Staying organized has always been something I envisioned I would do easily. But as someone who constantly juggles multiple projects and learning new things, it hasn’t been as easy as I thought. Recently, I stumbled upon a concept called ‘The Second Brain” which seems like a potential solution. I’m so excited about its possibilities that I wanted to share what I’ve learned and explored, which I believe can benefit you too!
Quick mental exercise
Imagine this: You effortlessly remember every significant experience, every detail you’ve ever learned. No more finding it difficult to remember where you kept that important document or the name of that book you read last month and want to recommend.
Building a second brain can make this a reality. It’s a system for capturing and organizing all the important things in your life, creating a powerful knowledge database you can access anytime, and anywhere.
The problem that led to the discovery
Staying organized began to feel more difficult, It felt like my brain was a sieve, with important information slipping through its cracks. Relying on memory to remember certain details left me constantly frustrated, I started forgetting key information from online articles and even useful advice from conversations.
Did you know we forget about 70% of what we learn within a week? That’s what happened to me. My brain became a browser with too many open tabs. Sticky notes overflowed my desk, and unread articles clogged my browser, a desperate attempt at productivity that resembled controlled chaos. This disorganization affected my productivity and made it difficult to stay on top of my daily activities. So, I took to the internet, determined to find a solution. My search led me to a fascinating concept: “the second brain.” But in my research, I also stumbled upon a scientific explanation for my forgetfulness — ‘the forgetting curve’.
The Forgetting Curve
The forgetting curve is a graph that shows how we forget things over time if we don’t actively attempt to remember them. It’s like when you cram for a test and forget most of what you read after the test is over. Or, like reading a lengthy article without going back to review what you read, you’ll end up forgetting much of it.
Learning about this prompted me to document more and write things down so I could easily refer back to them to retain information. When I forgot any piece of information, I knew I had a source to go back to and reinforce my understanding.
Then I came across Building a Second Brain by Tiago Forte, which I highly recommend. Reading this book helped me better understand the concept of documenting and retaining information.
What does building a Second Brain mean?
Building a second brain is creating a digital medium that lets you store, organise and retrieve information outside your biological brain, which can also be searchable, accessible, and easily shared.
Think of it like a password manager app that helps you store your passwords and provides them when you need to use them. I no longer have to rely solely on my biological brain for everything. I know I have a digital note-taking system I can easily search to access any information I’m struggling to remember.
Now we know what a second brain is, let’s talk about Notion and how it can help us to document and retain information.
What is Notion?
Notion is a note-taking application where you can write, plan, think, capture thoughts, manage projects, collaborate, and do things exactly the way you want.
What I use Notion For
I use Notion to build my personal knowledge management system which has helped me to properly plan, document, and stay organised. In the image below, I have categorised four important areas of my life that I actively want to keep track of, which are; Personal growth, Learning, finance and lifestyle.
How to build your second brain
Here is a well-structured approach by Tiago Forte that can serve as a building block to build your second brain.
Capture. Keep what resonates: Capturing is the essence of taking notes of ideas or thoughts that resonate with you. It could be an interesting highlight from an article or a random thought you would want to remember. A better and easier tool I would recommend for capturing is the popular Apple Notes.
With Apple Notes, I’ve created folders that align perfectly with my frequent activities, helping me capture ideas or thoughts in their assigned folders, and making it easier to access them when needed.
Organise. Save for actionability: Once you’ve started capturing your ideas, the next thing you might consider is how to keep them organized. This process will help you structure your second brain. One effective way to organize your notes is to systematically arrange the information based on how well they relate. This can be easily accomplished by grouping them into folders. When your thoughts are categorized effectively, you not only save time but also increase the likelihood of turning those ideas into concrete actions that align with your goals.
One way I’ve done this for myself is by using an organising system I learned called PARA, which stands for Project, Area, Resource, and Archive.
The PARA Method
Projects: These are specific time-bound efforts with specific goals and deadlines aimed at achieving a particular outcome. Organizing your work by projects allows you to focus your energy and resources on completing tasks that lead to tangible results. Based on the four categories highlighted earlier, I’ve been able to implement this in Lifestyle, and Career.
Areas: represent the long-term responsibilities and ongoing commitments in your life. Unlike projects, which are time-bound and goal-oriented, Areas are more about maintaining key aspects of your personal and professional life that require continuous attention and management. More specifically, some areas can include learning, relationships, finance, career development, health etc.
Resources: refers to all the reference materials and information that support your ideas, projects, and area of focus. These are background information and tools that you can draw upon when needed. Being able to access relevant information quickly can help elevate your productivity.
Archive: This is where you store completed projects, inactive resources, or information that is no longer needed for immediate use. This practice will save you from deleting information that could be valuable for future reference.
Distill. Find the essence: Distill involves reviewing your notes, and information you’ve captured and highlighting the key areas that matter most to you. It’s about curating information for your future self. The challenge is: How do I make what I’m consuming now easily discoverable later?
In essence, distilling your notes is like effectively and concisely communicating with your future self through your writing. For example, when I prepared a presentation on this topic in 2022, documenting my thoughts helped me articulate my ideas clearly in this article.
The goal is to capture the essence of what you learn and store it for your future self — you never know when that knowledge might come in handy.
Express. Show your work: After practising the three stages — capturing, organising and distilling, you’ll find it easier to remember information, connect related ideas, and create new things based on the information you’ve captured.
One of the benefits of these processes is that you create something meaningful from the knowledge you’ve collected and share it with the world. This, in turn, allows others to benefit from your insights, sparks discussion, inspires others, and even creates opportunities for networking and collaboration.
Conclusion
This approach is about discovering what works best for you in documenting, planning, and staying updated on different activities. By implementing these practices, you’re elevating your productivity now and positioning your future self for success.
If you have a unique method for staying organized and documenting tasks, please share it in the comments section! :)