This is a system I built to help me process information and distill it into insight. Creating this "digital brain" has been a long-time dream of mine... the information landscape is growing increasingly complex and external scaffolding is needed to parse it. --- ## 1.  THE INPUT STAGE I use a number of different apps to collect information from across my life. With each piece of information that I highlight, I also add a note. _After all, in order to understand something, you must be able to write it in your own words._ These notes are automatically sent to [Readwise](https://readwise.io/), which funnels them into [Roam Research](https://roamresearch.com/), my personal knowledge management software (note: I've now made the switch to Obsidian, but my process remains similar). ![[Screen Shot 2022-02-16 at 5.07.15 PM.png]] **A note on notes**:  Many apps enable you to seamlessly highlight and take notes on web and mobile (including most apps in the chart above). Taking notes changes your reading flow; it forces you to practice active reading by succinctly summarizing what you just read. This is a good thing: 1) you comprehend & retain the information better 2) you save time by not having to re-read 3) you build the basis for zettels (hugely important, will discuss in a moment). --- ## 2. THE PROCESSING STAGE The processing stage is the meat of my knowledge management system – and a wellspring of insights. It's where seedling ideas collide with one another and grow into large trees of knowledge. The processing stage is where I build a living, and constantly evolving, **database of connected insights**. For the processing stage, I use a modified version of the zettelkasten system covered in Sönke Ahrens' _[How to Take Smart Notes](https://www.amazon.com/How-Take-Smart-Notes-Nonfiction-ebook/dp/B06WVYW33Y),_ which I highly recommend. I was also inspired by [Andy Matuschak's approach](https://notes.andymatuschak.org/Taxonomy_of_note_types). Here is my architecture: ![[Screen Shot 2022-02-16 at 5.08.03 PM.png]] **The Fleeting Inbox** is where all my Readwise inputs are collected (pages that start with "B." are books, "P." are podcasts, "A." are articles, "T." are tweets, and regular dates are my daily log notes). See below: ![[Screen Shot 2022-02-16 at 5.08.54 PM.png]] Every week I process the Fleeting Inbox. For each piece of information, I ask myself whether or not it meets my zettelkasten quality bar. If so, I create a zettel that captures the idea or I connect it to an existing zettel (all my zettels begin with "z::"). If I'm unsure, I snooze it for later (I use [Roam Toolkit](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/roam-toolkit/ebckolanhdjilblnkcgcgifaikppnhba), built by [Vlad Sitalo](https://twitter.com/vladyslavsitalo?lang=en), to snooze). If the information does not meet the bar, I remove the # FleetingInbox tag. Here is what a note looks like after I've processed it: ![[Screen Shot 2022-02-16 at 5.09.27 PM.png]] Here is what a zettel looks like. I title zettels with [sharp claims](https://notes.andymatuschak.org/Taxonomy_of_note_types?stackedNotes=z3KmNj3oKKSTJfqdfSEBzTQiCVGoC4GfK3rYW), so that [the title acts as an API](https://notes.andymatuschak.org/Taxonomy_of_note_types?stackedNotes=z3XP5GRmd9z1D2qCE7pxUvbeSVeQuMiqz9x1C) for the underlying concept. Under "notes", I write a summary of the concept. I keep track of my sources in the "reference" section. ![[Screen Shot 2022-02-16 at 5.09.59 PM.png]] To easily access my zettels, I created "The Grand Index". "s::" denotes a structure note, a container for zettels. Structure notes enable me to build structure into my zettel system, while still maintaining a non-hierarchical and fluid base layer. This allows my system to capture the best of both hierarchy and non-hierarchy. ![[Screen Shot 2022-02-16 at 5.10.26 PM.png]] **The Research Inbox** is where I capture outstanding questions and zettels that require more investigation. I separate it into two categories: "priority" and "other", and use the [Eisenhower Matrix](https://www.eisenhower.me/eisenhower-matrix/) to denote priority. This helps me manage my workflow and focus on research that is more important and urgent. I tend to do research in the afternoons during calendar dead time. ![[Screen Shot 2022-02-16 at 5.11.00 PM.png]] --- ## 3. THE ACTION STAGE: **The Writing Inbox** is where my creative projects live (essays, poetry, theses, etc). I separate my writing inbox into three categories: "ideas", "in progress", and "published". Each morning, I spend some time working on whichever "in progress" note catches my fancy. When I run out of creative notes in progress, I pull new ones from "ideas". And of course, the finished and published notes go into "published". This is how I manage my content creation. I adhere to the idea: _If you want to understand something, teach or write about it._ ![[Screen Shot 2022-02-16 at 5.11.52 PM.png]] Writing is challenging, but this "second brain" system makes it easier. When I'm ready to write an essay, I decide on a creative idea and then pull in all relevant zettels. By mixing and matching, configuring and reconfiguring these zettels (a process called "idea sex"), I'm able to create new ideas and structure my essays. It's amazing how much easier writing becomes after that. It almost becomes a game. --- **Some things to keep in mind:** - It helps to keep newsletters out of your email inbox. I send all of mine to [Feedly](http://feedly.com/) using “[Kill the Newsletter](https://kill-the-newsletter.com/)”. That way, I don’t enter a newspaper rabbit hole as I’m trying to clear out my email inbox... - Read classic books. Ideas that have been true for a long time are likely to continue to be true (see [Lindy Effect](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindy_effect)). This type of information consumption is more efficient in terms of time and energy. %%[[The Lindy Effect]]%% - See footnotes for my Readwise to Roam custom scripts¹ - See footnotes for my Roam Fleeting/Writing/Research Inbox queries² - I use [Keyboard Maestro](https://www.keyboardmaestro.com/main/) to trigger my Slipbox Inbox template in Roam. Saves a lot of typing! --- ## Footnotes: ![[Screen Shot 2022-02-16 at 5.12.56 PM.png]] ![[Screen Shot 2022-02-16 at 5.14.06 PM.png]] %% _Thanks to Becca Goldstein and Avery Bedows for reading drafts._ %% %% ##### Scraps Rewrite this essay, but make it easier to read ![[2022-09-22#^4rs7kn]] Unfortunately, this system is custom engineered, but given investment into the space, I believe it should only be a few years until the software exists to make this accessible to everyone, no coding required! (see footnotes for my code) Do you feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information entering your brain each day? If so, this system will help you retain and leverage the information you consume so that you can become more intelligent, creative, and prolific. %%