Will AI give us infinite patience?


I'm excited to share that Obsidian expert Nick Milo will join us at the inaugural Second Brain Summit.

Nick will give a keynote talk on Linking Your Thinking: The Dawn of Networked Knowledge which explores the transformative potential of linked notes in modern knowledge work.

By shifting focus from mere organization to ideation, he’ll demonstrate how this approach fosters creativity and insight, moving practitioners from passive notetaking to active notemaking and the intellectual joy it offers.

If you'd like an intro to Nick and his work, check out our video where we dive deep into the art of using notes to transform ideas into tangible creative projects.

To meet Nick and many more of your favorite teachers and creators live, join us at the Second Brain Summit on October 3-4 in LA


Launch Your Projects Successfully with This Kickoff Checklist

In a sea of endless responsibilities, completed projects are your most important unit of progress. They're short sprints that keep your momentum going and motivation high – if you approach them correctly.

The first step is to launch your project effectively using a Project Kickoff Checklist. Here are the essential steps I recommend:

  1. Capture your current thinking: Create a new project folder and do a braindump, capturing all your thoughts, musings, potential strategies, relevant links, and important steps tied to the project.
  2. Review relevant folders or tags: Navigate through existing folders or tags in your notetaking app that might house notes pertinent to the new project. Keep the process quick when scanning interesting notes.
  3. Search for related terms: Conduct a systematic search across all folders for terms that correlate with the project. Tap into relevant notes swiftly, relying on Progressive Summarization to navigate in and out of notes.
  4. Move relevant notes: Transport the discovered notes to your new project folder. As an alternative, utilize the linking feature available in most notetaking apps to establish links instead of physically relocating the notes.
  5. Create an outline and project plan: The last step is drafting a quick project plan. What are the major milestones? Which open questions need to be addressed? What's the immediate next step?

These steps have worked reliably for me for years and for all different kinds of projects. But they might not be ideal for you.

That's why I invite you to create your own personalized Project Kickoff Checklist and put it to the test by applying it to a new project you’re starting right away.

If you're up for it, hit reply and share your Project Kickoff Checklist with me. I'd love to see more examples.


Digital Attention Spans: AI as a Source of Infinite Patience

We tend to think of Artificial Intelligence as being in an arms race with Human Intelligence. Which one is smarter? When will AI surpass us?

But there's a hidden assumption buried in that comparison: that intelligence is best measured by its peak moments – the flash of brilliance, the sudden epiphany, the intellectual breakthrough.

Blogger Venkatesh Rao suggests that we look instead at a completely different aspect of intelligence: the cost of maintaining attention and patience.

In this blog post, I explore how AI’s infinite patience can transform our approach to tedious tasks and unlock new potential.


How to Supercharge Your Career in 2024

The one thing that has advanced my career and grown my business more than anything else is other people – mentors, collaborators, sponsors, and peers.

But meeting the right people can be tough, especially if you're working remotely and want to build deep and lasting connections.

Sidebar is the solution – a highly curated leadership program to help you meet a supportive, diverse circle of peers who can help you with in-depth advice, honest feedback, or holding you accountable.

Members include entrepreneurs, as well as senior leaders from companies like Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta.

Thanks to Sidebar for sponsoring this newsletter!


Building a Second Brain for Students & Educators

This summary of Building a Second Brain was shared in our Facebook group, interpreting it through the lens of students and educators.

I've heard from many that they wish they had known about and started building a Second Brain when in school and university. Imagine the wealth of knowledge and lessons learned they could tap into now.

So I want to invite you to send our Definitive Introductory Guide to BASB to someone on a learning journey today.

Build your Second Brain

Join BASB Foundation →

🤩

Create a system for productivity

Join POP →

📚

Organize your digital life

Get the PARA Method →

Tiago Forte

Want to opt out of the newsletter or receive this email on a different email address?
Update your preferences

Want to stop receiving emails from us completely?
Unsubscribe from everything. (Use with caution!)

5318 E. 2nd St. PMB 36973, Long Beach, CA 90803

Forte Labs Newsletter

Level up your productivity and life with new essays, videos, event invites, and other resources every Tuesday. Join 125k subscribers exploring the frontier of modern work, experimenting with new ways of doing more with less, and discovering what it means to fulfill our human potential. 100% free and 100% useful!

Read more from Forte Labs Newsletter

As you may know, I’m currently writing a book all about the art and power of the annual review—a ritual that has transformed my life and countless others. But here’s the thing: I need your help. I’m on the lookout for great examples of annual reviews—your own, or ones you’ve come across online. I’d love to see the many forms this practice can take, from written blog posts to videos, podcasts, visual presentations, or even something completely unconventional! If you’ve created or come across...

Happy New Year 🥳 I’m back from Antarctica and excited that we’re kicking off the first monthly theme in our new Second Brain Membership… We’ve all experienced how a messy workspace, whether physical or digital, creates overwhelm and makes it harder to focus. In January, we’ll work together to declutter your personal and shared environment and archive anything that’s no longer serving you. By the end of the month, you’ll have a clean, inviting workspace that motivates you to tackle your most...

Best of 2024

This is our final newsletter of 2024 🎉 a special edition to celebrate the past 12 months. Here are some of the milestones we achieved this year at Forte Labs... Our BASB Foundation course went through an upgrade and we launched it in Portuguese and Spanish. We opened our Second Brain Membership to everyone (and have exciting updates coming for 2025). I moved our family from the US to Mexico. We grew our YouTube channel to 287K subscribers and I shared a comprehensive retrospective of this...