What’s Unique About Building A Second Brain?

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The Growing Popularity of Building a Second Brain

“Building a Second Brain,” (BASB) is a Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) system developed by Tiago Forte. Recently it’s been receiving lots of attention in the productivity and business world. Forte recently published a book by that title and has appeared on numerous tech and business podcasts to discuss his approach.

I first heard about BASB sometime in May 2022. I read the articles on the BASB website and other locations, watched some YouTube videos, and started seriously considering the BASB system for my use. In June, the Focused podcast did an interview with Tiago Forte which further piqued my interest. I ordered and read the book in early July, and decided to adopt the BASB system for my use. I’ve been working on implementing it ever since.

BASB is, like any creative work, based on the work of others

The BASB system was the first PKM system that “clicked” for me. The entire process and approach made sense to me, and I felt it was a good fit with the way I think and work. I can’t say that about any of the other PKM systems I’ve reviewed.

I’ve heard some reviewers downplay the uniqueness of the BASB system, and state that there’s really nothing new here. I disagree. I think there are several elements that set BASB apart from other systems.

It is of course true that many of the basic elements of BASB are based on previous concepts and approaches. In reality, that’s the nature of all creative work.

As Austin Kleon says in his book Steal Like an Artist, “What a good artist understands is that nothing comes from nowhere. All creative work builds on what came before. Nothing is completely original…. Every new idea is just a mashup or a remix of one or more previous ideas.”

I think that in BASB Tiago Forte has made a number of new connections between concepts, and tied many concepts together in new combinations to create new processes and understandings. He doesn’t focus only on one or two main ideas, but has crafted a comprehensive system that ties together the process of collecting information, organizing it, boiling it down to usable units, and producing creative work with it. It seems to me that his major contribution is to tie all of these disparate elements into one coherent system.

10 Ways BASB is Unique

There are numerous features in the BASB system that are unlike anything I’ve seen in other PKM systems. This is a list of several items and is not exhaustive:

1. The name “Building a Second Brain” is a stroke of genius. Names like PKM, Personal Knowledge Management, sound technical, obtuse, and like in-group jargon. In contrast, BASB is a friendly, comfortable name that easily communicates what Forte’s system is all about.
2. The overall CODE system is simple and easy to remember. The whole system is summed up in one word, CODE. The letters stand for Collect, Organize, Distill, and Express. These describe each step in a system that progresses through the functions of taking notes, organizing notes, highlighting the key information in notes, and expressing what we learn.
3. The PARA organizing system is unique, simple, and effective. Unlike most systems, which use topical organization, It’s based primarily on actionability. Notes are placed in the location in which the notes are most likely to see the soonest use. The word PARA stands for the 4 folders or categories that everything fits into:
   a. Projects: What I’m Working on Right Now. Projects include the short-term outcomes you’re actively working toward right now.
   b. Areas: What I’m Committed to Over Time. Some things, like finances, health, and hobbies, are continuing areas of interest and responsibility.
   c. Resources: Things I Want to Reference in the Future. This is basically a catchall for anything that doesn’t belong to a project or an area, and could include any topic you’re actively interested in gathering information about.
   d. Archives: Things I’ve Completed or Put on Hold. This includes any item from the previous three categories that is no longer active.
4. BASB is designed for practical use at home, at work, and in all areas of life. Some PKM systems I’ve reviewed seem like they’re designed primarily for the use of content creators or nerds. Forte explains that his system was designed primarily to help him manage a large amount of medical information from multiple sources regarding a health issue he experienced, then later his studies and his first job. This system was born in everyday practicality and is designed to be used not only by creative nerds but any kind of information workers.
5. BASB is NOT a “one-size fits all” kind of system. Forte encourages users to choose the features that work for them and disregard the ones that don’t. “There’s no one way it has to look – only a multitude of options and possibilities to choose from.” This is a refreshingly different approach than in many productivity systems, where a “This is the way” attitude comes across. Forte recognizes that people are different and have different needs and ways of working.
6. BASB is a holistic PKM system. Rather than dealing with just one aspect of knowledge management such as note-taking or organization, it addresses the complete flow of information from taking notes, organizing them, distilling them, and ultimately expressing the knowledge in them to others. It integrates how to use the internet productively, how we remember and recall information, and how we create in one comprehensive system.
7. It recognizes the problem of too much information available and provides guidelines for how to productively drink from the information fire hose. “We need to adopt the perspective of a curator, stepping back from the raging river and starting to make intentional decisions about what information we want to fill our minds.” Forte’s not the first to suggest the role of curator, but the way he integrates that concept into his whole system is unique. He ties the concept to not only the idea of limiting what information we choose to put into our systems but also the criterion for making that choice, which includes actionability.
8. BASB provides practical, intuitive guidelines for deciding what to take notes on and what to leave. Forte recommends that we keep only that information that resonates with us. This reminds me of Marie Kondo’s suggestion that, in deciding what household items to keep and what to discard, we only keep those things that “spark joy.” Forte doesn’t add another layer of energy-using logical analytical decision-making to decide what to keep but instead uses an intuitive and emotion-based criterion.
9. BASB encourages not just the collection of information, but its use. Many systems foster “information hoarding.” Forte contends that information is useless unless it is used in some creative manner. “Information becomes knowledge—personal, embodied, verified—only when we put it to use.” His system does not encourage us to create personal libraries.
10. Forte presents a comprehensive and unique perspective on how the creative process works, and how BASB works to foster creativity. I’ve found that creation is not a linear process, but a process of ins and outs, and ups and downs as I interact with information. He lays out a way to create that takes much of the stress and anxiety out of the process. His understanding of how divergence and convergence work in the creative process is extremely insightful. Too many PKM systems leave out a theory or explanation of how the creative process works, with the inference if you collect and link many notes, somehow that automatically leads to thinking breakthroughs.
    

Perhaps BASB Will Work for You?

If you’re interested at all, I’d encourage you to read the book. Reading blog posts and watching videos about BASB will not provide you with the information you need to decide whether it might be a good fit for you. As Thomas Quendt recently pointed out in a Craft Community comment on BASB, in the book Forte not only gives the “how” of BASB, but also the “why.” You don’t get that critical aspect from blog posts and YouTube videos.

I’ve been happily implementing the BASB system for a couple of months now, using the Craft app as my notes app. To me, Craft beautifully balances function and design in an interface I actually enjoy working in. But as Tiago Forte says, any notes app will work with BASB.

I’m not saying that BASB is “The Way.” It is one way among many. We all think and work differently, and while some of us find BASB to be a great fit that increases our productivity and creative work, others may not have the same experience. Use what works best for you.