Tiago Forte's course on capturing, organizing, and sharing your knowledge using digital notes
We spent countless hours receiving information yet we only retain a small percentage of it
Because our brain is for having ideas, not storing them
==Building a second brain is a methodology for saving and systematically recalling us of the ideas, inspirations, insights and connections we have gained through experience==
Moving the task of remembering information allows our biological brain to do the things it is good at
Consolidation of the different sources of experience to create a ongoing live document is the goal
Part 1: Remember
First step of the second brain is to capture the ideas and insights you think are worth saving
Most of the time, this capturing process is haphazard and fragmented
==We need to be deliberate== - I have tried various systems to capture knowledge and still trying to find one that I can do consistently and find value from
Think like a curator - instead of funneling all the experience in, try to be objective, opinionated, and reflective
Organize your content by project - by grouping information with projects it gives them purpose
Keep only what resonates - training ourselves to notice what resonates in a deep level will improve our senses to discover opportunities
Part 2: Connect
With enough information, certain things will trigger your pool of knowledge and you can connect new ideas with stored insights
This process can be made deliberate by distilling my notes into actionable, bite-sized summaries
Design notes for future self - edit it constantly for my future self
==Summarize progressively==, at different levels of detail - notes have to be light and easy to digest. Progressive summary helps with this by saving only the best parts and summarizing chunks of these parts every once in a while and then summarize those summaries
Organize opportunistically - because you can't forecast how these notes will be useful in the future, don't try to optimize from the get go. Instead ==try to optimize the notes each time I use it, so the most useful ones rise to the top organically==
Part 3: Create
All the work is to allow me to create tangible results in the real world
With this second brain, I can create something and draw on everything I have experienced throughout life
Don't consume passively, put it to use - this is a common trap for people who likes learning, they never put new knowledge to use but rather learn and learn non-stop without end
Create smaller, reusable units of work - think of solving small chunks of work instead of an entire project