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Practically speaking, digital space is limitless. Theoretically, you can keep almost anything you encounter. And yet, the more you keep, the more you need to organize.

Ultimately, of course, what you keep is up to you, but there are a few interesting questions revolving around the “capture decision”:

• Are some things better suited for capture than others?

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Short answer: at the core of your second brain, especially in those places where you manage “personal projects.”

Longer answer:

The PARA method integrates tasks and notes in a way that favors actionability. Therefore, it is mainly used in one's main PKM app (Evernote, Notion, Obsidian, etc.) or Personal Knowledge Companion (PKC).

However, since PARA is n…

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A Personal Knowledge Companion (PKC or PK companion) refers to one's central notes app, or "PKM app." It forms the heart of one’s PKM system or second brain.1

Evernote, Notion, Obsidian, and many others are popular apps that can become PKCs. An overview of the PKM app landscape in 2024 can be found here.

For an app to be called a PKC, it must be engaged w…

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A good folder structure for personal knowledge and digital artifacts eases everyday life. Things can be neatly stored, quickly and reliably found, and sustainably organized.

To design a good folder structure, one should emphasize the topmost layer, the so-called root level. Since we always enter our hierarchy from the top when we navigate, the number of …

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The ACEx method by Nick Milo from Linking Your Thinking is a folder structure for digital notes that focuses on learning, remembering, and creating (in that order).1

Milo is a YouTuber and online course creator, and this method helps him with what he calls note-making (deliberate sense-making) and organizing his “head spaces.”

ACE is an acronym for the thr…

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Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) is the practice of managing one's most important information and insight.

The first use of the term personal knowledge management can be traced to Frand & Hixon (1999), where PKM is defined as follows:

• PKM is personal: designed by individuals for their own use.

• PKM deals with knowledge, which is complex, unlimited, and g…

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Most people do not deliberately maintain a second brain and never will. Almost everyone keeps notes of some form, but unless they are organized as a whole, we wouldn’t speak of them engaging in personal knowledge management (PKM). That’s okay because, strictly speaking, one doesn’t need a second brain to achieve anything.

However, colloquially, what we …

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An organizational space (or org space or space) is a concept used to discuss and understand organizational methods. It refers to a top-level category in an organizational hierarchy.

Some examples:

• Tiago Forte’s PARA method has four spaces:

  • Projects

  • Areas

  • Resources

  • Archives

• Nick Milo’s ACE method has three spaces:

  • Atlas

  • Calendar

  • Efforts

• The PEAKER method from Fr…

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The PARA method by Tiago Forte is a simple but effective way to organize digital artifacts (tasks, notes, files, emails, etc.) when one’s overarching goal is creative expression. Forte is a blogger, YouTuber, and online course creator, and this method helps him create content.

PARA is an acronym for the four organizational spaces where things can be sto…

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In digital productivity, the term “second brain” refers to a trusted thinking system outside your skull supporting your primary brain. Popularized by Tiago Forte, the founder of Forte Labs, and the online course Building a Second Brain (BASB), this concept has gained considerable traction.

A second brain is a repository where you keep and manage personal…

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