I sat down with Ryder Caroll, the creator of the Bullet Journal, to discuss all things personal knowledge management (PKM) and the differences between our first and Second Brain. We covered: The differences between PKM and productivity The biggest misconception about PKM The true purpose of PKM How to deal with “data debt” My project-oriented approach…
A “Second Brain” is a system for knowledge management – a trusted place outside your head to preserve and protect your most valuable knowledge. But it’s not one piece of software – it is the entire ecosystem of apps and tools you use to handle information. That said, there is one kind of app that…
After teaching over 5,000 students how to build a Second Brain, I know that there’s no one right way and no one true app. I also noticed that my personal setup not always resonates with everyone. Most students find it helpful to see how other people have implemented the principles of the Building a Second…
How do you establish the habits of personal knowledge management in your life? Here are twelve practical steps you can take right now to get your Second Brain started: 1. Decide what you want to capture Think about your Second Brain as an intimate commonplace book or journal. What do you most want to capture,…
From the Dawn of Email to the Rise of Personal Dashboards In the beginning… was email. The very first email was sent 50 years ago, in the spring of 1971. The incredible spread of email since then unleashed an unimaginable torrent of information into our everyday lives. And to this day, we still haven’t recovered….
It’s not every day that 4 years of nonstop work hinges on one moment.
But today’s one of those days!
I’ve dreamed of writing this email for many years, and I can officially say it:
You can now pre-order Building a Second Brain.
It was the fall of 2005. I was a 20 year-old student at Saddleback Community College near my hometown in Orange County, California.
Over the previous year, I had exhausted nearly all of my college savings by attending one of the most expensive universities in the country, in faraway Washington D.C.
As soon as cohort 12 of Building a Second Brain finished earlier this year, my team and I sat down to start designing the next cohort. We looked at everything: Feedback from students Ideas for improvements saved in our notes New apps and features that have been released And our long-term plans for making this…
We are officially launching cohort 13 of Building a Second Brain (BASB), our flagship online course on how to save your best ideas, organize your knowledge, and use it to lead a fulfilling life with more ease and less stress. We’ve spent the last 5 months making a new round of radical improvements to every…
One of the most powerful shifts I see people make in the way they work is breaking down their large projects or goals into smaller chunks, which I call “Intermediate Packets.” I use the term “packet” because it reminds us that so much of our work today is digital, which means it is malleable and can…
I recently hosted Dan Charnas, author of the book Work Clean: The Life-Changing Power of Mise-en-Place to Organize Your Life, Work, and Mind (affiliate link), for an in-depth conversation about the most interesting, impactful principles from his work. Dan takes us on a fascinating journey through his career in the music business, as one of the first…
I recently joined Vishen Lakhiani, Founder and CEO of the education company Mindvalley, on the Mindvalley Podcast to talk about the 4 essential tools I think every modern professional needs in their toolkit. I also talked through my CODE methodology, which lies at the heart of my approach to building a “Second Brain.” Listen below, or visit…
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