Robb Dunewood's Second Brain - Part 2 - DTNS WEEKEND  ## Metadata - Author: [[Daily Tech News Show]] - Full Title: Robb Dunewood's Second Brain - Part 2 - DTNS WEEKEND - Category: #podcasts - URL: https://share.snipd.com/episode/845d8bcc-9f42-41c1-b35d-bdc0a33b90ee ## Document Notes ## Highlights - **Second Brain As A Digital Commonplace** - A second brain is a digital commonplace book for capturing enduring ideas and resources. - Robb Dunewood uses it so he doesn't have to rely on memory and can recall details anytime. Transcript: Robb Dunewood So second brain, there's a book by Tiago Forte called Building a Second Brain. And essentially what a second brain is, is a digital commonplace book is probably the best way to, uh, to describe it. So if you ever think of like the professor or the scientist that has that leather bound book that they write everything down in all their experiments, all that kind of stuff goes in there. It's not really a journal. It is things of interest that they have captured so they can go back and, you know, ultimately, you know, I think Albert Einstein said, if there's anything that you want to remember, Write it down. And this is kind of where the commonplace books have been used for literally hundreds, if not thousands of years. But, but yeah, this is a digital variation of that. So instead of me having to write things down and I used, I used to back in the day, I used to use the, the composition books, the, you composition books. I would write everything down in those. But the problem is that once you write them down in that book, unless you remember what book you wrote it down in, it's kind of hard to go back and beyond the test that you were taking to go Back and remember it. When it's digital, anything that I capture is just there through perpetuity. ([Time 0:02:54](https://share.snipd.com/snip/bb8552b1-d217-4932-8bd3-3b4fe02d047e)) - **Pick A Database-Backed Note App** - Use a database-backed note app (Evernote, OneNote, Obsidian, Notion) as your second brain foundation. - Choose the tool that matches your workflow instead of forcing a complex system on yourself. Transcript: Robb Dunewood Okay, so I'm going to answer that question. But before I do, I do want to once again reiterate that there is a whole book and a whole training program from Forte Labs. If you really want to dig into this, I would strongly recommend Building a Second Brain by Tiara Forte. It is a great book. So what I'm giving you, Tom, is what I do. This is my version of it because I don't subscribe to 100% of everything that is done in the second brain process. This is just ultimately what works for me. So to answer Norm's question, the basis of any second brain generally is going to be some type of note takings app. I particularly use, you know, for me, I use Evernote as well as Google Docs. Now, Google Docs to create the notes is not necessarily the way to go. I basically ([Time 0:05:05](https://share.snipd.com/snip/28eb7240-26f2-491a-9fcb-8c84813b2965)) - **Match Tool To Your Collection Archetype** - Tiago Forte maps people to collection archetypes like gardener, architect, and librarian. - Robb identifies as a gardener who prefers simple capture over building complex structures. Transcript: Robb Dunewood And one of the things that Tiago Forte points out is that depending on what type of person you are, he breaks down three, maybe even four different type of archetypes of the way you collect Your data. Like, I believe I am the gardener. That's the only one that I can remember. I only need to remember how I do it, but like Notion for people who are in the Notion, I actually said one time that I don't really rock with Notion and literally the internet came for me, But I don't want to have to build my productivity system to be able to use it. I just want to open up Evernote and just start creating notes. So I'm not the architect type. I am more of the gardener type that like, here, let me just go put this stuff where I need to go put it. Or maybe even the librarian type. I want to put this here. I want to put this there. And I don't have to worry about the underlying system for it. ([Time 0:06:09](https://share.snipd.com/snip/be611e70-7b31-4165-a492-bb5ebe5d68b1)) - **Write To Reduce Cognitive Load** - Logging reflections and highlights reduces cognitive load by making details retrievable. - Robb says this practice effectively lets him 'remember' everything without memorizing it. Transcript: Tom Merritt Does doing that logging actually improve it? Robb Dunewood It does because it's one of the things where I don't remember a lot of things. I don't have to try to remember a lot of things because if something was interesting to me, I just write it down and it goes into my second brain and I can recall it. And it makes, it makes my life a lot easier by not having, by not having to remember anything. I literally can remember ultimately everything. Tom Merritt Yeah. And I get what you're saying too. Like, and I think what Norm's wondering also is if you've got stuff in your second brain and, and that improves accessibility, right? Because now it's over there and you don't have to worry about it. Do the things you do need to remember, are those easier to remember? Cause there's, there's less kicking around in there. Robb Dunewood There is. So I, you know, we, I need to meet somebody Tuesday on the, on the 17th at four. I don't need to remember that it's in my calendar. My calendar is a perfectly good place to put appointments. Um, if I need to take the trash out at a certain time, my task is a perfectly good place to put it. And what I have done is just connected all of that to Evernote, connected all that to my second brain. ([Time 0:10:24](https://share.snipd.com/snip/0dccb701-56b0-40a4-b43c-78684ce5c4b2)) - **Centralize Highlights With Readwise** - Use Readwise as middleware to collect highlights from many sources into your second brain. - Send the same captures to Evernote and to a single Google Doc to enable querying with Notebook LM. Transcript: Robb Dunewood So we talked about, you know, Normax specifically about Google Docs. I never go into Google Docs or, you know, and write anything to go in there. But if I do capture something in Readwise via Reader or whether it be one of the many other applications that I use that Readwise can capture. It'll create a highlight and then send that to a single document in Google Docs. And the really cool thing you can do with Google Docs now is that I can import that into Notebook LM. And you can ask questions about stuff that I actually found interesting and interview myself. I literally can create a podcast on stuff that I put into my second brain and say, Hey, remind me what I was, what was I doing in March of 2024? It'll literally go and look at all my highlights and say, these are the things that you were talking about. This is what you thought stood out to me. So that is how I use Google docs. ([Time 0:12:28](https://share.snipd.com/snip/c01c84dc-9cd6-4af3-900c-e35974025107)) - **Flat Organization With PARA** - Robb does not create a note per subject and follows Tiago Forte's PARA method: Projects, Areas, Resources, Archives. - He keeps the system flat and relies on search instead of deep folder hierarchies. Transcript: Robb Dunewood I do not. So one of the tenets of a second brain is what Tiago Forte calls the PARA method. It stands for, you know, the PARA method is basically the organization method. So you have projects. Those are things that you're working on right now. Areas are things that they may not be an immediate project that you're working on, but it's an area of interest that you might have. Resources would be something that I don't need this right now, but it is a good resource. This is a good quote. I might use it someplace. And then for anything that doesn't fit one of those first three categories, you have archives. And that's just where everything else just kinds to go. You don't really delete anything unless you don't unless you know you don't need it, but you can put it in your archive. That way you can pull something up maybe, you know, of years later, which I have actually done. Tom Merritt Yeah. What's the difference between something that goes into a resource and something that goes into archive? Because I feel like resource is kind of your catch-all category. Robb Dunewood So being a technology podcaster, and being a news, we cover current news. So I have news bits that are going into my second brain daily, multiple times per day. I don't necessarily need to keep something that happened three years ago in my resources because I'm not actively talking about that right now. But if I want to reminisce and go back and say, oh, yeah, what did we talk about back in 2022 on Deadly Tech Headlines? That will eventually make it to my archives and it's there and I can bring that back and I can leave it in archives or I can even bring it into projects if there's something that I'm specifically Working on right now. So it's a pretty flat type of system. I don't create folders anymore. I don't create, there may be a particular project that I'm working on that it may be a project inside of my resources, but I try to keep everything as flat as possible because the cool thing About these database driven note-taking tools is that they're databases. You can keep them as flat as you want to keep them and just type what you're looking for and express that information. One of the problems that I used to have before building a second brain was I would have this massive hierarchy of folders and files that are in multiple different places. And the problem would be, crap, I can't remember where I put this. So the more structure that you give something, it actually makes it harder for it to be searched for in a database. So I try to leave things as flat as I possibly can. ([Time 0:15:00](https://share.snipd.com/snip/6a99c649-a4fa-447c-934e-baf914312dca)) - **Staying With What Works** - Robb stuck with Evernote after 15 years because it fits his habits and he avoids rebuilding systems. - He tried Obsidian and Notion but didn't find the payoff worth switching his workflow. Transcript: Robb Dunewood So this is just because I have been using Evernote literally for well over a decade and a half. And I just like it. I like the application. I don't like the price that Bending Spoons put on it once they bought Evernote. But I've got so much there. And I am somewhat a creature of habit. I don't want to change to a new database just for changing to a new databases, just because it exists. So I, you know, I will say this, I have tried Notion many, many times, but I just go back to Evernote because like it just works. I don't want to have to build the note taking system. I don't want to have to build, you know, the project management tool. I don't want to have to build account. I don't want to have to do all that. I don't want to have to go buy a template so that someone else has done it for me and then have to learn that template. I already know Evernote and Evernote for me works just fine because one of the really cool things about Evernote is they make it very easy to put data into it via mobile. It is arguably one of the best note-taking tools as far as the mobile application. Apple Notes is also very good, but I don't use an iPhone. So Evernote is the tool for me. Tom Merritt Homes.com has collaboration tools to help home shoppers search, share, and discuss home shopping with family, friends, and their agent directly through the site. Though it was fun to get that email from your husband about that three-bedroom in the hills, to which you replied via text that you would never live in the hills and you'd like to find a Three-bedroom closer to the beach, to which he replied, why are you so uncompromising? A fun way to spend an afternoon, but we think it's just a tad bit easier our way. Homes.com. We've done your homework. Hey, it's Mark Maron from WTF here to let you know that this podcast is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. And I'm sure the reason you're listening to this podcast right now is because you chose it. Well, choose Progressive's Name Your Price tool and you could find insurance options that fit your budget so you can pick the best one for your situation who doesn't like choice try It at progressive.com and now some legal info progressive casualty insurance company and affiliates price and coverage match limited by state law not available in all states Have You tried Obsidian? Have you played around with it? I'm just curious. Yes, I've tried everything. Robb Dunewood And try is, I think, Obsidian. I installed it and it's like, oh, there's a lot there and never went back to it. So I can't tell you that I've given it an honest try. But there, you know, this is how I look at things. Is the juice worth the squeeze? You know, am I going to get something out of obsidian that I need to go figure out how to use obsidian? I have not run into a problem with Evernote yet that made me want to go through the work of learning a brand new system because it is very different than, than what I'm used to. So once again, if you go back to the book, there are different types of personalities that match up. There is a certain type of personality that absolutely would match up with a tool like Obsidian. I'm just not that person. I'm more of a gardener or a librarian that just, I just want to put stuff in places and not worry about it as compared to trying to figure out how to make all these links and all this kind of Stuff to your information. So I don't want to knock Obsidian. It's just not for me. ([Time 0:18:08](https://share.snipd.com/snip/d43510a0-1a38-42e3-a136-178c9b0529b8)) - **Prioritize Mobile Capture** - Prefer tools with strong mobile capture if you capture on the go; Evernote excels at mobile. - Choose the app that makes quick capture painless to maintain the habit. Transcript: Robb Dunewood It is arguably one of the best note-taking tools as far as the mobile application. Apple Notes is also very good, but I don't use an iPhone. So Evernote is the tool for me. ([Time 0:19:06](https://share.snipd.com/snip/e14d100d-a4e2-4d0a-9296-fe578f4200d8)) - **Backup By Routing Captures** - Use Readwise to duplicate highlights to Evernote and Google Docs so you effectively back up captured data. - Let capture tools send content to multiple destinations rather than manually exporting from Evernote. Transcript: Robb Dunewood So this is, and maybe I misspoke the first time, but I don't automatically back things up from Evernote into Google Drive or into Dropbox. I use ReadWise to send information to Evernote. I also use ReadWise to send the exact same information to Google Drive. So that middle piece of software is creating the backup for me. I'm sending the same highlights that I create and whatever tool that I'm using that's connected to ReadWise is being sent both to, you know, both to Evernote and to, you know, to Google Docs or, you know, Google Workspace in my particular case. When it comes to Dropbox, I am a person that takes pictures of things because, you know, the Evernote is really, really good with OCR. So you take a picture of a receipt, it's just there. I do have those pictures back up to Google, you know, my Google pictures or Google photos. But I also have those same pictures back up to Dropbox. So that is so it's just I'm not, you know, actively backing up in those places. ([Time 0:21:42](https://share.snipd.com/snip/5a422c20-030f-4007-9d98-2ca1e29f4a00)) - **Teacher Sparked The Habit** - Robb remembers high-school teacher Dr. Crane urging deeper learning over rote memorization and using commonplace books. - That advice shaped Robb's habit of writing down important ideas instead of only memorizing for tests. Transcript: Robb Dunewood Yeah, that was, you know, Professor Crane, Dr. Crane was one of my favorite teachers from high school. And a habit that I have is I really was good at just memorizing stuff for the test. So took notes, but I would just try to let me just go in here and see how much of this I can just commit to memory for the test. And the problem is that once the test is over, that stuff gets out of my mind and I'm on to, you know, to memorizing things for the next test. And he told me, he's like, you know, man, that works in the 11th grade. That is not going to work in med school because at the time I was thinking I wanted to be a doctor and was going to go to med school. It's like that's not how that works. You want to learn the information. You can always go look something up, but you need to understand it and know it beyond just memorizing it. So you remember, oh, this is C on the test. So that kind of stuck out to me. And he was someone who did carry a commonplace book. And it was cool. Like you know he literally was the swede coat wearing with the leather on the shoulder you know the pipe everything yeah he looked like a professor of of english that that is what he looked Like he definitely played into that i just thought he was a really cool guy he was you know one of my favorite teachers that i remember and that stuck out to me is that hey you're not going To be able to just you know commit everything to memory because you're not going to learn anything. You want to actually go to college and learn something. So you need to come up with a note taking system that's going to work for you. So he was the one to say, Hey, if it's good for Albert Einstein, it should be good for you. He doesn't remember all this extraneous stuff. He writes it down. So why don't you actually, you know, get, and he said, Hey, you don't need to go get a moleskin, but use one of these composition books that you already have for the class and just write Your notes down there and figure out a note taking a system that works for you. So that, that's, that is what I pulled from. ([Time 0:23:55](https://share.snipd.com/snip/05616f3c-9f30-472b-8e4f-bdce79762dc3)) - **Begin With A Task Manager** - Start small: adopt a task manager and put every intended action into it for a few weeks. - Commit tasks to calendar integration so you stop relying on memory for appointments and chores. Transcript: Robb Dunewood What I would do and one of the things that I do believe that Tiago Forte recommends is just start where you're comfortable. I would say that if you are concerned with trying to remember more or remember better or you want to do something that's going to make you a bit more productive, start using a task manager. To using it at least for a few weeks to get into the habit of doing it. But every single thing that I intend to do makes it into my task manager, which eventually makes it into my calendar. Everything is there. So I never have to remember that I had to do a call at 630 in the evening, which is a little odd. Usually we're recording much earlier in the day than this. I didn't have to remember it. I put it in a task and the task is connected to my calendar and it just pops up. Hey, we're talking with Tom today. You know, this is what you need to prepare for. So I would recommend start there, start small, create a task manager. But when you commit to the task manager, put everything in, anything that you intend to do, put in there. It will seem like, why am I putting all of this stuff in there? At first, you will have those thoughts. ([Time 0:26:07](https://share.snipd.com/snip/044505e1-e67f-4b48-a025-74d946f605c1))