How I Outsource Memory and Idea Organization
In today’s age of information overabundance, it’s only right that we develop a new way to collect, store and process inormation. There are so many different resources available for learning new information, and so many different possibilities of synthesizing these pieces together to create new things, that having a way to organize and process these pieces of information is crucial.
That’s why I find the Second Brain system to be so helpful. “Building A Second Brain” means using a digital note taking application, such as Evernote, in order to facilitate next-level information processing for your own use.
By incorporating an organizational template like Tiago Forte’s “PARA” system, I can use these notetaking applications to their fullest potential. When I file all of my resources under Projects, Areas of Responsibility, Resources and Archives, I have a nice structure in which I can funnel all of my information through. Using this system has allowed me to complete writing projects with greater ease and clarity.
Here’s how I use my Second Brain system.
My favorite strategy within the Second Brain system is known as Progressive Summarization. This is a way of creating a heirarchy of summarization to get the most out of note taking. I use this strategy when I am reading something that I want to use as a resource later in order to create something. My system looks like this:
- While reading, I write down the points I think are most important in Evernote.
- After I have read the whole piece and have a page of notes, I boldface any points that I think are most crucial to the thing I am creating. These are usually points that I want to make sure are prominent in my blog post or other peice of content.
- After I have boldfaced points in my notes, I highlight those points that will feature as guiding ideas for my post, which may be headings. I like to think of these points as the main rudders for the whole piece of content I’m creating.
By using this system, I can create multiple layers of summarization of a resource, which helps me to process the information and determine which parts are most actionable and important for my current purpose.
For me, this strategy is crucial in the process of creating a blog post where I am drawing on multiple written resources. Much of the stress is taken out of the process, because when it comes time to writing the first line, I know the exact framework that my piece is going to follow. It removes the problem of getting a few paragraphs in and wondering what to write next.
After I have used this multi-layered note to create content, I filter the note through my PARA system. I take my note from the Project folder to one of the others.
If I know this note is going to be useful to me in an upcoming piece of content, I will put it in my Areas of Operation folder. This is where I put resources that are relavent to what I am currently working on.
If I know I don’t need this note for another current project, but I think it will be useful for me to revisit in the future, I will move it to the Resources folder. Here I put notes that I’m not currently drawing on, but I think will be useful for me later.
If I know I probably don’t need this note again, it will go to the Archive folder. Here are notes that I don’t think I will need again, but they serve as a record of what I have been studying, and may become relavent again in the future.
Using this system allows me to process the information I am consuming in my learning journey, and then store it in a format that is easily accessible to me. I run it through the filter of my own style of summarization, so that when I come back to my notes, they have my unique touch on them, which makes them familiar and like they are part of me.
Hence the second brain!
This system really is similar to having a second brain, because like our own thoughts and memories, they are colored by our own unique perception. The things we remember best are often the things most important to us, and we color their memory in a way that is most useful to us. This is the same way a digital second-brain system works.
It bridges your mind with the sea of information, in a way that is organized and meaningul to you.
This system has empowered me to create content with greater confidence. It takes a lot of the stress out of the process. With a well-organized Second Brain system in place, I can use my real brain for the creative process itself, and I can leave the memorization and organization of information to the computer.
