19 July 2025
PIM is Critical for Knowledge Creation - DBR 089
Do Busy Right - The Task and Attention Management Podcast
About
I want to delve deeper into a concept that listeners found interesting in a previous discussion: Commonplace Books. My goal here is to show you how a modern toolset, specifically Attention Compass, transforms the idea of a commonplace book from an overwhelming task into a practical and incredibly powerful exercise for the modern world. This is especially valuable for those of us who are knowledge workers, constantly learning and figuring things out as we go along, and trying to manage our personal information effectively.
You'll learn how implementing an Attention Compass can unlock significant benefits, solve common pain points, and truly enhance your ability to capture, leverage, and master your own unique knowledge. I'm all about human flourishing. I think a great way to flourish better is to cultivate great attention management. If you'd like some help with that or just a chat about it, let me know. larry@dobusyright.com or on LinkedIn.
Commonplace Books: A Modern Perspective Historical Context:
Traditionally, commonplace books were bound physical notebooks.
Notable figures used them to capture tasks, thoughts and other information.
The Challenge of Traditional (Physical)Commonplace Books:
Overhead
Difficulty in Access and Organization
Limited Capacity
What is Attention Compass?:
A modern personal information management system.
The core technical advantage is that things can appear to be in multiple places at the same time.
How it Works (Tagging and Organization):
Process information by making meaning and assigning tags.
Information is associated with multiple categories simultaneously.
Information seamlessly accumulates, almost as if it's "magnetic".
Wasting High-Value Time and Attention Recreating Conclusions
Difficulty Capturing and Leveraging Learning Beyond Formal Education
Lack of "Textbooks" for Knowledge Work Improvement and Innovation
Fostering a Sense of Craftsmanship and Expertise
It Can Be Fun
Project-Based Commonplace Books
Enhanced Retrieval and Accessibility
You will actually access and use your data
The "Powers" of Attention Compass: Integration with AI
Extended Capacity Through Electronic Storage
Leveraging Notebook LM (AI)
Notebook LM is a learning module. You provide your own sources and then ask questions about them.
Tangible Benefits of AI Integration
The AI can help identify "gaps"
Summarize vast amounts of content
Reliant on having a previous data store - training time is expensive.
By cultivating your commonplace book with Attention Compass, you can avoid wasting valuable time and attention on redrawing conclusions, you can effectively leverage learning acquired outside of formal education, and you can coalesce and distill your unique knowledge into a reference work that is invaluable for yourself, and potentially others. Moreover, creating this "own textbook" for your knowledge work fosters a profound sense of craftsmanship, expertise, and authority in your field, and for many of us, it's genuinely fun.
The critical takeaway here is that if you have implemented Attention Compass, creating commonplace books becomes easy enough that you will actually do it. And if you do it, you will undoubtedly gain these immense benefits. People are often in awe when they hear about the capabilities unlocked by this system, such as using AI to query and even generate content from their own comprehensive knowledge base. An Attention Compass implementation is more than just a tool; it's a foundational step that will give you powers you did not know you could have, or even needed, demonstrating just how effective these tools can be in elevating your personal information management and intellectual output.
If you're intrigued and want to find out more about creating your own personal information store or implementing your own Attention Compass, please don't hesitate to reach out. I'm not hard to find at larry@dobusyright.com or on LinkedIn.