Thought Leaders in Knowledge Management | Lucidea](https://lucidea.com/ebooks/profiles-in-knowledge/)[Ready to Read: Profiles in Knowledge: 120 Thought Leaders in Knowledge Management | Lucidea](https://lucidea.com/blog/read-profiles-in-knowledge/) * Harold Jarche’s blog on PKM and networked learning * **Communities** * **SIKM Leaders Community** (Stan Garfield) - global KM practitioners exchange ideas. * **Ness Labs** - interactive discussions on mindful productivity and PKM. ### ⚠️ Risks & Challenges * **Tool Overload**: PKM is not about collecting apps (Notion, Obsidian, Roam, etc.) but building sustainable habits. * **Information Hoarding**: Following too many voices can lead to _storage without synthesis_. Focus on applying frameworks, not just consuming content. * **Tacit vs. Explicit Knowledge**: Many PKM systems emphasize explicit notes, but tacit knowledge (skills, intuition, judgment) is equally critical. Leaders like Harold Jarche highlight this gap.[50 Outstanding Voices on Organisational Knowledge](https://www.consultclarity.org/post/outstanding-voices-organisational-knowledge) ### ✅ Action Plan 1. Start with **Tiago Forte’s Second Brain** for a structured foundation. 2. Read Harold Jarche’s essays to understand PKM philosophy. 3. Join Stan Garfield’s **SIKM Leaders Community** for peer learning. 4. Experiment with tools (Obsidian, Notion, Tana) guided by Nick Milo or Anne-Laure Le Cunff. 5. Balance **knowledge capture** with **knowledge application** - PKM is valuable only if it improves decisions and creativity. Would you like me to create a **step-by-step starter PKM workflow** (capture → organize → connect → apply) based on these experts’ methods, so you can begin practicing right away?

**Tiago Forte** Creator of the "Building a Second Brain" methodology and author of the book of the same name. His work focuses on the PARA method (Projects, Areas, Resources, Archives) and actionable frameworks for digital organization. **Nick Milo** Founder of linking Your Thinking (LYT) and creator of the Canvas/MCO workflow. He emphasizes fluid, node-based thinking and map of contents (MoC) structures, primarily using tools like Obsidian. **Sönke Ahrens** Author of _How to Take Smart Notes_ , which popularized the Zettelkasten method for modern knowledge workers, researchers, and students. His content focuses on the cognitive benefits of atomic notes and bottom-up learning. **August Bradley** Creator of the Life Operating System (Life OS) framework. He combines productivity, database design, and knowledge management primarily through advanced Notion setups to align daily tasks with long-term values. **Anne-Laure Le Cunff** Founder of Ness Labs, a publication exploring mental models, metacognition, and neuroscience-backed approaches to learning and personal growth. She frequently writes about digital gardening and mindful productivity. **Primary Communities & Aggregators** * **The Sweet Setup:** Provides practical software reviews and workflows for digital tools like Obsidian, Notion, and Logseq. * **r/PKMS:** A dedicated Reddit community for discussing tools, workflows, and theoretical frameworks regarding personal knowledge bases. * **Readwise Blog:** Excellent deep dives into reading comprehension, highlight management, and connecting disparate ideas across your information diet. Which specific note-taking or productivity software are you currently using, or trying to decide between?

To dive deep into Personal Knowledge Management (PKM), you'll want to follow a mix of foundational methodology creators, tool-specific power users, and systems thinkers. Here are the top voices to follow, broken down by their specialty: * * * ** _Tiago Forte_** - The creator of the Building a Second Brain methodology and author of the popular book of the same name. He is essentially the godfather of modern mainstream PKM, best known for the **PARA method** (Projects, Areas, Resources, Archives). Follow him for high-level frameworks on capturing and distilling information. * * * **_Nick Milo_** - The mind behind **Linking Your Thinking (LYT)**. Nick focuses heavily on the art of note-linking, spatial thinking, and building "maps of content" (MOCs). He is deeply embedded in the Obsidian community and has great YouTube content on how to actually think with your notes rather than just hoarding them. * * * **_Sönke Ahrens_** - Author of _How to Take Smart Notes_. If you want to learn the authentic, academic-grade **Zettelkasten method** (the grandfather of modern networked thought), Ahrens is the definitive authority on how Niklas Luhmann’s slip-box system actually works for deep writing and research. * * * **_August Bradley_** - Creator of the **PPV (Pillars, Pipelines, Vaults)** system. He is famous for building massive, highly structured, and comprehensive life-operating systems primarily inside Notion. Follow him if you prefer an engineering-heavy, hyper-organized approach to productivity and knowledge databases. * * * **_Nat Eliason_** - A prolific writer and creator who bridges the gap between raw productivity, crypto/tech, and advanced Obsidian setups. His guides on how to build a second brain in Obsidian are legendary for beginners looking for actionable tutorials. [Building a Second Brain with Tiago Forte](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZVaVav8lGo&t=60)[Building a Second Brain: An Interview with Tiago Forte](https://bulletjournal.com/blogs/bulletjournalist/building-a-second-brain-an-interview-with-tiago-forte)[Personal Knowledge Management (2026): The Practical Guide](https://www.atlasworkspace.ai/blog/personal-knowledge-management) If you'd like, let me know: * What **tool** you plan to use (e.g., Obsidian, Notion, Capacities, Tana) * Whether your goal is **academic research** , **creative writing** , or **business productivity** I can tailor these recommendations or point you to specific starter guides!