Simple First Steps to Build a Second Brain

How much valuable knowledge slips through the cracks of your busy day? What are the ideas you jot down, forget, and never act on? Tiago Forte believes the key to unlocking your full potential isn’t doing more, it’s organizing what you already know. As the creator of the “Building a Second Brain” method, Tiago has helped thousands of people transform digital chaos into clarity.

In this encore episode, Tiago joins Thanh to share how you can capture, organize, and leverage information so your mind stays focused on creativity and decision-making. From his philosophy on weekly reviews to his favorite tools and mindset shifts, this conversation is packed with practical ways to stop juggling ideas and start executing with calm, confident focus.

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Cheat Sheet:

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• Top 3 Productivity Resources [01:33].
• What it really means to build a second brain and why it matters [04:29].
• How Forte Labs began—and the moment Tiago realized productivity could be taught differently [04:55].
• Why managing knowledge may be the most underrated productivity skill of all [06:39].
• The simple four-part PARA system that can organize your entire digital life [13:15].
• How sharing what you know multiplies your learning and impact [18:15].
• Real stories of how knowledge management changes the way people work [19:19].
• One small, practical action you can take today to start your second brain [26:38].
• How to sort your ideas, notes, and projects without overthinking it [27:45].
• The best place to begin if you’re new to personal knowledge management [34:46].
• How Tiago’s system connects—and differs—from David Allen’s GTD [36:52].
• A peek into Tiago’s own daily and weekly productivity habits [40:18].
• Why the weekly review might be the single habit that holds it all together [40:51].
• Where to explore more about Building a Second Brain and join the movement [49:10].

Links:

• Shopify
• Indeed
• DripDrop
• 25X Productivity Coaching
• Hours Tracker
• Breaking Smart Newsletter
• GorillaPod
• The PARA Method: A Universal System for Organizing Digital Information
• The One-Touch Guide to Doing a Weekly Review: How I Go From Chaos to Clarity in 30 Minutes
• Productivity Academy
• The Productivity Show on Youtube
• The Productivity Show Youtube Clips
• Become a member of TPS+
• Take the Productivity Quiz

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