High Five #9 - Building a second brain π§
[3 min] Organizing digital life with Notion and Eagle
Hey, everyone!
I'm building a second brain for myself.
Wait, wait, waaait... No, I did not turn myself into an experimental biologist over the last three weeks. I'm still a designer and enjoy it very much.
What I mean by building a "second brain" is that I'm trying to create a new system to help me manage my everyday operations and store my know-how. In other words, I'm testing a new way of organizing my digital life.
I've been using "something like a second brain" for as long as I remember (I love organizing things!). But I never made a bigger effort to improve it with time or consider a more extensive overhaul. I never even called it a "second brain." But apparently, the term has become popular lately, and there is even a new book about it (gotta read it π).
Anyways.
Until now, I have always used a combination of multiple things: Email, calendar, reminders, notes, bookmarks, and inspiration saved in various places. It all worked for me, I linked those together, and it was fine.
It fit my needs and expectations for many years, but as I became more organized and systematic, I began looking for more. I wanted to automate, simplify and (if possible) keep things in one/two places instead of five.
The new system
As you may know, I recently turned into a full-time freelancer. A lot of my day-to-day life changed with it, and during the first weeks of the "transition," I realized what a great opportunity to start fresh. The first thing that came to my mind was to (finally!) try updating my personal "operating system" or ta-da π a "second brain."
There are many takes on approaching something like that, and we all have our preferences. For me, the main idea is to have a system in place that helps me run my everyday life smoothly. I want to lower the "primary" brain's workload and only use it to process the most important things. Everything else, like storing non-essential information or automating repetitive tasks, should be done elsewhere.
It all sounds like an amazing challenge to solve with infinite options to test out (cheers to all organizers and control-freaks!). But it's important not to overdo it and stay reasonable as well. It shouldn't be a part-time job to keep this thing running, and with that in mind, I decided to start small.
I only want to have a few "processes" in place. Only the necessary for keeping track of things, organizing them, and helping me scale (i.e., store more information) over time. Anything else is an extra.
Now to the tools and apps and how to build a "second brain" in practice.
I started using a combination of Notion, Eagle, calendar, and email.
π Notion - This is where I have my main Dashboard (general overview), Inbox (incoming tasks, backlog), Schedule (using daily planner), and Knowledge Base (categorized bookmarks, notes, docs, etc.). Notion does most of the heavy lifting.
π¦ Eagle - Personal inspiration library and resources. I merged my stuff from Savee, Dribbble, Pinterest, Instagram, and others into one HUGE visual library. I also categorized everything by tags. I mean, it's pretty insane. I hope to show you some time. It deserves a post of its own.
π Calendar - Staying in touch with the world (mainly clients and colleagues). I'd appreciate having some sync between Notion and Gmail, but not possible (yet) on the level I want.
βοΈ Email - Self-explanatory, no workaround for this.
Update: By the time I'm sending this email, I also began testing Spark. It includes both email inbox and calendar in one app and looks quite nice. I may be able to replace standalone apps for email and calendar with this. But I'll give it a few days to see how it works.
These are the four key parts of my (new) second brain.
The center of it is my Dashboard in Notion, which I'd like to show you in a few previews below. π It's the "control center" where I run the show and the part I'm the happiest about. It truly changed how I manage my days and weeks, and I feel way more productive and "in control" than before.
The Dashboard still needs some work and trial/error. But once it's more "complete," I'd love to share it as a template with you so anyone can use it.
If you'd be interested in getting a copy, reply to this email or ping me anywhere in DMs on social. I'll make a note.
Now, the previews:
Itβs feedback time!
The following email will be the #10 issue in a row! Whoa!
There are now almost 250 of you who have joined since I started writing these back in January (thank you! π), and Iβd like to use the opportunity to do quick feedback.
Iβll attach a simple poll in the next issue, where each of you can vote or comment on things you like or donβt like. I hope to improve over time, and this will be the first opportunity for you to help me shape the next editions. It should take a minute or two to fill in, so I hope you guys leave a few π and π.
Have a great week, and talk again soon!
A.
Links & inspiration
Stuff I'm currently digging:
π»Β WebsiteΒ -Β FlectoΒ - Unique take on a modern landing page design (made by BΓΌrocratik). It may not look like your style, but I love they try to push the envelope.
π»Β WebsiteΒ -Β OchiΒ - Agency website with smooth scrolling, parallax effects, nice layout/grid work (especially homepage).
π»Β WebsiteΒ -Β AroΒ - Lovely landing page (and the product itself). I like the subtle style of the branding, which goes hand in hand with the product's promise (life, uninterrupted).
π»Β WebsiteΒ -Β Mario CarrilloΒ - Portfolio website with a unique browsing experience (drag), and beautiful colorful work.
π€Β FontΒ -Β AprisΒ - Sharp-looking serif font (variable).
π IconsΒ -Β Untitled UI IconsΒ - Free (+ paid) icon library for Figma. 4,600+ icons in line, duocolor, duotone, and solid styles.
π Β ArchitectureΒ -Β Porto Rocha NYC officeΒ - My "office goals" bar has been pushed higher with this one. What an incredible space.
Spark rocks, also Fantastical for Calendar - best App ever
Great issue as always! Thanks Ales for the inspiration. π