Building a Second Brain: A Proven Method to Organize Your Digital Life and Unlock Your Creative Potential

by Tiago Forte

Every time you take a note, ask yourself, “How can I make this as useful as possible for my future self?” That question will lead you to annotate the words and phrases that explain why you saved a note, what you were thinking, and what exactly caught your attention. Your notes will be useless if you can’t decipher them in the future, or if they’re so long that you don’t even try. Think of yourself not just as a taker of notes, but as a giver of notes—you are giving your future self the gift of knowledge that is easy to find and understand.

This returns to the idea that notetaking is about communication with your future self through time. When you invest your time and attention in knowledge that can grow and compound, like a high yield investment, then your future self (who will show up just a few minutes from now) will get to continuously harvest that value. It’s a very powerful way to view your future self: as someone important and worthy of giving such precious gifts to.