Tiago Forte

Founder of productivity consultancy/training firm Forte Labs, and editor of Praxis.

Progressive Summarization II: Examples and Metaphors

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These are Layer 1 notes I took on an article on postrationalism, a topic I’m interested in. This is 373 words, which would take about 2 minutes to read at an average reading speed. 2 minutes doesn’t seem like much, but when you consider that these notes could have no relevance to the task at hand, it’s a lot of attention to pay for nothing. Especially considering this is dense, challenging material.

For Layer 2, I bolded what I thought were the key points:

Progressive Summarization: A Practical Technique for Designing Discoverable Notes

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Modern digital tools make it easy to “capture” information from a wide variety of sources. We know how to snap a picture, type out some notes, record a video, or scan a document. Getting this content from the outside world into the digital world is trivial.

It’s even easier to get content that is already digital from one app to another. We know how to copy and paste text, save an image from a webpage, archive an email attachment, or import a video file.

Supersizing the Mind: The Science of Cognitive Extension

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You enter your kitchen for a quick lunch: how is it exactly that your brain solves the problem “prepare lunch as efficiently as possible”? Your brain effortlessly, almost instantaneously “assembles” a diverse mix of problem-solving resources on the spot. These “resources” can include knowledge, tools, or structures, and can be: Mental: knowledge, experience, intuition Physical:…

The Rise of the Full-Stack Freelancer, Part II: The Stack

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In Part I, I described a new kind of worker called the Full-Stack Freelancer.

I argued that more affordable and user-friendly software-as-a-service (SaaS), among other things, has enabled individuals to manage portfolios of complementary income streams, instead of focusing on only one specialized skill.

But you may have noticed something missing: what is in the stack?

Here’s mine:

Press, Reviews, Articles, and Case Studies on Building a Second Brain

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The following is a collection of customer reviews, interviews, online articles, case studies, and other third-party sources related to my online course on Personal Knowledge Management, Building a Second Brain. For customer testimonials, click here. We’ll update it periodically with new links. Interviews Interview with Austin Brawner and Andrew Foxwell on The Ecommerce Influence Podcast:…

The React Productivity Revolution

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On 10/25/17 I delivered a talk at ReactiveConf, an annual conference held in Bratislava, Slovakia centered on the React Javascript front-end development technology and ecosystem. Here are a few followup resources: #1 The slides from the talk: #2 A followup blog post I wrote, presenting the same ideas in the context of massively increasing project throughput…

From Multitasking to Multiplexing: 5 Steps to Building a Personal Productivity Network

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Someone once asked me a question: what would it take to multiply someone’s productivity by 100? It’s a more interesting question than the typical headlines you see online (3 Weird Tricks to 10x your Productivity!!!), because it’s so clearly out of reach using conventional approaches. No amount of planning, effort, or hours worked will even…

The Topology of Attention

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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)

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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

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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…