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

by Tiago Forte

1. The Archipelago of Ideas: Give Yourself Stepping-Stones

The underlined links (which appear in green in my notes) are the sources I’m drawing on as research. Clicking a link will lead me not to the public web, where I can easily get distracted, but to another note within my Second Brain containing my full notes on that source.

The bolds and highlights of Progressive Summarization help me quickly determine which parts are most interesting and important at a glance.

instead of sitting down to a blank page or screen and stressing out about where to begin, you start with a series of small stepping-stones to guide your efforts.

Isn't this just research?

Instead of burning through every last ounce of energy at the end of a work session, reserve the last few minutes to write down some of the following kinds of things in your digital notes:

Write down ideas for next steps:

Write down the current status:

Write down any details you have in mind that are likely to be forgotten once you step away:

Write out your intention for the next work session:

3. Dial Down the Scope: Ship Something Small and Concrete

Dialing Down the Scope recognizes that not all the parts of a given project are equally important.

I started by creating an Archipelago of Ideas—an outline of the main questions, considerations, desired features, and constraints I thought our project would entail. Here is the outline I came up with after fifteen minutes:

I would highlight and distill the last few notes I’d captured and leave my future self a brief note about where I left off. I used a series of Hemingway Bridges to string together many such windows of time that otherwise wouldn’t have been of much productive use.

we identified the most outlandish of our plans and decided to save those for a later stage. I moved those ideas to their own “someday/maybe” section of my outline to revisit later. My wife and I also added several constraints to the project, such as the budget we were willing to spend, and a deadline to have the remodel done by a certain date. These constraints helped us reduce the scope of the project to something reasonable and manageable.

IPs

Intermediate Packets

Set a timer for a fixed period of time, such as fifteen or twenty minutes, and in one sitting see if you can complete a first pass on your project using only the notes you’ve gathered in front of you.

No searching online, no browsing social media, and no opening multiple browser tabs that you swear you’...

This first pass could be a plan, an agenda, a proposal, a diagram, or some other format that turns your i...

Ask yourself, “What is the smallest version of this I can produce to get useful feedback from others?”

Hemingway Bridge

A place to start off next time

Habits reduce cognitive load and free up mental capacity, so you can allocate your attention to other tasks

James Clear, author of Atomic Habits

Guy is a genius - must read atomic habits again

They learn to keep their workspace clean and organized in the flow of the meals they are preparing. In the kitchen, this means small habits like always putting the mixing spoon in the same place so they know where to find it next time; immediately wiping a knife clean after using it so it’s ready for the next cut; or laying out the ingredients in the order they’ll be used so that they serve as placeholders.

Each of these habits creates boundaries—of time, space, and intention

Project Checklists: Ensure you start and finish your projects in a consistent way, making use of past work. Weekly and Monthly Reviews: Periodically review your work and life and decide if you want to change anything. Noticing Habits: Notice small opportunities to edit, highlight, or move notes to make them more discoverable for your future self.

Checklist #1: Project Kickoff

Here’s my own checklist: Capture my current thinking on the project. Review folders (or tags) that might contain relevant notes. Search for related terms across all folders. Move (or tag) relevant notes to the project folder. Create an outline of collected notes and plan the project. 1.

Here are some questions I use to prompt this initial brainstorm: What do I already know about this project? What don’t I know that I need to find out? What is my goal or intention? Who can I talk to who might provide insights? What can I read or listen to for relevant ideas?

Review folders (or tags) that might contain relevant notes.

3. Search for related terms across all folders.

4. Move (or tag) relevant notes to the project folder.

5. Create an outline of collected notes and plan the project.

(an Archipelago of Ideas)

the outline might be the main points or headings I want to include in the final piece. If it is a document outlining a collaborative project with colleagues or outside contractors, the outline might include the objectives we’re working toward and tentative responsibilities for each person. If it is a trip I’m planning to take, it might be a packing list and itinerary.

you are making a plan for how to tackle the project, not executing the project itself.

a first pass, taking no more than twenty to thirty minutes.

my kickoff checklist as a starting point and customize it over time as you understand how it fits into your own context.

MaKe the checklist at the start to steer the steps for the project

Answer premortem* questions:

Communicate with stakeholders:

Define success criteria:

Have an official kickoff:

Checklist #2: Project Completion

Mark project as complete in task manager or project management app. Cross out the associated project goal and move to “Completed” section. Review Intermediate Packets and move them to other folders. Move project to archives across all platforms. If project is becoming inactive: add a current status note to the project folder before archiving.

Any time I need some motivation, I can look through this list and be reminded of all the meaningful goals I’ve achieved in the past.

Review Intermediate Packets and move them to other folders.

This could include a web-page design to be used as a template for future sites, an agenda for a one-on-one performance review, or a series of interview questions that might come in handy for future hires.