Building a Second Brain

The Modern Swipe File: 15 Unexpected Uses for Digital Notes

One of the most common questions I’m asked is “What should I save in my digital notes?” My typical answers include “highlights from books,” “website bookmarks,” and “social media favorites.” Those are the bread and butter of online content. But they are also just the very tip of the iceberg. There is a whole universe…

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My New Book: Ways of Knowing

I’m very proud to present my new book, Ways of Knowing, a curated collection of 14 essays with my very best writing from the past two years. The book explores the various forms of intelligence we have at our disposal as humans – not only cognitive but emotional, intuitive, somatic, and social – and how we…

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The Second Brain Manifesto

We believe that ideas represent one of the most powerful forces in the world today Ideas are not mere playthings. They are the building blocks of the modern world. Ideas inform our thinking and behavior every day. We depend on new ideas to improve our health, productivity, and relationships. To understand culture, politics, science, and…

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How I Made a Documentary Film with Digital Notes

Over the last year I filmed a short documentary on the life and artistic career of my father Wayne Forte. He has been one of the strongest influences on me, not only as a father, but as a prolific lifelong artist. I wanted a way to share his remarkable story with a wider public, to…

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Knowledge Building Blocks: The New Meaning of Notes

One day in your early school years, a teacher probably told you to “take notes” for the first time. Looking around at your fellow classmates, this seemed to involve writing down what the teacher said, word for word, on lined pieces of paper. For most of us, this is how our experience of note-taking started:…

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I’m speaking at Teachable’s “Share What You Know” Summit

It is June of 2016, and I’m sitting quietly at my computer in a trendy cafe in downtown Oakland, California. I’m gulping down a huge, over-sweetened chai latte and sweating profusely as I log in to my computer. I’m incredibly stressed out, and using the sugar as a coping mechanism. I’m sweating not because I’m working…

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Video Series: Tiago Learns Roam

In this new video series, I walk you through my own learning process as I get to know Roam Research, the “note-taking tool for networked thought.” From creating my Roam account and opening the program for the first time, I’ll ask the stupid questions so you don’t have to, experiment with every feature through trial and…

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Why I Organize Areas in PARA with a Taxonomy of Functional Areas

Note from Tiago: Timothy Kenny is the author of “Accelerated Learning for Entrepreneurs,” and is a top productivity instructor on Udemy with more than 87 productivity courses, 110,000+ students, and 5,000+ reviews. Watch our recent interview for a closer look at how our productivity systems can work together. By Timothy Kenny A student of mine recently enrolled in…

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The 4 Levels of Personal Knowledge Management

In order to get where you’re going, you need to know where you came from. When it comes to learning, you need a way to measure your progress toward your goal. How will you know whether you learned it? How will you compare your performance before and after? What concretely will you be able to…

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Second Brain Week: A Free Workshop Series from Top Experts and Creators

To celebrate the launch of the 11th edition of Building a Second Brain, we’re co-hosting the first ever Second Brain Week, a series of free events with 8 top creators and experts. Come join us to learn about digital note-taking, organizing, productivity, knowledge management, and online education, and how creating a system of knowledge management for yourself can…

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