The Topology of Attention

It’s becoming increasingly clear to me that my work is really about attentional design. Becoming aware of attention. Shaping and directing it. Shifting its quality and inner experience. Leveraging it to produce work of real value. Tell someone what to do, they might be more productive for a day. Tell them what to pay attention…

First Principles of Workflow Design: Interview with Khe Hy and Tiago Forte (Part II)

First Principles of Workflow Design: Interview with Khe Hy and Tiago Forte (Part II) I had a wonderful time talking with Khe Hy (of Radreads and Quartz) a second time on his podcast Rad Awakenings. ▶️ Play Episode ▶️ Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Google Play | TuneIn| RSS We discuss our respective “first principles” when it…

Second Brain Case Study: Researching and writing a 10,000-word academic article

Note from Tiago: I recently received this unsolicited email from C. Wess Daniels, a graduate of Building a Second Brain. I’m publishing it here with his permission, with only minor edits for clarity. Comments in [brackets] are mine, and I’ve bolded the “juiciest” parts. Hi Tiago, I hope this finds you well. I’m writing to…

The Unmistakable Creative Podcast: Tiago Forte on Building a Second Brain

Check out my conversation with Srini Rao on The Unmistakable Creative podcast. Or read Doug Toft’s summary of the conversation here. It’s probably the deepest I’ve ever gone into the content of my course, of the same name: Building a Second Brain: Capture, Organize, and Share Your Ideas Using Digital Notes. Next round kicks off…

The World Beyond Your Head: How Distraction Shapes Who We Are

Matthew Crawford’s book The World Beyond Your Head (Affiliate Link) is the most important book I’ve read in quite some time. It makes a sweeping argument about what it means to be an ethical, autonomous human in the digital age. Crawford draws a strong connection from the distractions buzzing on our phones, to the evolving…

The Inner Game of Work: Focus, Desire, and Working Free

I’ve become obsessed with coaching. It started in February, when I started the 4-month Self-Expression & Leadership Program at Landmark. I was assigned an accountability group and a coach, who guided me through the process of planning and executing a community service project. That process included learning how to communicate a vision, how to recruit…

Strategically Constrained: How to Turn Limitations Into Opportunities

I first came across the idea that great strengths can emerge from great constraints in Ryan Holiday’s book The Obstacle is the Way. He takes a philosophical and historical approach, citing numerous Very Important People in history who used their unique challenges as springboards. I was annoyed by the idea, thinking something along the lines…

Live Interview at Evernote HQ: Habit Formation and Behavior Change

I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Forrest Bryant at Evernote HQ, for my first ever live on-camera interview, broadcasting on Facebook Live. The topic was habit formation and behavior change, two of my favorite topics. Check out the full blog post for a video recording of the interview, a written summary of…

Able Business Radio: Podcast Interview with Tiago Forte

I had a fantastic time talking to Zachary Sexton on his podcast last week. We dive DEEP into the cognitive basis of organization, how to use digital note-taking apps (like Evernote) more effectively, and most of all, the personal knowledge management methods I’ve developed and teach in my online bootcamp, Building a Second Brain: P.A.R.A….

Testimonials for Building a Second Brain

These are participant testimonials for my online bootcamp on personal knowledge management, Building A Second Brain. Emphasis in bold is mine: “I absolutely LOVED the course. It’s changed the way I think. You have a gift of articulating thoughts & ideas…Your slides and visuals are amazing. The diagrams communicate the ideas and mental models at…

The Rise of the Full-Stack Freelancer

A Portfolio Approach to Modern Work In the past, being a freelancer meant being a specialist. The only way you could generate enough income to make it as a free agent was to focus on a single, highly monetizable skill. For example, copywriting, coding, graphic design, photography, journalism, or language translation. You had to be able…