All knowledge work revolves around a set of common activities. We seek out information and inspiration, we synthesize it, and then store it away. Over time, we draw on the knowledge we've accumulated in order to generate new insights and ideas. Then, the cycle repeats.

An investor may read 10-Ks, a screenwriter screenplays, and a researcher papers on arXiv, but the fundamental unit of work is similar — each activity is a slight variation on the cycle above.