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Flux and Flow by Jeff Tyack

[Flux&Flow] Use Your Knowledge as Fuel, Not Clutter

Published about 1 year ago • 3 min read

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Ever feel like you’re drowning in a sea of articles, podcasts, and book recommendations but struggling to connect any of it back to your creative work?

It’s a common struggle. In today’s information-rich world, it’s easy to fall into the trap of endlessly collecting sources without clear intention—and this constant influx can actually stifle creativity rather than fuel it.

As we celebrate the 10th issue of Flux & Flow, I’m grateful to have you here as we build this community together.

In this milestone issue, we’re diving into the art of intentional knowledge management, focusing on creating spaces that turn information into inspiration.

We’ll look at examples of information hubs and digital gardens—creative ways to organize, connect, and breathe new life into the information you gather.

Let these examples inspire your own approach, making your knowledge collection a springboard for new ideas rather than just another cluttered folder.

Flow Forward: Key Resources for Creative Growth

​Maggie Appleton’s Digital Garden​

Maggie Appleton’s digital garden is a dynamic collection of notes and essays that evolve over time, reflecting her ongoing learning journey.

Explore her digital garden to see how cultivating your own can enhance creativity and knowledge management.

My thoughts: I love her use of visual language and illustration to explore and explain the concepts she is writing about. Take note of her use of terms like “Evergreen notes,” “Budding,” and “Seedling” to show how ideas develop over time.

​Andy Matuschak’s Working Notes​

Andy Matuschak’s working notes provide a fascinating glimpse into a living, breathing knowledge base.

His approach transforms note-taking into an active dialogue, where each note is interconnected, sparking new ideas and insights.

This dynamic system demonstrates how you can turn passive information consumption into an engaging creative process.

My Take: Andy is a huge influence in the PKM world, especially with his focus on refactoring and connecting ideas. Explore the notes and take notice of the interconnections as well as ideas like atomic notes which have become standard terms in personal knowledge management.

​Flux & Flow Source Dashboard (Nov. 2024 Update)

The Flux & Flow Source Dashboard is a curated Notion workspace, now updated to include every valuable resource shared over the past nine issues. Use it as an example or as your own knowledge management hub to keep inspiration and resources within reach.

My Take: I hope it provides a starting point and valuable inspiration as your knowledge system grows.

Inspiration and Action

"Chance favors the connected mind." — Steven Johnson, Where Good Ideas Come From

Small Action Steps

  • Start a Mini Digital Garden: Choose three ideas, quotes, or concepts that have stuck with you recently. Organize them in a way that lets you build connections over time. This helps make your learning visible, evolving with each insight.
  • Set Aside 15 Minutes to Engage with Saved Articles: Revisit a few saved articles or notes you haven’t yet explored. Look for one actionable insight from each and jot it down for easy reference—sometimes one small takeaway can spark a big idea.
  • Create a Knowledge Hub Structure: Sketch a simple structure for your own knowledge hub or digital garden. Use categories that align with your creative projects or learning goals to make collecting information a more purposeful process.

Reflect and Act

Creating a personal knowledge system is more than just storing information—it’s about intentionally engaging with it to fuel creativity.

By designing your personalized system, you can start transforming passive information into active insights and ideas.

What’s the biggest challenge you face when it comes to managing your information sources? Do you have your own digital garden, or are you thinking of starting one?

Hit reply and let me know—I’d love to hear what you’re working on and am here to help with any questions.

Have a wonderful week!

Jeff

P.S. - Keep an eye on your inbox later in the week for the announcement about the re-launch of Antifragile Creative.

If Flux & Flow has been valuable I hope you’ll join myself and other creatives as we work together to build the productivity and knowledge management systems necessary to thrive in today’s creative landscape.

You can check out the initial landing page here - https://antifragile-creative.com/​

Spread the Word

Know someone who’s juggling a mountain of information but needs a creative system to make sense of it all? Forward this newsletter to them—they’ll thank you later!

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Flux and Flow by Jeff Tyack

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