5 Productivity Apps That Survived Years of Testing

I'm thrilled to reveal the cover of my next book: Life in Perspective: The Art and Power of the Annual Review.

Getting here wasn't straightforward. We changed direction completely halfway through the design process. Fellow authors weighed in. So did members of our Annual Review community.

I arrived at this design because the orange, yellow, and red convey the warmth and humanity inherent in the act of reflecting deeply on your life. And the “prism” shape in the center represents looking at different facets of your life to see it in a new light. I genuinely hope it attracts people looking for a new perspective on their hopes, dreams, goals, and challenges.

Huge thanks to our designer Maya Lim for bringing this vision to life.

The book comes out this fall, and we're getting close to opening pre-orders.

As for the manuscript, my deadline is this Sunday. So I'll be disappearing for the rest of the week to push it over the finish line.

More updates soon!

5 Productivity Apps That Survived Years of Testing

I tested hundreds of productivity apps over the past decade, but only five survived daily use.

Here's what makes them different: they work together as one system, amplified by voice dictation that breaks the 10X typing bottleneck.

In this video, I walk you through my favorite apps for email, notes, tasks, AI, and voice dictation - showing you exactly how each connects to the others.

Watch on YouTube

Stop Organizing, Start Archiving

If your notes app feels like a cluttered mess, here's a counterintuitive solution: stop trying to organize it. Start fresh instead.

This week in our Second Brain Membership, we're guiding members through a notes app refresh. The most liberating approach: the clean slate method:

Create a folder called "Archive [Today's Date]"
Move everything into it
Set up fresh PARA folders: Projects, Areas, Resources, Archives
Only pull notes back out as you need them

That's it. You're not deleting anything. Everything remains searchable. You're simply giving yourself permission to start clean.

The magic is in what you don't do. Instead of agonizing over where each note belongs, you let your future needs guide what resurfaces. You'll never need most notes you archived again. And that's okay.

Try it this week: Archive everything in your notes app and set up fresh folders. Notice how it feels to work from a clean slate.

What did you discover? Reply and let me know.

Reminder: We're Hiring! (Apply by Jan. 31)

We're looking for two people to join the Forte Labs team.

Customer Success & Community Manager: Someone who loves helping people succeed and can guide our members through their Second Brain journey.
Operations Manager: Someone who thrives on keeping things running smoothly behind the scenes.

Both roles are part-time contractor positions, perfect for someone who's already practicing the Second Brain methodology in their own life.

Know someone who'd be a great fit? Forward this to them.

Or if this sounds like you, we'd love to hear from you.

Apply for Operations Manager

Apply for Customer Success & Community Manager

Book Recommendation: The Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay Stanier

This book just celebrated its 10th anniversary and has sold over a million copies for good reason. It's changed how countless managers (incl. myself) show up in conversations.

The core idea is simple: ask more questions, give less advice. Michael distills coaching down to seven essential questions that help you stay curious longer and rush to action more slowly.

Learning to coach has been one of the most valuable skills I've developed as an entrepreneur. It's transformed how I run meetings and support my team. Instead of jumping in with solutions, I've learned to ask questions that help people find their own answers.

If you manage people, this one belongs on your shelf.

Get your copy