3.5 KiB
Title: Building a Second Brain: A Proven Method to Organize Your Digital Life and Unlock Your Creative Potential
Author: Tiago Forte
Started Reading: 2022-07-06
Finished Reading:
2022-07-07: I ran across a Reddit thread today where someone asked about a note note taking system and was recommended to read the book "Building a Second Brain". The book purports to explain a way to think about notes and how to organize things rather than recommend apps (or so I hope). This morning, while looking for something to listen to while I walk I found the Art of Manliness podcast had just dropped an episode where he interviewed Tiago Forte about the book! So I spent my walk listening to the author talk about the book. I was relieved to hear that he doesn't necessarily recommend any specific software and talks more about the higher-level concepts of personal knowledge management. I was also pleased to discover that I am doing most of the things he talks about already.
Notes
In the professional world:
- It’s not at all clear what you should be taking notes on.
- No one tells you when or how your notes will be used.
- The “test” can come at any time and in any form.
- You’re allowed to reference your notes at any time, provided you took them in the first place.
- You are expected to take action on your notes, not just regurgitate them.
So much of our intellectual output—from brainstorms to photos to planning to research—all too often is left stranded on hard drives or lost somewhere in the cloud.
Most important of all, don’t get caught in the trap of perfectionism: insisting that you have to have the “perfect” app with a precise set of features before you take a single note. It’s not about having the perfect tools—it’s about having a reliable set of tools you can depend on, knowing you can always change them later.
CODE
Capture; Organize; Distill; Express.
This sounds very "Getting Things Done"
We have a natural bias as humans to seek evidence that confirms what we already believe, a well-studied phenomenon known as "confirmation bias."
If you’re not surprised, then you already knew it at some level, so why take note of it?
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.
First, you are much more likely to remember information you’ve written down in your own words. Known as the “Generation Effect,”10 researchers have found that when people actively generate a series of words, such as by speaking or writing, more parts of their brain are activated when compared to simply reading the same words.
There is even significant evidence that expressing our thoughts in writing can lead to benefits for our health and well-being.11 One of the most cited psychology papers of the 1990s found that “translating emotional events into words leads to profound social, psychological, and neural changes.”
Jornaling through problems.
the Cathedral Effect. Studies have shown that the environment we find ourselves in powerfully shapes our thinking.
This is why people expect psychic readings and seances in a dark room with candles and incense.
Tags: booknotes