Never Forget Anything Ever Again

How One Book Changed My ENTIRE Workflow

Author

Music Makers Handbook
November 13, 2023

Last week I talked about a guy named Tiago Forte.

Tiago is a writer, creator, and professional organizer who structured a concept called “Building A Second Brain” and a method called PARA both of which he talks about in his book “Building A Second Brain”.

Tiago Forte and his book “Building A Second Brain”

This book has single handedly helped shift how I do everything, from taking notes, to reading books, and keeping track of projects that I’m working on.  As long as I follow the PARA method, I will always have access to whatever information I need, and I want to share this Method and its impact with you!

In the introduction to his book, Tiago wrote these words that really spoke to me and got me headed on the path of implementing his methods:

“What are the chances that the business book you're reading is exactly what you need right at this moment? What are the odds that every single insight from a podcast interview is immediately actionable?

How many of the emails sitting in your inbox actually require your full attention right now? More likely, some of it will be relevant now, but most of it will become relevant only at some point in the future.

To be able to make use of information we value, we need a way to package it up and send it through time to our future self. We need a way to cultivate a body of knowledge that is uniquely our own, so when the opportunity arises-whether changing jobs, giving a big presentation, launching a new product, or starting a business or a family—we will have access to the wisdom we need to make good decisions and take the most effective action. It all begins with the simple act of writing things down.”

Tiago Forte (“Building A Second Brain”)

The PARA Method is based on the Four Places you use to separate the things you need to remember later:

PROJECT: Short-term efforts in your work or life that you're working on now

AREA: Long-term responsibilities you want to manage over time

RESOURCE: Topics or interests that may be useful in the future

ARCHIVE: Inactive items from the other three categories

How does this work exactly? Well, you take notes on things throughout the day from To-do Lists, business ideas, things your heard on podcasts or read in books, the list goes on and on.  Then at a designated time each day you place these notes into their respective areas within the PARA method.  By doing this you have categorized things appropriately for later use, but you’ve also made your thoughts searchable. 

I do this in two places. Apple Notes for all Notes, Ideas, and Whatever Else; as well as my Dropbox to keep track of Current Projects, Samples/Plugins, Forms, and Contracts.

The place this has made the most impact is in my reading. This method has allowed me to read much faster and when something peaks my interest or I think I should remember it I capture it in my notes. This way I am making a personalized “sparknotes” version of books that I read for business and personal development, and then when I’m done with the book I can go back and find the information that spoke out to me the most when reading!

If this all sounds interesting to you and you want to check out more I would recommend watching some of Tiago’s videos I will have linked below in the links section of the newsletter!

I would love to hear if some of your start to implement this structure or a version of this so that we can talk about it and compare notes on how it’s helping maximize our ability to recall information! 

Feel free to reply to this email or DM me on Instagram (@musicbydru)

Until Next Week,

Keep On Creating
- drû

Something I’m very excited about is that my podcast “The Home Studio Hangout” got its first sponsor for a set of episodes. Thanks to Safari Pedals, a newer plugin company, for sponsoring a month of episodes on the podcast and helping push the podcast further along to what I know it can ultimately be!

The name's concept is to try and let each person "go wild" and express his inner animal. Also the reason to stick to pedal designs was since the owner Noam loves the inspiration he gets from guitar pedals and always saw them as something he would love to have more of as they represent playfulness and experimentation!

If you want to check out some of what I think are the most interesting and fun plugins I’ve used in a while, head over to www.safaripedals.com to check out all of the options they have and if you want a discount use the code HANGOUT at checkout for 20% off!

ALSO if you want to see their newest plugin in action check out my newest Youtube video where I give a First Look at their new Compressor the Owl Control!

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