Bible Verse 📖

Staying Organized

Let's delve into the essential aspect of staying organized – a cornerstone of effective personal knowledge management. Information is incredibly fluid and cheap to come by. Ask Google or ChatGPT, etc. and you can have many answers in seconds. If it’s easy to get information, and you know which information you want, how do you organize it so that you don’t replicate the issue of too much within your second brain?

Picture this: you're standing at the edge of a vast library, shelves packed with books and knowledge waiting to be explored. Yet, without a system to catalog, index, and retrieve the books you need, you'll be lost in a maze of unrelated information. This analogy is one we face daily – emails, documents, notes, and more. Organizing this digital realm is your roadmap to efficient knowledge management.

Why organize your digital life? It's not just about having a tidy workspace or a clean inbox; it's about boosting your cognitive productivity. When you invest time upfront to categorize and structure your digital assets, you're essentially building mental scaffolding. This scaffolding frees your mind from the clutter of searching, enabling you to focus on the crux of your work – generating insightful content for your readers and masterfully managing projects.

Now, let's talk strategy. A robust approach to sta-ying organized involves leveraging technology as your trusty toolset. Utilize knowledge management platforms, like Evernote or Notion, to create a digital hub where your ideas, articles, and resources converge. This centralization not only streamlines access but also empowers seamless collaboration, should you choose to invite contributors or fellow thought leaders.

Furthermore, embrace the power of categorization. Just as a librarian sorts books into genres, you can classify your digital assets into meaningful categories. This allows for efficient retrieval and encourages serendipitous discoveries – a potent combination for nurturing your creative process.I recommend sorting information by action ability - from most actionable to least actionable through several folders. You could learn more about that in resources listed below.

Lastly, let’s talk about the elephant in the digital room – information overload. As you juggle project management responsibilities and pen compelling insights, you're besieged by a barrage of notifications. Taming this beast requires setting boundaries – designating focused work periods, silencing non-essential notifications, and crafting a routine that honors your creative rhythms.

Read more in one of my longer posts:

Tools 🛠️

• Videos

  • Tiago Forte’s YouTube Playlist on PARA - This playlist currently has four videos. Tiago shares practical tips and gives insight into how he implements this method in his life.

• Apps

  • Reminders - This is my daily task management app. I can set reminders for any date and time. I find it useful that I can organize tasks in lists, such as one for work, one for this publication, and one for my family life.

  • Apple Notes - Simple and effective, my opinion of Apple notes is high. I’ve been using this for years. It has just enough features to be competitive, yet the user interface is so simple that writing is not distracting.

• Books

  • The PARA Method - new book by Tiago Forte released this month. I’ve written about this simple and practical organization system before, and I’m excited to finish reading it. I’m currently on Section 2.

  • Building a Second Brain - The book that revamped my interest in personal knowledge management.

Have a fantastic weekend,

Broc