Tiago Forte
Many of the case studies I share about how I use digital notes involve major writing projects, because that is the most challenging kind of project I use my Second Brain for. But there is a different kind of use case that is just as meaningful: everyday life challenges. Challenges like troubleshooting the wifi at…
In 1969, studio executives at Paramount Pictures were desperate to find a film director for a new movie they had purchased the rights to. It was to be a crime drama based on the New York Mafia. One after another, all the top directors of the era turned the project down. They all found it…
TLDR: We’re seeking a Director of Content to take charge of our content production, develop a long-term strategy for growth, and lead our team in executing that strategy. You will touch every corner of the Forte Labs content universe and be responsible for leading our media brand across all channels. The role is highly flexible,…
One of the most useful exercises I perform each year is a “mid-year” review in June or July. It’s great to set ambitious goals at the start of the year, but that plan often doesn’t survive contact with the real world for more than a few weeks. We’re like newborn babies flush with excitement for…
In my PARA Method, I teach people how to organize all their digital notes and files using a simple, 4-part system. Your computer is your working environment for many of your waking hours. Until you take control of it and design it to support the kinds of thinking you want to do, every minute spent there…
Knowledge work is unique among skilled professions in that we lack a culture of systematic improvement. Other skilled trades – from carpenters to welders to nurses to pilots – have been around long enough and are repeatable enough that the best practices are widely understood. How to frame a door, how to weld a seam,…
I recently hired designer and writer Michael Dean to summarize my Building a Second Brain course in visual form. Michael is the writing coach and lead facilitator for The Writer’s Studio, a new cohort-based writing workshop he recently launched in partnership with David Perell. I asked Michael to take the course as a participant, and to document the main lessons…
We’ve been led to believe that we are at the precipice of an Artificial Intelligence explosion. Yet the progress in our digital assistants and self-driving cars seems to have stalled. Computers choke at even the simplest requests, and most of the digital world continues to be handcrafted by humans. But quietly, hidden in plain sight,…
I often find that life teaches me the same lesson across multiple areas of my life at the same time. All I have to do is sit back and notice what it’s trying to tell me (and take some notes). That is happening right now with the idea that “Everything is a season.” It’s not…
I recently taught this workshop on How to Take Digital Notes, hosted by Teachable, the online learning platform I use for my courses. This is an introductory workshop for people just getting into this crazy world of Second Brains, personal knowledge management, and digital notetaking. I presented some of the core concepts you’ll need to know…
I recently joined David Duncan to discuss his new book The Secret Lives of Customers which teaches the Jobs-To-Be-Done (JTBD) framework using the intriguing format of a detective story. The basic premise is that consumers “hire” a product (or service) to perform a certain “job” for them. I’ve used JTBD in my own business to figure…
The #1 question I’m receiving these days is “When does your book come out?”
(If you’re just joining, I’m writing a book based on my online course Building a Second Brain)
So I’ve decided to give you all an update on how it’s going and what I’ve learned so far.