Documenting KM as life

How many times have we thought, as we are working through issues of managing knowledge, that taking time to document what we do is rather a pain. Yet we know how important it is. We simply can not find a way to balance the two-- the time it takes and the importance of the task. The bottom line is, we must get it done.

I'm finding blogging much the same way. There are times when you allow aspects of life to rule your time and you set asides the task of documenting what you learn. Blogging is one important way I document my learning. Blogging allows me a moment to reflect on what I have learned in life and turn it into an applicable lesson for managing knowledge.

I found myself this week having little time for reflection and that reminded me of my clients, who also find themselves without time for reflective learning. That lack of time can lead (and often does) to lack of clarity and focus and less well-considered decisions.

Documenting the learning for me solidifies what I have just come to understand and helps me apply it again in the future. The same goes for the organizations in which we work. Not taking the time to document results in not passing on the learning, less consistency in the future and the increased possiblity of repeating mistakes.

I found that when I blog as soon as the idea hits, I am much better off. If I start ideas without worry about immediate completion and keep them as draft, I have more to go from each day. I have not used a template format, but that can work in some situations. In other words, there are shortcuts to documenting. The important thing is that we all see the benefit in acquiring the discipline to write what we learn or to codifiy it and pass it along in whatever vechile works for us. Just do it.