Building a Second Brain: A Summary

I found my salvation while reading this book. I got a way to organize all my content and not just that, find an efficient way to retrieve them for any future projects. And it is all thanks to the book: Building a Second Brain by Tiago Forte.

Here is a quick summary of the book in case you don't have time for the detailed one. Feel free to read any...

Quick Summary

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Human Brain is for having ideas and not storing them.

Nothing best describes this book better than this quote.

A Second Brain is nothing but an extension to the clumsy human brain. It is a canvas for storing all your ideas.

The four essential steps to building a second brain can be vest remembered by the acronym: CODE- Capture (what resonates and surprises you), Organize(make what you capture, accessible for future use), Distill(you should be able to get the gist of what you capture at a glance), and Express(to use the notes and connect them i.e. sequence them in a way to create something that adds value to the life of people).

In the practical world, any project flows in two parts- Diverge (Capture and Organize) and Converge (Distill and Express).

Turning the steer wheel from the diverge phase to the converge is a difficult process as there will always be more to research. Remember: You can always dial down the scope of the project. Self-direction is impossible without self-knowledge. It takes courage and vulnerability to stand up and deliver your message. So, go ahead and make your best shot!

Detailed Summary

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Understanding what's possible!

Today in the digital space, we are continuously consuming more and more content. One would believe that this information enriches our understanding. However, this information overload leads to information exhaustion.

Our clumsy human mind tries to passively consume content. It makes us feel as we are making progress and doing something productive. However, this situation is worse than simple procrastination. Why?

Because we feel bad, depressed when we are not able to recall the stuff we have consumed, whether it be books, videos, articles or podcasts. This leads to a feeling of misery and self-doubt.

The author poses a solution to all this by building of a second brain. Think of it as an extension to your primary brain. The idea is to have an organized workboard- a canvas for storing all information that your brain cannot remember. Because again, the human brain is for having ideas and not storing them.

This second brain takes the form of any notetaking or productivity app. Second brain is a place where you can have all your bookmarks, excerpts, podcasts, articles and files in one place. However, again there needs to be a method to this process. From the nice organizational level neatness to actual practicality of notes in terms of “discoverability”.

Remember: The reason we are building a second brain is to lighten our workload and enrich our understanding. Our brain seeks order. However, in this chaotic world, do not get too lost finding the perfect app for everything. I will soon share a process in one of the upcoming blogs which I have developed inspired by Tiago Forte.

The four steps of "CODE"

This is a four-step process which guides an efficient way of building a second Brain.

It starts with

1. Capture: We take notes with an aim that they’d be of use in future. Or that our brain would be able to make sense of them in future. Only capture information that adds value to your life and consciously let go of the rest. If you can’t decide whether to keep something or not, ask yourself, does this surprise me or was this fact was known to me? Why capture something that you already know of? Some of the type of apps that you may need include E-book reader, read later apps, basic notes apps, social media, web clipper apps, and transcript app. The moment you first encounter an idea is the worst time to decide what it means. You need to set it aside and gain some objectivity. Something that is not of value to you right now, maybe of utmost value in future.

2. Organize: The most important part of building a second brain is to have an organizational level neatness in what you capture. More you capture, more you need to organize to make it more accessible in future. Remove friction between creating and organizing. Let it be effortless. That is the only way it will be sustainable in the long run. Tiago Forte suggests a method known as the PARA technique i.e., creating separate folders known as Project, Areas, Resources and Archives. Project includes any active project you are working on. Area includes any long-term project on which you are making progress over time. Resources include the material which is not of use right now but would be useful in future projects. Archives as the name suggest is any material which not active right now or the project has been completed. An important thing to remember is that you can always copy, paste and have a single note in multiple folders according to your preference. Don’t try to imitate anyone’s setup. Build a workflow that is customized for you, and you feel comfortable in doing that. Remember: Your life goals should be aligned with your core values. Any project you work on/ or any project you take upon should take you closer to that life goal.

3. Distill: It refers that we should not only capture notes and organize them in a folder. But be able to get the gist of the note at a glance. The author suggests a method to bold the important points which you capture. Furthermore, highlight even more important points in a hierarchical way. And ultimately, write a summary in your words about what you have captured. I did use to highlight the notes before. But this summary thing is game changing. Definitely worth it.

4. Express: At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how organized, aesthetically pleasing, or impressive your notetaking system is. It is only the steady completion of tangible wins that can infuse you with a sense of determination, momentum, and accomplishment. Ultimate goal is to use what you have captured and create something. We can do our best thinking only when we have all the content from the past in front of us. We have to use those and bettered with our thinking connect the information and express it. The biggest hurdle is self-doubt and fear along with the aim to achieve perfectionism. In essence what you are doing is stealing like an artist and showing your work. And yes, I am referencing to the books by Austin Kleon. The book summary of those books will be posted in upcoming months. Try being vulnerable and upload any piece of work online or show them to your friends or mentors. You’d get feedback and you can work on it until you create something that matches your goals.

Making things happen

The essence of this phase is that by the time you sit down to work on a project, you’d have all its content already with you in one place. Your research phase would have been completed and all you need to do is to arrange it in a logical sequence, pour in some time and effort and you’d get a tangible art piece.

Any project flows in two parts, first is the diverge part and the second is the converge part.

Converge steps include research from various sources and diverge means to distill it down to the point which you are expressing. It fits in perfectly with the CODE. Capture and organize in the diverge phase. And distill and express in the converge phase.

Convergence is the harder because there will always be more to research. The urge to make your project perfect and consume all the knowledge possible in the world.

A few techniques which you can use to combat this are:

1. Archipelago of Ideas: Gather as much information as you are satisfied with. And when you have enough material, you switch decisively into the convergence phase.

2. The Hemmingway Bridge: End doing a today's work just when you are on the brink of having the best idea. Use today's energy, momentum to for tomorrow's work. It can act as a bridge between the archipelago of ideas.

3. Dial down the scope: When the full complexity of a project starts to reveal itself, most people choose to delay it. This is true of projects at work, and even more true of side projects we take on in our spare time. We can “dial it down” to a more manageable size, and we must if we ever want to see it finished. Don't wait to perfect it.

Another technique which i suggest is the creation of a vision board for you project. Whether it be a physical board or on Pinterest or just a playlist. Do create it. You’d need it when you are in the valley of despair during a project phase in accordance with the Dunning Kruger Effect.

Today livelihood depends more upon ideas than physical labour. Your fears, doubts, mistakes, missteps, failures, and self-criticism—it’s all just information to be taken in, processed, and made sense of.

Here is a reason to struggle in your work: “Your singular perspective may patch some small hole in the vast tattered fabric of humanity.”

So, this was the detailed summary of this book combined with my own thoughts and experience. I hope you got to learn something from it.

If you want to get the actual book, here are some affiliate links.

I also want to share with you the process which i have developed inspired by Tiago Forte. I will do it soon in one of the upcoming blogs. Keep your eye on for that.

Lastly, I would like to leave you all with a question: Does being too efficient has its own cons?

Tune in for next month’s edition to know more…