Second Brain: With These Tools, Tips & Tricks, You Can Build Your Knowledge Management
Jana Kim Weser12/15/2022
What exactly the Second Brain is and which tools are suitable for your digital knowledge management, you will learn in this article.
Table of contents
- What does "Second Brain" mean?
- Digital notes are generally easier to search through
- Advantages of digital knowledge management:
- The "Building A Second Brain" method is therefore suitable for:
- Source:
- ,
- Decide on ONE Second Brain app or software
- A second brain wants to be built and maintained, so habits help you regularly care for an improvement of your second brain. So over the months and years, an ever better database of your networked thoughts is created.
The fact that we are daily exposed to an infinite flood of information and that we accumulate a lot of knowledge and notes through work, private projects and other interests, shows that it is important to build a helpful digital knowledge management system to sort your notes and gradually build up a "second brain". What exactly this is, which Second Brain tools and apps are suitable for your digital knowledge management and with which tips and tricks you can start immediately, you will learn in this post by guest author Jana Kim Weser.
Recommended knowledge management software
On our comparison platform OMR Reviews you can find more recommended knowledge management software. There we have listed over 50 tools for small and medium-sized companies, start-ups and large corporations that support you in all areas of identifying, capturing and retrieving information and knowledge resources. So take a look and compare the software with the help of authentic and verified user reviews:
What does "Second Brain" mean?
Under a Second Brain, one "second brain", one understands the collection of knowledge, information, projects, data and thoughts outside his own head in an external system. This can happen both analogously and digitally. With a Second Brain you can build a helpful knowledge management system and thus advance private and professional projects even better.So his knowledge is externalized and networked so that a networked memory
and a knowledge database emerge.The Origin: The Slip Box System by Niklas LuhmannThe German sociologist
Niklas Luhmann developed the slip box method
and wrote 70 books and about 400 scientific articles with its help. With the slip box method, information is prepared in such a way that they are already understood when they are noted on slips and then connections (in the form of numbering, letters and other abbreviations) are established between them.Which knowledge management software
and apps replace the former analog slip box system and help you to build your digital knowledge database , you will learn shortly.What characterizes a good Second Brain?With the Second Brain, it's not just about a potpourri of different notes, but especially about:
The condensation of information to the essentials.
The networking of information.
- The clear why behind a note.
- And having everything in ONE place.
- Which typical disadvantages of note-taking are eliminated with this method?
- Most of us have many places where they record their information. From the classic notebook to project management tools and apps. This results in the problem that you don't always find the right information immediately. In the physical notebook this is particularly difficult, as the notes are sorted by date and not by content or keyword.
Digital notes are generally easier to search through
, but there are still the connections between the notes and the results that can be achieved through the notes.
Another example is the aforementioned Zettelkasten system
by Niklas Luhmann, which is probably very suitable for looking up with 100 slips, but then hardly manageable if it goes into the five-digit numbers, no matter how well it is sorted.Moreover, most texts are written and published digitally today. Therefore, it is a higher time expenditure, for example, to digitize analog notes first before they can be further used.What are the advantages of building digital knowledge management?
Luhmann was very successful with the slip-box method and of course you can ask yourself why it must be digital knowledge management at all or what advantages online knowledge management has.
Advantages of digital knowledge management:
The database is accessible worldwide from many different devices.
You can set tags and network notes.
- You can find your tags and keywords immediately using the search function.
- You can work alone and in a team on the knowledge database (the latter is rather difficult with analog slip boxes).
- You have different storage options (from cloud to own hard disk) and can thus secure your data multiple times.
- You can edit your notes at any time.
- You never have an empty sheet of paper again when you write texts, because you can use your own knowledge database.
- Analog notes are time-consuming and more susceptible (e.g., through coffee, fire, children, pets etc.)
- Who is the method "Building Your Second Brain" suitable for?
- A Second Brain can be a help for every person. Especially for those who write texts themselves, read and learn a lot, give lectures, create content, work in science and all those who want to relieve their head and are ready to work on a second brain in the long term. Because the charm arises with the quality of the individual notes and the amount of links that arise over time between the texts, thoughts and researches.
The "Building A Second Brain" method is therefore suitable for:
Scientists
Journalists
- Content creators
- Freelancers
- Students
- Entrepreneurs
- Coaches
- Authors
- Families
- Teams
- All those who like to learn and save knowledge
- People who want to improve their productivity
- This list is not exhaustive, as there are countless ways knowledge management methods can be adapted for everyone.
- Knowledge management can also
i
n companies play a significant role, especially for teams that work together on texts and with a variety of information.How do you build a Second Brain?There is no right or wrong knowledge management concept. But of course, there are tried and tested structures on how you can effectively build your knowledge management. The self-proclaimed "Second Brain Guy" Tiago Forte uses the CODE framework (Capture, Organize, Distill and Express) in his "Building A Second Brain" method.
Source:
https://www.buildingasecondbrain.com/course
This way of building the second brain proves itself to many who have tried different knowledge management tools.Collecting the most important ideas, information and insights:
First and foremost, capture the
most important
information for you, because not all information has to become part of your second brain. This step is about a clear "Why?" and you can ask questions like:"What is the core statement?""Why am I saving this information?"
- "What touched me about this text or this information?"
- "How can this note help my future self?"
- Organize & Network the Information
- While the first step is still very easy for many, the second step raises the question of where and how the many pieces of information, notes, and documents can best be sorted. There are several approaches to this.
One of them is the
P.A.R.A. method
, which stands for Projects, Areas, Resources, and Archives. With this method, you organize your second brain in four categories:Projects: So specific projects associated with a specific goal and a deadline.
- Areas of Responsibility: Areas you're interested in, that you want to look after, or where you want to develop in specific ways (e.g., a specific hobby, finance, or travel)
- Resources: This is about resources that you would like to strengthen and knowledge that you want to further expand, i.e., topics that interest you (e.g., personal development, a musical instrument, politics, etc.).
- Archive: Non-active notes from the other three areas.
- Reduce the InformationWhen reducing your notes and information, you keep in mind
how your future self can consume the knowledge
most effectively. In this step, you go into more depth and ensure that you only store the knowledge you really need or that touched you in your second brain. This way you get to your goal faster and with significantly less effort when you look for information in your networked memory.Publish (on a small or large scale)With this step, you make sure that you have really understood the stored information. At the same time, you can let others participate in your knowledge. This can be on a small scale, for example in your direct environment, or on a larger scale, for example as a content creator, corporate influencer, speaker, etc. Another aspect that justifies this step is that result-oriented notes (i.e., what you use the respective note for) ensure a higher quality than just storing information.
Which Second Brain Tools or Knowledge Management Tools are particularly suitable?
The very frequently used apps and software are
,
, Notion, Evernote and also Roam Research, OBSIDIAN,or Confluence (in companies), which are all suitable for creating a Second Brain. This depends, among other things, on the needs and goals of the users*. USU Knowledge ManagementSource: Microsoft OneNotehttps://obsidian.md/
Helpful questions when choosing the right knowledge management tool are:"Where are my data stored (for example, Markdown Files or on an external server)?"
"What do I want in terms of visualizations?"
- "What is my budget?"
- "Do I want to use the software alone or in a team?"
- "How good is the UX of the respective software?"
- "What can I work with best?"
- Tips & Tricks for Your Second Brain
- So that you can start building your Second Brain as quickly and effectively as possible and know what to look out for, you will learn here some tips, tricks and methods for building your second brain.
Decide on ONE Second Brain app or software
Decide where the files should be located. Depending on the provider, your data may be located on a server in another country, or you decide for a software that lets you store the files locally, such as Obisidian with Markdown files.
Once you've decided on a software, stick with it. If old notes and files are still in other apps or notebooks, you don't have to immediately transfer all information.
Start with the software that should represent your second brain and add older notes when you have time. The more often you have a note in progress, the more thoughts arise and you remember more connections.
Quality over Quantity
It's not just about the amount of notes, but even more important is the quality of the notes. Therefore, don't just save links to articles with headlines and keywords, but write a short summary in your own words and what you think. So your future self knows why the note got a place in your Second Brain.
Here's how you can make sure your notes are of good quality:
While reading, stick post-it notes on places that inspire you, so you can stay in the flow of reading and return to the place later.
Write down your thoughts in full sentences as often as possible.
- The dictation function of your mobile phone is also well suited for this.
- Also mark quotes as such and write the source reference directly.
- Supplement the quotes with the reason why they inspire you (increases the quality of your note).
- Pro Tip: Formulate quotes, texts, and thoughts as a thought in itself with your own words. So you have finished texts that you can use as a basis in the future (of course, also think of the source reference here).
- Organize notes at regular intervals in the software of your choice and network with other notes.
- Develop Routines and Habits
- Just like your "first brain" has taken many years or decades to reach the current level, you can also give your Second Brain time to develop. Even if you probably put a lot of motivation and time into your second brain in the beginning, you achieve the best progress over time with effective routines and habits.
A
habit
could be to develop your Second Brain further every day for 10 minutes. A helpful routine is, for example, that you prepare your notes according to the CODE method every week or once a month.Conclusion on Second BrainBuilding your own knowledge database takes time. Among all the possible tools and tactics, one thing is particularly important: starting. Your Second Brain is as good as your notes (quality over quantity) and connections. So always focus on the core essence of each note to support your future self and take time to establish connections.
A second brain wants to be built and maintained, so habits help you regularly care for an improvement of your second brain. So over the months and years, an ever better database of your networked thoughts is created.
With a little patience, the right habits and a clear "Why?" everyone has the opportunity to build their own knowledge database and always well structured and systematized to design the everyday.
Ein zweites Gehirn möchte aufgebaut und gepflegt werden, also helfen Euch Gewohnheiten dabei, regelmäßig für eine Verbesserung Eures zweiten Gehirns zu sorgen. So entsteht über die Monate und Jahre eine immer bessere Datenbank Eurer vernetzter Gedanken.
Mit etwas Geduld, den richtigen Gewohnheiten und einem klaren “Warum?” hat jede*r die Möglichkeit, seine eigene Wissensdatenbank aufzubauen und immer gut strukturiert und mit Systemen den Alltag zu gestalten.
Author
Jana Kim Weser
Jana Kim ist Corporate Communication Managerin in einem mittelständischen Familienunternehmen, Gründerin und Autorin des wöchentlichen MEINSET Newsletters und zertifizierter NLP Coach. In ihrem abwechslungsreichen Arbeitsalltag ist ein gutes Projekt und Wissensmanagement die Basis für Effizienz und Spaß an der Arbeit. Im MEINSET Newsletter schreibt Jana Kim daher aus der Praxis über Mindset Tipps, Produktivität, Selbstorganisation und achtsame Persönlichkeitsentwicklung.
