I wrote this blog inspired by the book Building a Second Brain by Tiago Forte. I wanted to share my experience of using a digital brain in daily life for over a year (since January 5, 2023). Bismillaah...

Disclaimer

I strive to avoid copyright infringement and plagiarism. My goal is to review, extract value from this book, and combine it with my personal experiences.

Understanding the Concept of a Digital Brain

What Is a Digital Brain?

This concept revolves around leveraging technology to store and manage information, ideas, knowledge, and tasks in an efficient system. The goal is to create a personal system that allows us to access and utilize this information effortlessly anytime and anywhere we need it.

Building a second brain is actually the opposite of self-improvement. It is about optimizing a system outside of yourself. A system not subject to your limitations and constraints. It is designed to leave you happily unoptimized, free to roam, to wonder, to wander toward whatever makes you feel alive here and now in each moment. ~Tiago Forte

Why Do We Need a Digital Brain?

Our brains have limited capacity, but they possess potential far beyond simple memorization. By offloading memory tasks to a digital brain, we can free up mental bandwidth for innovation and solving complex problems, unlocking our full human potential.

This approach enhances productivity and creativity by creating a reliable system for storing, organizing, and retrieving information. It allows us to focus on higher-level thinking, reduce cognitive load, and ensure we don’t forget critical details, enabling better decision-making and problem-solving.

Use your main brain to remember only the most important things, like account numbers, ATM pins, or family phone numbers. If you’re Muslim, you could dedicate it to memorizing the Quran and Sunnah or anything else you consider vital in your life, leaving the rest to your digital brain.

Who Is Best Suited to Use a Digital Brain?

A digital brain is ideal for anyone looking to enhance productivity and creativity. It’s perfect for those seeking a more organized, focused, and structured life, or to reduce mental burden. Entrepreneurs, professionals, workers, and students can all benefit greatly.

How to Build a Digital Brain?

If you’re interested in building a digital brain, I’d be happy to guide and learn with you in subsequent chapters. I recommend reading in order to gain a comprehensive understanding before creating your own digital brain.

Myths & Facts About Digital Brains

Common myths include believing that a digital brain replaces human memory or that it’s too complex to set up. In reality, a digital brain is an extension of the human brain, and it can be as simple or sophisticated as you need, depending on personal preference.

Building Your Digital Brain

Criteria for Tools That Work Best for You

When choosing an app for your digital brain, prioritize flexibility (adapting to different workflows), ease of use, key features like fast search functionality, tagging for organization, and collaboration options for teamwork.

Start by identifying your note-taking personality & style. According to Tiago Forte and Anne Lor Lecompte, there are four archetypes commonly adopted by modern note-taking apps and users. These represent different approaches to organizing and managing knowledge in a digital system, with each archetype reflecting unique mindsets and strategies for interacting with information:

The Architect

Logical, systematic, and scalable. Architects focus on structure and systems. They create highly organized frameworks and processes for capturing and storing information. Architects often use folders, tags, and detailed templates to keep everything in its place. According to Tiago Forte, Architects are well-suited for Notion.

The Gardener

Adaptable, creative, and exploratory. Gardeners let their digital brains evolve organically, adding information as needed and connecting concepts over time without rigid structures. They regularly prune and maintain their content. Tiago Forte suggests that Gardeners thrive with tools like Obsidian or Roam Research.

The Librarian

Efficient and research-driven. Librarians prioritize categorizing and retrieving knowledge. They build systematic catalogs, tags, and references to ensure quick access to information. Tiago Forte recommends Librarians use Evernote.

The Student

Curious and open-minded. Students focus on absorbing information, taking notes from various sources. Their digital brains serve as tools for active learning and continuous improvement. Tiago Forte suggests that Students excel with Apple Notes.

These archetypes help individuals understand their natural tendencies when building and managing a digital brain, guiding them to optimize their personal knowledge management strategies. Which archetype do you think fits you best?

Personally, I identify as an Architect and chose Notion as my digital brain tool because of its minimalist design, ease of use, multi-platform availability, and essential features like search functionality, integration with other apps, and export options for periodic backups.

If you haven’t identified your archetype yet, don’t worry—we haven’t covered the most popular tools for digital brains.

Comparing Popular Tools

Notion

An all-in-one workspace designed for note-taking, task management, project organization, real-time collaboration, and more. It is highly customizable and flexible, with templates, databases, integrations, and built-in AI features.

Obsidian

Obsidian is a markdown-based note-taking application that focuses on creating connections and building a knowledge graph. It stores your notes directly on your device, giving you complete control over your privacy. With extensive customization options and a wide range of community plugins, you can expand its functionality to suit your needs. It offers both free and paid versions.

Image source: Obsidian

The downside of Obsidian is its limited collaboration features compared to cloud-based apps, and it has a learning curve that may take time to master, particularly for navigating its link and graph views. This tool is ideal for knowledge workers, writers, and thinkers who want to create interconnected networks of ideas and value privacy.

Evernote

Evernote is a simple and intuitive note-taking app featuring advanced search capabilities, including text search within images and PDFs. It offers a seamless multi-platform experience with smooth synchronization, external app integrations, and built-in AI features. Both free and paid versions are available.

Image source: Evernote

The downside is its lack of deep customization and flexibility compared to apps like Notion or Obsidian. Evernote is ideal for individuals prioritizing ease of use, robust search functionality, and the ability to store diverse media in their notes.

Roam Research

Roam Research is a note-taking app designed for networked thinking. It emphasizes bi-directional linking, enabling users to easily connect related ideas. The graph view simplifies navigation and provides a visual representation of these connections. Roam doesn’t offer a free version but provides a free trial, after which users need a subscription to continue.

Image source: Roam Research

The drawbacks include its relatively premium pricing compared to other apps, its non-linear approach that can confuse beginners, and a learning curve that requires practice to fully utilize its features. Additionally, its offline access is limited. Roam is best suited for academics, researchers, and thinkers who enjoy connecting ideas and need an advanced tool for non-linear thinking.

Apple Notes

Apple Notes is the native note-taking app for Apple devices, offering a simple and clean interface, seamless integration across the Apple ecosystem, and real-time collaboration. It’s free for Apple users and incorporates Apple Intelligence for enhanced functionality.

https://cdsassets.apple.com/live/7WUAS350/images/macos/monterey/macos-monterey-notes-all-icloud-selected.png

Image source: Apple

The drawbacks include limited customization options and fewer advanced features compared to other apps like Notion or Obsidian. Additionally, it’s exclusive to Apple devices, restricting accessibility for non-Apple users. However, it’s an excellent choice for those who prefer handwritten notes or sketches, thanks to its excellent integration with the Apple Pencil.

Microsoft OneNote

Microsoft OneNote, part of the Microsoft Office suite, offers a rich format ideal for organizing notes in a hierarchical structure. It is multi-platform, integrates seamlessly with the Microsoft ecosystem (Office and OneDrive), supports real-time collaboration, and is enhanced with Microsoft’s AI Copilot features.

https://site-cdn.onenote.net/161821240450_Images/home/new/top_v3.png

Image source: Microsoft

The drawbacks include its high complexity, which may overwhelm users looking for a simple note-taking tool. It also contains many features that may not be necessary for basic use, and its search capabilities are not as fast or advanced as other note-taking apps. OneNote is best suited for users deeply embedded in the Microsoft ecosystem who need a powerful and feature-rich tool for personal and professional note-taking.

To help you identify the right Archetype and tool for your needs, I recommend watching Tiago Forte's 8-minute video:

The video includes background music. May Allah Ta'ala forgive us as we only aim to learn from the knowledge it shares, not to listen to or enjoy the music.

Core Principles

The core principles of building a second brain, or as I prefer to call it, a digital brain, as discussed by Tiago Forte, can be summarized with the acronym CODE:

Capture

Capture ideas, quotes, information, tasks, schedules, data, and anything you consider important from various sources (books, articles, meetings, videos, audio, and more) and store them in a trusted system (your digital brain) to ensure nothing gets lost.

Organize

Use tags and folders to arrange information in a way that makes it easy to retrieve and use when needed. Tiago introduced the PARA method, which I’ll discuss in detail in the next section.

Distill

Simplify and extract key insights or actionable takeaways from the captured and organized information to create concise summaries that save time and effort.

Express

Showcase your work. Use your organized knowledge to create, share, or act on ideas through writing, audio, video, presentations, or projects.

Organizational Structure

Tiago Forte’s organizational method, PARA, categorizes all digital content into four main categories:

Projects

A space to store active, time-bound tasks and projects you are currently working on — whether it’s a to-do list, time blocking, or any productivity method you prefer.

Areas

A space for ongoing areas of responsibility requiring regular attention without specific deadlines — like health, work, personal finance, family, and more.

Resources

A repository for reference materials or information that might be useful in the future — such as articles, research, and tutorials.

Alpharizy's Digital Brain System

I’ve experienced countless benefits from using a digital brain. In this post, I’ll share how I incorporate this system into my daily life, whether for work, learning, or other activities.

Capture

I use the web browser extension Save to Notion to quickly capture and save content. This allows me to revisit or act on it later, at the right time.

I capture and save anything important and relevant to me that might be useful in the future, primarily in text format. All content is stored in my Inbox folder.

I have a personal rule (not directly from the book): I only store text in my digital brain. For non-text content such as images, audio, videos, or other files, I save only the links. These files are stored in cloud storage or an external hard drive instead of the digital brain.

The reason? Speed. Searching for information in text format is much faster than navigating video content, which requires finding the exact timestamp for the information you need.

Organize

I store tasks and projects that I’m currently working on or need to complete in the Plan folder under the Projects section. While it may seem unconventional to keep projects within projects, this method works best for me.

Distill

Content I capture initially goes into the Inbox folder. For video content, I watch the video and take notes on the most relevant and important points. Once I’ve captured what I need, I remove the video link from the Inbox and rarely rewatch it (unless I truly enjoy it or have another reason to revisit it).

If you can note-make and not return to source material, it’s a win.

When I need the information later, I can quickly search for it in my digital brain, saving significant time compared to rewatching the video.

I also perform regular distillation to keep my digital brain efficient and straightforward. The image above shows the technique of progressive summarization.

Progressive summarization, developed by Tiago Forte, is a method for refining and highlighting key information in your notes over time. Its goal is to extract the most valuable insights, making your content easier to review and use. This process involves multiple layers of summarization, each layer making the information more concise.

**Layer 1: Original Content**—Complete information with no edits or raw material.
**Layer 2: Bold Key Insights**—Highlight the most critical points or sentences, making them stand out without rereading everything.
**Layer 3: Highlight Critical Concepts**—Emphasize the most essential ideas representing the core of the content.
**Layer 4: Add Annotations**—Write brief notes or summaries of the most important sections. These annotations provide personalized context or actionable steps.
**Layer 5: Summarize in Your Own Words**—Condense everything into a few sentences, capturing the essence of the original content for quick reference.

Express

This website is one of the results of my creative efforts, supported by my digital brain.

Your Turn

Have you used a digital brain? If so, share your experience with me via direct message on social media.

If not, why not give it a try? If it suits you, it could bring tremendous benefits. If not, feel free to move on to something else.

Recommendation

I highly recommend reading this book. It’s available in both physical and digital formats.

For more information, visit the official website here .

Conclusion

By leveraging a digital brain, I’ve experienced numerous benefits, including increased productivity, creativity, learning ability, and peace of mind. I know I have a system I can rely on.

Thank you for reading this blog. I hope you found something valuable here. Feel free to reach out with feedback or suggestions on social media. Apologies for any mistakes, and see you in the next blog! :)

Understanding the Concept of a Digital Brain

What Is a Digital Brain?

Why Do We Need a Digital Brain?

Who Is Best Suited to Use a Digital Brain?

How to Build a Digital Brain?

Myths & Facts About Digital Brains

Building Your Digital Brain

Criteria for Tools That Work Best for You

The Architect

The Gardener

The Librarian

The Student

Comparing Popular Tools

Notion

Obsidian

Evernote

Roam Research

Apple Notes

Microsoft OneNote

Core Principles

Capture

Organize

Distill

Express

Organizational Structure

Projects

Areas

Resources

Archives

Alpharizy's Digital Brain System

Capture

Organize

Distill

Express

Your Turn

Recommendation

Conclusion

Building a Digital Brain System