Creating and maintaining a Personal Knowledge Base requires not only adding individual notes, but also the ability to organize them into a logical structure that helps you navigate easily. To do this, you can use the Groups and Tags system and the Ideas Compass, which will link your notes into convenient blocks (projects), and a structure for deeper understanding.

Step 1: Create a Group

When you start a new project or topic, a Group is created - the main container in which related notes and knowledge will be stored. For example, if you are working on a project related to data analysis, you can create a group called "Data Analysis". This group will become a kind of "container" for notes on the project.

Step 2: Add and combine tags

Each note added to a group receives tags that determine its relationship with other notes. For example, for the Data Analysis group, you can add tags such as "statistics", "data visualization", "machine learning". Tags allow you to create flexible connections and find the necessary notes by content, not just by their location.

Step 3: Compass of ideas. Structuring the project.

Each note in the group can be arranged according to the system - compass of ideas. This helps to structure ideas in four directions. And keep ideas in balance, without going into a one-sided analysis.

  • North: Leading, large notes and sources that justify or inspire your project. Question when adding a note: "Is this the main idea that unites the entire project?"
  • West: These are ideas that are similar in theme or approach, something parallel to the main notes. Question: "How can this idea from other areas and topics complement the main ideas from the North?"
  • South:Question: "How can the main idea be improved?" Subsidiary, clarifying ideas that develop the topic further. Detailing the main idea, subtopics that develop the idea further. Question: "How can the main idea be improved?"
  • East: Opposite ideas, antipodes, or critical points that help to identify weaknesses. Antonyms and opposites, weak points, or competing ideas. This category allows you to see “blind spots” and determine what can be improved or changed. Question: “Can this be explained by something else?”

3.1. Visual organization of notes: Color system.

Using a color scheme for different types of notes helps to visually structure the information and navigate it faster:

  • North: for example, green - to emphasize importance and overall strategy.
  • West: blue - indicating ideas and topics that intersect with the main ones.
  • South: yellow - for detail and highlighting aspects that support the main idea.
  • East: red - designation for critical comments, opposing ideas, and weak points.

The color scheme allows you to quickly navigate the project and immediately see the main and secondary ideas. The system and the “compass” together with the colors provide not only a flexible but also a visual picture of knowledge, in which each note is part of a living, developing organism.

An example of practical application

Let's say you wrote down an idea for creating an online course. First, you can mark it in green as the main strategy. Next, add parallel topics (for example, webinars) in blue, highlight subtopics, such as creating content for the course, in yellow, and finally, notes on risks and limitations (such as the need for promotion) in red. This approach will allow you to quickly see all aspects of the idea and manage the development of the project.

Unification of information

Organizing notes into groups and tags, with distribution by the compass of ideas, allows you to create an effective tool for long-term knowledge management. This is not just an archive, but an active system, where each new note supports and expands existing connections, allowing you to return to it at the right time and quickly find all the necessary materials for each project.