Personal Knowledge Management- Skill of Today

I remember when I first heard of COVID-19, I thought that it would not affect India or even if it does, our lives won’t change. But as the days passed by, now I see a completely changed world. The cities don’t feel the same and industries like tourism and hospitality are hard hit. We all have heard people getting fired from jobs and zero business form past months. This is the times that are defined as crises by many economics experts.

We are less taught about crises management; but as a human being for survival; crises management must be learnt, even if it is not taught. How can a single individual manage money in crises, what should be his/her modes of decision making and how he/she should overcome mental stress and pressure?

One of the skills that every one of us can use without spending much time for effective crises management is “Personal knowledge Management”. We all know, where we have our bank accounts, how much money we have put in real estate and how much share and mutual funds we have. But most of us are not aware of the knowledge and skills that we acquired throughout our life.

Let me tell you a story that will help to comprehend various aspects of these skills excellently, this story is related is of John. John has a family, his wife and two children, his parents also live with him. But due to the economic recession, he lost his job and he was stuck in middle. Soon, his saving started to end and he was unable to get a new job. Frustrated and anguished he was sitting near a tea stall, thinking about what to do. At the same stall, he saw some students of high school discussion how they are struggling to get marks in history. John listed their conservation carefully and suddenly he recalled that he was a topper in history and was able to score very well. Even the guided some of his friends to score well. Post that he took engineering as a subject and now he remembers nothing as such of history. He quickly went to students and offered them free tuition for some days for history. He said that if they liked they can continue. The students also agreed with his offer. On the way rushing to his house, he brought the best books he knew about history. He searched for his notes and old books. He made himself ready with everything in 2-3 days. The students arrived and he started to explain. The students were impressed by his tips and tricks and they were also unaware about books that he suggested. Days went by and the number of students increased to twenty. The number of students increase, as he applied the marketing skills he gained in his job. Now he was earning equivalent to his previous job in just two hours. His students were also able to score good and his confidence boosted.

Today, in the times of COVID-19 we can see two types of people around us, one who is disappointed and others who search for new opportunities. The simplest way to conduct personal knowledge management is deep introspection and then listing of skills that can help you. If this process is done systematically, it can also help you to break the cage.

Some books that I would like to suggest are David J. Pauleen, personal knowledge management and lots of youtube videos.