PKM apps need to get better at resurfacing information

Summary

I’m a happy user of a number of apps that can be classified under the nebulous category of Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) software: Obsidian (note taking) Things (task management) Drafts (quick capture) Readwise Reader (RSS and read-later) Raindrop (bookmarking and archiving) These apps allow me to work with vast amounts of digital information. They let me: Quickly capture information from my computer or physical environment Organize captured data using categories and/or tags Connect related information using bidirectional linking Annotate information (by e.g. highlighting parts of web pages, PDFs, or EPUBs) Quickly capture my own fleeting thoughts as I engage with the information (or the world in general) Synthesize what I’ve learned by writing my own notes, potentially creating new knowledge in the process But something crucial is missing from modern PKM apps: they do a poor job of helping me re-engage with information that I’ve already captured but forgotten about. None of them can automatically resurface relevant material from my system based on my current context. For example, if I’m using Obsidian to write a journal entry about my exercise routine, I want the app to show me every other journal entry about the same topic. I could pull them up manually, but that would require searching for multiple keywords and wading through more than a decade of writing. In 2025, even a tiny on-device embeddings model could find them instantly. Resurfacing information doesn’t even have to rely on complex AI algorithms. I want my todo list app to show me every task that was created more than six months ago, which can be easily accomplished using a simple database query. This feature would save me a ton of time and energy by allowing me to prune outdated tasks from my system without having to manually read through each one. With their current abilities, most PKM apps feel like inert stores of data, no different from the old paper notebooks I’ve stashed away in my desk drawe...