no brain like the second brain

Hey You,

Let me tell you about the system that rewired how I think, create, and actually finish things.

You might’ve heard of Tiago Forte’s Building a Second Brain.

Maybe it’s on your list.
Maybe you skimmed it.
Maybe, like me, you’ve been unintentionally building one — just without knowing the name.

At its core, the Second Brain is a container.

It’s a well-known quote, but not a lot of people understand it fully.

My mind always felt like a browser with 47 tabs open — most of them screaming urgent.

I’d get these incredible ideas while walking or in the shower… and never see them again.

Tiago's method doesn’t promise some productivity fantasy where you magically become a content machine overnight.

It gives you something better:

A system that catches your ideas before they vanish.

The quote that drives it home for me is this:

It’s about building a toolbox you can actually use when you're making something: a newsletter, a product, a business, a hard decision, or just a good life.

The system that helps in all of that is based on three core principles:

1. PARA (Projects, Areas, Resources, Archive)

This is the organizing system. Everything you collect fits into one of these four buckets.
It’s simple, flexible, and works across your phone, laptop, Google Drive, Notion — wherever.

Projects: active things with a finish line
→ apply to jobs, write your portfolio, plan that trip

Areas: ongoing commitments
→ health, finances, content, clients

Resources: stuff you might need later
→ book notes, templates, quotes, swipe files

Archive: done, paused, or no longer relevant
→ old projects, past clients, last year’s taxes

2. Capture what resonates

Tiago's rule: Don’t take notes on everything — only capture what resonates.

You're not trying to build a library of facts (or maybe you are — do whatever you want).

You're collecting breadcrumbs back to your past self — things that moved you (emotional value), made you think (informational value), or might help Future You (possibly a combo of both).

3. Create from abundance, not scarcity

Most of us sit down to create with a blank page. That’s equal parts exhausting and scary.

But with a Second Brain, you start with a page already half-full.

Snippets, ideas, saved quotes, voice notes — your digital self already did half the lifting.

You’re just assembling. Remixing. Finishing.

If I had to pick one book that changed how I organise myself in space and time — not just how I think about it — it’s this one.

It doesn’t push the hustle culture agenda.

It shows you how to store your creativity so you can actually use it when it counts.

If you’re building anything — and I know you are — then this isn’t just a cool idea. It’s a necessary tool.

Until next time,
Piotr

P.S. If you need a little poke to get started: just create a folder called “Second Brain” and dump anything useful into it.

It’s better to start a small habit than jump headfirst into the depths of self-organisation.