1️⃣ Sentence Synopsis
The internet age requires us to outsource the capturing, organizing and distillation of information to a “second brain” (a “personal knowledge management system” or digital repository) so that we can be more productive in our creative efforts.
🖼️ Contexts
I fell down a productivity-guru rabbit hole about a year ago, stumbling upon numerous videos using this term “second brain” (like this one and this one) that led me to the Forte Labs website and Tiago’s blog (as well as the e-books that were created from them). I applied for a scholarship to attend his virtual workshop (Cohort 14) and can say the systems he presents have helped me feel less scattered and more able to connect interesting ideas from what I’m reading, watching and listening to. He covers a lot of ground here – this book really does function as the written equivalent of his course – including his lauded PARA system (Projects, Areas, Resources, Archive). This overarching framework can function as a “life management” system and is adaptable any productivity app — Evernote, Notion, Obsidian, Roam. PARA helps us know where to put the information we consume. As to the what, how, when and why—there is another framework for how to develop and embed the information into creative projects: CODE (Capture, Organize, Distill, Express). Both are versatile and customizable methods that can help knowledge workers (and whole organizations) manage and make use of the information streams we swim in every day.
🔑 Key Takeaways
- It is better to organize information by utility and action rather than theme or topic (i.e, How is this going to help me move forward one of my current projects?)
- The goal of notetaking (and PKM more broadly) is creative expression —that is, to evaluate, share, teach, record, post, lobby, publish, speak, present, perform, produce, write, draw interpret, critique or translate.
- To avoid saving/bookmarking too much: Ask yourself: Does it inspire me? Is it useful? Is it personal? Is it surprising?
- Think about projects in terms of “intermediate packets” – the drafts, sketches, pilots, prototypes, concepts and demos—the smaller stepping stones that can be remixed, recycled and reused once a project is complete (key question: what are the knowledge assets you’re creating today that will be most valuable in the future?)
💯 Strong Lines
- Surrounded by knowledge, starving for wisdom: So many of us share the feeling that we are surrounded by knowledge, yet starving for wisdom. That despite all the mind-expanding ideas we have access to, the quality of our attention is only getting worse. That we are paralyzed by the conflict between our responsibilities and our most heartfelt passions, so that we are never quite able to focus and also never quite able to rest.
- Creative Constraints: “Innovation and impact don’t happen by accident or chance. Creativity depends on creative process.”
- Don’t get too Complicated: “We don’t need complex, sophisticated systems to be able to produce complex, sophisticated works.”
- The purpose of notes: “Your job as a notetaker is to preserve the notes you’re taking on the things you discover in such a way that they can survive the journey into the future.”
- Save the in-between work: “—the notes, the drafts, the outlines, the feedback—tends to be underappreciated and undervalued….If we consider how precious little time we have to produce something extraordinary in our careers, it becomes imperative that we recycle that knowledge back into a system where it can become useful again.”
- On the attention economy: “The ability to intentionally and strategically allocate our attention is a competitive advantage in a distracted world.”
- It all goes back to childhood: “Underlying our struggles and challenges with productivity, creativity, and performance is our fundamental relationship to the information in our lives. That relationship was forged during your upbringing as you encountered new experiences, and was influenced by your personality, learning style, relationships, and your genes. You learned to react in a certain way when faced with new ideas. You adopted a default “blueprint” for how you treated incoming information—with anticipation, fear, self-doubt or some complex mix of feelings that is unique to you. That default attitude to information colors every aspect of your life.”
🧠 Brain Tickles
- Archipelago of ideas: a metaphor that comes from Steven Johnson’s work, where he describes his writing process: “…I used to lose weeks stalling before each new chapter because it was a big sea of nothingness. Now each chapter starts life as a kind of archipelago of inspiring quotes, which make sit seem far less daunting. All I have to do is build bridges between the islands.” It’s a practice similar to outlining.
- Hemingway bridge: Ernest Hemingway famously ended his writing sessoins mid-sentence or mid-idea so that he knew what would come next in the story—this way the generative energy of one day could fuel the creativity of the next. A similar effect can be done with next steps, current status, thought captures, and intentions for follow up sessions.
- Dial down the scope: common among project managers and software developers, this term refers to removing features and functionality for the launch of a product rather than delaying it all together.
- Cathedral Effect: the spaces we inhabit change our ways of thinking.
🍎 Ideas & Excerpts for Teaching and Learning
The description of creative processes were illuminating and helped illustrate a variety of human creative endeavor and expression. In particular:
- Twyla Tharp’s “boxes” (pp. 81-84, also detailed in her book The Creative Habit)
- Octavia Butler’s commonplace books (pp. 145-149; you can also read about/see them here)
- Francis Ford Coppola’s Godfather notebooks (pp. 133-116, you can also watch him talk about them here)
The description of the “knowledge flywheel” (pg. 201) connects to sustainable assignments and open pedagogical approaches.