sensemaking routines

“Data doesn’t say anything. Humans say things.”
—Andrea Jones-Rooy, Professor of data science, NYU

In 2014 I asked — what is your PKM routine? I highlighted the routines of Jane Hart and Sacha Chua, and then described my own. Over time I added dozens of other examples that were shared online. My own PKM routine has changed over these years. My general principles are to keep my routine simple, use as few tools as possible, and limit any automating processes. My last post — manual sensemaking — explains the latter.

I still use a feed aggregator to monitor any RSS feeds, which is currently Inoreader.

I have reduced my use of Twitter by ±90% and am connecting with people and having more public conversations on Mastodon.

Many of my more private conversations are with members of our perpetual beta coffee club, now in our fifth year together. During the initial pandemic lock-downs, the coffee club was a lifeline of professional sanity for many members.

I still use social bookmarks, like Diigo, but much less than in years past.

This blog is still the core of public sensemaking, but as you may have noticed, I am posting less frequently. One reason is that I have already written over 3,500 posts and it’s getting harder to say something new. Also, I am becoming less inclined to share, knowing that my work is getting scraped by the likes of OpenAI and Google.

If your sensemaking routines have changed, please share in the comments or by linking to this post. It’s life in perpetual beta!