Make Your Notes Work for You
Turning Information Overload into Action with a Standardized Creative Process
This is Part 4 in a series on Building a Second Brain by Tiago Forte
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
“Building a Second Brain is really about standardizing the way we work, because we only really improve when we standardize the way we do something.”
By creating a standard for how we take and refine notes, we free up mental space for our true creative work. Standards are how we improve—whether it's a standard gym form, a musical scale, or a note-taking process. Creativity thrives within structure. This structured process involves divergence and convergence.
At the beginning of any creative process, we’re gathering ideas—lots of them. Imagine a whiteboard filled with sketches or a photographer’s contact sheet of hundreds of shots. This is the divergence stage: collect everything that sparks interest or might be relevant to your final product.
Eventually, you’ll need to converge, narrowing down the overwhelming abundance into a manageable core. There will always be more articles, videos, or books to explore—but at some point, you need to begin making something.
This is where the Distill and Express phases from Part 3 come into play. The biggest obstacle? The blank page. That’s why the Second Brain exists—to help you overcome it.
Picture your notes as tiny islands (like Hawaii) and your job is to build bridges between them. Outline your ideas and connect them logically. Your notes have already done most of the heavy lifting—now you're just arranging the pieces.
One helpful trick comes from Ernest Hemingway, who would stop working each day when he knew what he needed to do next. He left himself a clear path for tomorrow. Take a similar approach: write a quick note or to-do list at the end of your day so you can start smoothly the next.
Feeling overwhelmed? Shrink the project. Ask: What’s the smallest version I can create and get feedback on? Creativity depends on feedback—we often don’t know what’s needed until we share it.
Even what you cut isn’t wasted. Store those parts in your Resources or Archives—they could become useful Intermediate Packets in the future.
The usefulness of a Second Brain depends entirely on how well it’s organized. It must become a habit or it will become just another thing to manage. Use simple checklists before and after a project to stay on track.
For project kickoff:
Do a quick note search for anything related.
Set clear goals.
Sync with collaborators if needed.
For project completion:
Review what you’ve done.
Tag reusable notes.
File notes quickly based on instinct—search functions will always help you find them later.
Deciding what’s useful is often best done in the future. That’s why regular review is key:
Weekly: Process recent notes and file appropriately.
Monthly: Review bigger picture goals and active projects.
We rarely get long blocks of time to organize, so aim to manage your Second Brain in short, consistent bursts—during breaks, between meetings, or at the end of your day. Tending to it should feel energizing, not exhausting. Remember why you started: to support what excites you.
“Chase what excites you. When you're captivated by a story, an idea, or a possibility—don’t let it slip away. These are the moments that matter most. Technology can’t create them, but it can help you capture them. So run after your obsessions—with everything you’ve got. Just be sure to take notes along the way.”