Wouldn't it be awesome if you could remember everything you ever saw, heard, or read? Well, maybe it would not be that awesome. Still, I would really be happy if I could remember everything I both need to remember, and people expect me to remember. However, the problem that gets in the way for me is twofold. First, I have Attention Deficit Disoder (I am not hyper), or ADD. Some call this neurodivergence, but the reality is that holding on to most details does not come naturally for me. Second, as a business owner, father, and volunteer leader in multiple non-profit organizations, I am expected to remember a staggering amount of information. It feels like three lifetimes worth of details.

So there it is. I am bad at remember details, but I am good a contributing, so I find myself in this quandry over and over again where I need to remember more than I am able. While taking medications like Adderall, or using caffeine to self medicate can help me focus, neither help with information retention or detail recall.

I need something else if I am going to juggle the million and one details I want, and need to recall.

What is the solution?

For me, this came in the form of building a digital second brain. A digital second brain helps me in three ways.

First, it helps me organize my ideas, projects, and priorities organically. By organic that means, like my real brain, it becomes more useful the more I use it.

Secondly, it is readily accessible, everywhere I do knowledge work. I can access it from my desktop, my tablet, and of course from my phone, and all my information stays in sync.

Finally, again like my real brain, it does more than remember, it helps me be more productive. Having a brain is not only about recall, but it is about doing better work faster.

How does it work?

Having a digital second brain is a lot like owning a car. If you don't know how to drive, it won't do you much good. If you know how to drive, there are lots of cars that can take you where you want to go. The best solution is when your car, and your skills, align in a way that you are confident they can take you where you want to go.

So before we dive into the specific brands of software that you can use to build a digital second brain, let's talk about the skills you will need to drive such a brain.

Three Core Skills

In my experience, there are three skills you will want to cultivate. They are

1. Organizing for action (instead of type)
2. Balancing HEART Roles and SMART Goals.
3. The Power of the Daily Note

Each of these exists independently of the tool you use. Let's take a closer look at each one.

Organize for action

When most people get a new computer, they often fall into the trap of organizing their files the way the software developers suggest, by sorting their files by type into different folders. Spreadsheets go in on place, documents in another, pictures in a third, and so on. Not only is this a horrible way to organize things for the end user (it makes sense for the software engineers, they only want to worry about their product), it is inconsistent with how we are productive in the real world.

When you begin to accept that storage is nearly infinite (have you ever asked ChatGPT how long it would take you to fill a terabyte by typing?), then you can see that you can safely organize your files by what you are trying to produce. Just like we do in the real world. As I like to say, if a software engineer organized your house they would put your toothbrush, hair brush, and toilet brush in the same place because they are all brushes. In the real world (think of your kitchen) we organize tools for action, or how we expect to act and work. Everything we need to be productive is at our finger tips. We should do the same in a digital workspace. like having all the ingredients on the counter top, if you stop seeing folders as places to stick pieces of paper, and you start thinking of them as little "workshops" or kitchens, you can begin to organize much more effectively.

At present, the most popular method for organizing for action is The PARA method, created by Forte Labs.

Balancing HEART Roles and SMART Goals

The second core skill for building a digital second brain is to understand the difference between a goal (something you want to finish) and role (an area of your life that demands authenticity and attention). I have an entire blog post about HEART Roles, but here's the core idea. Not everything you do is a goal. Some things, like being a parent, a spouse, a friend, do not respond to goal mindset thinking. Sometimes you just have to show up without any expectation of an outcome. Put it this way, goals are about delivering outcomes. Roles are about showing up. Goals make things happen using resources. Roles are about building relationships with people. Once you begin to see the world this way, your digital second brain can be an invaluable tool in helping you keep the two world views straight, and understanding what you need to remember and why.

The Daily Note

Just like your brain absorbs new information every day, your digital second brain will need a place, an inbox if you will, to hold informatoin you don't quite no what to do with yet. And just like our real brains need time to move memories from short and medium term memory, into long term memory, your digital second brain will need a similar habit.

The power of the daily note, is that it can not only act as that short term memory buffer, but with the right plugins, and practices, it can surface information you need to know, when you need to know it. It is one of those simple ideas that pays massive dividends over time.

Conclusion

Having a digital second brain can go a long way toward helping you "remember" all the information you want, and need to recall. However, it can do even more, increasing the types and kinds of knowledge at your disposal to work with. In short, it can actually help make you more productive.

But you're no doubt wondering, how do I actually do that? Where do I start? I got you covered. I have two forms of content you might find useful:

Video Resources:

• Obsidian Base Install: https://youtu.be/eKiWjWxOO6k
• Using Obsidian with PARA Part 1 https://youtu.be/yjIVXobcjSI
• Using Obsidian with PARA Part 2: https://youtu.be/uLW3JpFGc4k
• Using Home Notes For Resources: https://youtu.be/lw68KQowrsw
• Daily Note Template Example: https://youtu.be/fmTiS32hkTU
• Linking your Notes with Obsidian: https://youtu.be/i5Q5HmPvGY4

Notes From My Digital Second Brain

• How I Setup my Personal Knowledge Management System - Scott Novis Notes - Obsidian Publish
• Step One - Setting Up Your Second Brain With Obsidian - Scott Novis Notes - Obsidian Publish
• Step Two - Using the PARA Convention - Scott Novis Notes - Obsidian Publish
• Step Three - Using PARA with Obsidian - Scott Novis Notes - Obsidian Publish
• Step Four - Clean as You Go Obsidian - Scott Novis Notes - Obsidian Publish