Some of you may think I am crazy after reading the title, But I am serious - my second brain resides in Obsidian (More on that later).
Background
At the digital age now more than ever, we are constantly bombarded with information: brilliant ideas in a podcast, key insights from a book, a cool YouTube video, this very blog post you are currently reading.
We consume much information yet we retain so little of it.
About a two months ago I tried to solve this very issue. The solution I found for me is building a second brain.
Defining My Second Brain
For the experts in the audience, I need to make a quick clarification. While the term “Second Brain” has been popularized by Tiago Forte’s B.A.S.B. (Building a Second Brain), my system is slightly different.
For me, a Second Brain is simply a robust, external system for Personal Knowledge Management (PKM). It’s a tool to capture, organize, and retrieve information so my biological brain can focus on thinking and creating.
The engine that’s driving my particular method is the Zettelkasten method. In short, the Zettelkasten is a powerful system of interconnected, single-idea notes that act as a source to help you generate new ideas and arguments.
Why I Chose Zettelkasten Over BASB
While BASB is fantastic for people focused on managing projects and actionable files (organizing by urgency and deadlines), I found that the Zettelkasten method was better suited for my main goal: deep learning and generating new ideas.
Instead of organizing my notes by Projects and Areas using a folder hierarchy, the Zettelkasten forces me to organize my notes by the relationship between ideas. Every single note is:
- Atomic: It contains only one idea.
- Linked: It connects to other related ideas in the system.
This note taking method changes your notes from scattered, standalone files into a dynamic network of information. Each information note and idea connected to each other, transcending your storage space into your personalized thinking partner that lets complex ideas and novel insights emerge naturally.
Why Now In the Age of AI?
Some of you may think this process is tedious and a waste of time, especially when information is so easily accessible in the age of AI.
I argue that especially now, more than ever, having a dedicated place for your private notes is essential and has many benefits that AI just can’t replicate:
Deepen Your Understanding: The very act of writing notes in your own words, and summarizing ideas for your future self to understand, is where true, lasting knowledge is built.
Develop Your Voice and Skills: Your personality and expertise are reflected in your writing. Constantly refining and connecting notes inherently improves your writing skills and makes you more proficient at explaining complex concepts.
Supercharge AI Tools: Your Zettelkasten and AI go hand-in-hand. You can use your knowledge base as the primary, high-quality source of personalized ideas for tools like Google’s NoteBookLM or various AI Obsidian extensions. This allows you to leverage AI for:
- Analysis and Synthesis based on your unique concepts (not just generic public web data).
- Searching your complex web of notes more effectively.
- Proofreading and correcting typos you might have missed.
My Tool of Choice: Obsidian
Ok, If you got here I assume the idea of a second brain sounds appealing to you by now so let me show you how you can create your own.
I use the powerful, privacy-focused note-taking app, Obsidian (not sponsored, I am just a really impressed customer). Its reliance on local files and its incredible support for bi-directional linking makes it the perfect home for my Zettelkasten.
For setting up obsidian as a second brain I highly recommend Odysseas’s YouTube video. I personally followed his tutorial when I first set up Obsidian and It works like magic with really low maintenance so you can solely focus on collecting new knowledge and writing ideas.
Next steps
In my next post I will break down how I have created an automatic blog pipeline directly from my second brain. and why.