Master divergent and convergent thinking | Tiago Forte
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Oct 15, 2025
Tiago Forte shares insights on mastering creative thinking by using divergence and convergence. He emphasizes the need for a 'second brain' to effectively manage our overwhelming digital knowledge. By exploring many ideas before narrowing them down, we can enhance productivity and creativity. Forte advocates for maintaining multiple projects simultaneously to adapt to uncertainties without getting stuck. Ultimately, a second brain helps to alleviate mental clutter, allowing for a more focused and calm approach to work.
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insights INSIGHT
Build A Second Brain
A second brain is a personal system for managing digital and physical knowledge.
Tiago Forte says it stores notes and content so you can cultivate and retrieve information over time.
insights INSIGHT
Digital Work Lacks Iteration
Knowledge work lacks a culture of systematic improvement unlike skilled trades.
Tiago Forte observes people grow more overwhelmed rather than improving at digital work over time.
insights INSIGHT
Divergence Expands Possibilities
Creative work alternates between divergence and convergence like a pendulum.
During divergence you expand possibilities to find the best options for a project.
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Productivity expert Tiago Forte explains how to master two modes of creative thinking.
Author Tiago Forte believes that in today's digital age, people need a second brain to manage their knowledge. In other words, we need a personal system for collecting, organizing, and retrieving information from both physical and digital environments.
Although many people spend hours of their day on digital knowledge work, most are not getting better at managing their information. Instead, they’re becoming increasingly overwhelmed. Forte suggests approaching knowledge work with a process that can be improved upon, through the concept of divergence and convergence.
In practice, this means considering many options and then eliminating them, followed by creative and productive work. To maintain peace of mind, it's important to have multiple projects going on at once, which a second brain can help with by storing all projects in a concrete medium, freeing your memory.
0:00 What is a second brain?
1:14 Master divergence & convergence
3:18 Be productive and calm
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About Tiago Forte:
Tiago Forte is one of the world’s foremost experts on productivity. He has taught more than 20,000 people worldwide through his programs and writes and speaks on how technology can help knowledge workers revolutionize their personal effectiveness.
Tiago’s online course, Building a Second Brain, has produced more than 5,000 graduates from over 70 countries. The course draws on his experience in academic disciplines such as information science, practical fields such as user experience design, and his work with top organizations and leaders in Silicon Valley. Tiago believes knowledge management is one of the most impactful skills in the world today, and his work is dedicated to making it accessible to individuals for the first time.
In a previous life, he worked in microfinance in Latin America, served in the Peace Corps in Ukraine, and consulted for large companies on product development in San Francisco. He lives in Long Beach, California, with his wife Lauren, son Caio, and dog Ximena.
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