Why Visual Thinking is the Missing Link in Your PKM
When we think about personal knowledge management (PKM), writing often takes center stage. We’re taught to jot down thoughts, organize them neatly, and create complex networks of notes. But is text alone enough to fully capture, process, and present the depth of our ideas? I argue that it’s not.
Text-based PKM has its limitations. While writing helps articulate thoughts, it lacks the spatial and structural clarity that visuals provide. I believe text-only PKM misses out on significant value. By augmenting writing with illustrations—or better yet, developing a visual-first PKM system supported by text—you can achieve a step change in how you process, understand, and present complex ideas.
Writing forces us to process information in a linear way. Paragraphs and lists require sequential reading, which adds cognitive load to short-term memory. When faced with pages of text, it’s easy to overlook inconsistencies, but the moment you attempt to illustrate those ideas—whether through diagrams or concept maps—the gaps become glaringly obvious.
Rodrigo Alvarez, a member of my YouTube community, shared in a comment on one of my videos how his university professor for complexity science taught through diagrams and mental maps, transforming his understanding of complex subjects. He notes how this experience changed his approach to note-taking in other subjects as well. It’s not just about supplementing text with visuals but about flipping the paradigm. What if, instead of using visuals as an afterthought to support text, we made visuals the primary mode of thinking, augmented by text where necessary?
I would argue that all concepts become clearer when supported by diagrams or illustrations. Visuals work as a mirror for the mental maps we constantly develop as we read and listen. Externalizing these maps onto paper makes it easier to grasp relationships, dependencies, and hierarchies. They provide an instant overview—a way to see the "forest" without losing sight of the "trees." In contrast, a text-based approach forces you to process each idea one step at a time, adding unnecessary friction to your learning.
For instance, imagine reading a list of directions versus looking at a map. The map provides immediate clarity, allowing you to visualize the terrain and see all potential routes at once. This is what visual PKM offers: a way to organize thoughts spatially, helping you see the relationships between ideas at a glance.
When working on a complex idea, you often discover that writing alone isn't enough. A seemingly well-articulated thought can unravel the moment you try to map it visually. This is where visual thinking excels. It acts as a filter, revealing inconsistencies and gaps that text might obscure. The act of diagramming forces clarity, making it a powerful tool for problem-solving and idea generation.
In my own practice, I’ve adopted a hybrid approach, combining the strengths of both text and visuals. The Obsidian-Excalidraw plugin offers the perfect environment for this, allowing you to create hybrid documents that include both text and illustrations. Imagine having a drawing as the front of your note and text as the “back.” In one view, you can interact with a visual map of ideas, and in another, dive into the textual details. This format maximizes Obsidian’s powerful linking and search capabilities while providing a strongly visual PKM experience.
This hybrid approach isn’t just about making your notes look nice; it’s about fundamentally changing how you think. Visualizing your ideas forces you to distill them, making them clearer and easier to communicate. It challenges the conventional wisdom that writing alone is the best way to process information.
One of the reasons why developing your visual thinking skills can have such powerful impact in your life is that it has been underdeveloped for most of us. From an early age, our education emphasizes writing and reading over drawing and visualizing. By the time we’re adults, our visual thinking skills are often rudimentary at best. But this presents an opportunity: improving your visual thinking offers a higher return on investment than taking another writing course. You're starting from a lower skill level, so the improvement curve is steep.
The Visual Thinking Workshop is a hands-on experience where participants can develop their visual PKM skills. I’ve seen time and again how people can unlock new ways of thinking by incorporating visuals into their workflow. It’s not about replacing writing but about augmenting it to achieve greater clarity and insight. For most of us, learning how to think visually is a path to transformative improvement, far beyond what text alone can offer.
Writing will always have its place in PKM, but it’s time to recognize its limitations. By augmenting text-heavy approaches with visuals, or even flipping the script to prioritize visual thinking supported by text, you can achieve a significant leap in how you process, understand, and present complex ideas.
Visual thinking isn’t just a supplement to writing; it’s a different way of thinking altogether. And by developing your visual thinking toolset, you can unlock a whole new level of insight and clarity.
If you’re ready to take the next step in developing your visual thinking skills, I invite you to explore hands-on opportunities to grow in this area. The payoff will likely be far greater than just another writing course. Visuals help you think, see, and understand better. It’s time to embrace that potential.
Follow the links below to learn more about Visual Thinking, Note-Taking, and Personal Knowledge Management (PKM). See my work in action.
Why Visual Thinking is the Missing Link in Your PKM
When we think about personal knowledge management (PKM), writing often takes center stage. We’re taught to jot down thoughts, organize them neatly, and create complex networks of notes. But is text alone enough to fully capture, process, and present the depth of our ideas? I argue that it’s not...
The Syntactic Theory of Visual Communication
From an early age, we are taught to read text but not images. Even though we start with drawings as children, we are gradually guided towards letters and words. As we progress through education, there's a noticeable divide: text is emphasized, while images and visual thinking tools are often sidelined...
What is the purpose and role of visual thinking?
Isn’t thinking more than just visuals? Why the heavy focus on visuals?
Aren’t we losing important elements of thinking by only using visuals?
Can visuals really improve my thinking? Why is most of the workshop about communication?
How Visual Thinking Transformed My PKM
As someone who has spent years developing tools like Excalidraw and ExcaliBrain for Obsidian, I’ve now moved most of my Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) into a visual-first approach. My problem-solving and thinking process usually begins with throwing words and icons onto a virtual whiteboard...
A non-visual guide to visual thinking
was recently at a family picnic where one of my cousins, curious about my YouTube channel and online course, asked, "Can you explain what you do, in simple terms? And why would someone care?"
To be honest, I struggled to articulate it clearly. I am so involved in the details that I find it really hard to explain the essence of...
and learn about visual thinking...
I selected 9 videos as an introduction to my Visual PKM work...
Discover the benefits and applications of Visual Thinking in this AI-Generated Podcast. While machine-produced, the content is thoughtfully curated from 40 of my favorite books and articles. This engaging 36-minute deep dive explores the many facets of Visual Thinking. To enhance your experience, I've also created an Excalidraw mind map for easy exploration and interactive note-taking.
