Inside Ali Abdaal's Second Brain System
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 17 มิ.ย. 2024
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We talked with Ali Abdaal about the Idea Factory he used to build a team of 20 employees & a 3+ million subscriber TH-cam channel. This is a detailed walkthrough of the four steps of Ali's Second Brain process, where his notes go, and the specific apps he uses every day.
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CHAPTERS:
00:00 Inside Ali’s Second Brain
00:27 Step 1: CAPTURE (CODE)
00:42 Notebook (Capture Physical Notes, Morning Pages)
00:57 Apple Notes (Capture Offline Notes)
01:34 Readwise (Capture Book & Article Notes)
01:43 Kindle (Capture Book Notes)
01:45 Instapaper (Capture Articles)
01:49 Reader (Capture Articles)
01:58 Day One (Capture Journaling)
02:15 Todoist (Capture Tasks)
02:20 Otter (Capture Audio)
02:45 CleanShot X (Capture Screenshots, Gifs, Video)
03:11 Ali: "You need to combine your capturing and your organizing"
04:08 Apple Notes (Capture catch-all notes storage)
04:15 Roam Research (Capture daily notes - catch-all notes storage)
04:58 Ali's Second Brain (Capture Overview)
05:33 Step 2: ORGANIZE (CODE)
06:02 Notion (Organize TH-cam Video Planning)
06:09 Apple Notes (Organize Book Notes + Chapter Structures)
06:38 Roam Research (Organize Book Drafts)
07:08 Notion (Organize Content Production Engine)
07:34 Readwise (Organize content by routing into Roam Research)
08:18 Organizing notes by searchability
08:44 Ali: "Let Chaos Reign, Then Reign in Chaos"
08:58 Step 3: DISTILL (CODE)
09:46 3 Step Progress (Distill for TH-cam Videos)
10:11 Notion (Distill - How to Get Started With Investing)
10:26 Distill (Ali's Reading Notes Vs Ali's Content Created in the Past)
11:04 Roam Research (Distill TH-cam ideas via search function)
11:35 Tiago: "You don't need to do new research"
12:01 Step 4: EXPRESS (CODE)
12:28 Apple Notes (Express Quick Notes)
12:49 Notion (Express Scripts)
13:35 Ali: "I'm not a huge fan of PARA"
14:01 Apple Notes (Express TH-cam Planning)
14:25 Ali's Second Brain (Express Overview)
15:06 Notion (TH-cam title character counter)
16:10 Ali's Second Brain (CODE Overview)
16:16 FREE CODE Quickstart Guide
16:26 Start Taking Notes Now!
16:30 Outro
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Thanks for coming over :) had a great time!
great video 💪
Hi Ali, thanks for sharing. But I'm curious how did implement Zettelkasten in Apple Notes? I mean it's not typicall software for that case. Maybe another video with explanation?)
@Miroslav we cut it from the video but in our interview Ali talked about how he's repeatedly started and stopped doing Zettelkasten (usually in Roam) but has never gotten it to stuck as a practice
@@TiagoForte Ah, ok, thank you for clarifying it! Also many thanks for the video, I was feel a little bit torn between Apple Notes and Obsidian, both have cool features that I need. But seeing Ali's workflow, I feel better on that behalf, and how to incorporate them both.
Has anyone figured out how to get audiobook clips into Notion? That is my primary way of consuming books and I don’t feel like my second brain is complete without audiobook capture
Ali Abdaal: The Art Of Complicating Simple Stuff
absolutely Outlook and OneNote will do the Job
@@Cell343 So True, I jot down whatever idea comes in my mind in apple notes to save it temporary, then I have a proper folder hierarchy in OneNote, in my free time I move items from Apple Notes to OneNote
Legit just lold 😂
Toxic productivity
Although he is running a 4million business using this system. Seems quite proportional I think. ESP if there are companies using even more Chucky systems that’s makes less revenue😅
Reading BASB now-loving it! I hope you’ll do more of these videos showcasing Second Brain setups, it’s both inspiring and educational to see it all in action-Thanks!
oh we will :)
Such a delightful look at Ali's system. I really appreciate this kind of behind-the-scenes look at how people apply BYSB practices. Always helpful to hear specifically how you're using particular apps for different purposes. Evernote is my main Capture tool (for over ten years now) but I have to say I really love my Mac's native Stickies app for quick captures. I have one sticky note set to "float" and while I'm watching a video or in a Zoom call I can jot down notes without having to click away to another app. Then later I can paste the contents of that sticky into Evernote. I also appreciate how tiny the sticky's footprint is on the screen when I'm not using it.
Stealing this idea! Thank you. 🙏
Learning CODE and PARA has been life changing! Where I work, we have strict restrictions on what tools we can use which limits my ability to automate (forward emails to systems). Having a framework allows me to stay organized even without the helpful automations.
After watching this video you changed everything for me about apple notes. This was life changing
Really enjoyed the graphic representation of Ali's system! I'm betting that took a lot of work!! But this would be awesome to see you do a series on several creators second brains (maybe that's already in the works). In that case, I'm very excited to see the incoming ones! Thanks again Tiago! Keep it up!
3 more in production as we speak ;-)
@@TiagoForte Awesome! I would love to offer any help I could with transcribing, editing, or proof reading if you would like an enthusiastic volunteer. Best!
I absolutely love seeing other people's systems and setups. I can visualize the idea of a second brain but seeing other people's methods is so helpful, I hope you guys will do more of these in the future!
Definitely will
Long time fan of Ali, and his system is very logical.. still, not really necessary for most people, as there's much overlap in functionality of some of the apps, Apple Notes alone can do most of this... but apparently he can manage it all.
I saw this video a year ago when I wanted to start my second brain.
In the process of doing it on Notion, adding to-dos it became more of a task manager that gave me stress of maintaining the system.
Now, reviewing the video and the PARA method it is such a 🤯 moment
Seriously love Ali! Been inspired by him for years! I first started watching his videos when he taught me about Anki years ago. So proud of him!!!! 🎉
Two people from whom I learned so much together.
I loved the graphic representation, I immediately screen-shot that. I wondered why Ali doesn't do this video himself and keeps teasing us with bits and pieces of his system, but now it's here, and my mind is blown. I'm rewatching it the third time and taking notes copiously.
It looks like Ali Abdaal team did the video and gave it to Forte.
because youtube money
Ali is so inspiring, he is the reason I let go of perfectionism and finally started a TH-cam channel!! And didn’t immediately delete it😂 love this video, so grateful to be here!! Thank you for your time and work and for bringing Ali on!! 😍✨🙏🏼
More power to you girl. Will support your channel for sure 🙏🏻
Amazing to see two great 🧠s squared!
Incredible! Love the edit on this one :)
This is one of the most incredibles series of productivity that I've seen. Very useful to create our own strategies and methods for our own PARA. Keep doing it, please! :)
Wow, super helpful video and also very well-edited. You can't help but stay engaged.
Another amazing video! Thanks for the valuable content 💕
Man... Mind-blowing!!! Thank you guys for so many really practical tips and information.
This was such a great video! I am a beginning youtuber and have been struggling with keeping track of information I read and might want to use later for my videos. This illustrated so clearly how a system like this functions in real life. Thank you! :)
Amazing to hear
@@TiagoForte ghare hoi
Without having read the book but watched a few videos from both creators i have used the system for two days. I didn’t think it could work so quickly but after a day of capturing from multiple sources and getting into flow multiple times i came up with some of the best ideas I have had without the procrastination that usually stops me. The end result was two proposals which I shared with my team. I would say this is going to take some time to learn but worth it. Yes they make it look easy as they have made it part of their lives.
This is such a great vdo! Thank you so much for sharing and inspiring!. I have to watch and pause, watch and pause while taking notes. I am new to notetaking this way and just can't believe there are so many tools available. Really, thank you so much.
I'm about halfway way done with the book and I am really enjoying it!
Love it!
Thank you very much for the video. I organize my "Second Brain" only with tons of text files in markdown. Every app I use can read the files and I won´t lose data by changing it in the future. All notes in one place. ;-)
Hardcore
Really enjoying the series of breaking down creators 2nd brains
Loved the bit at 0:38 where Ali's taking notes from Fifty Shades of Grey 🤣
i NEVER EXPECTED THAT...I HOPE HE DID NOT WASTE HIS TIME READING IT.
A good example of how to perhaps not worry too much about perfectionism ! Let chaos reign , yas 🙌🏽
This is a million dollar video - i would have watched it if it was 50mins long!! Thank you Tiago
Just an observation but this looks really complicated. Alot going on, too many apps to create a second brain. I don't know but I assumed a second brain was to streamline and make things very simple? I just don't think it has to be that complicated
I agree with you, not everyone needs this all, I'm using Google keep notes for my simple notes sync, and using Microsoft Onenotes for my learnings, and using Trello for my Job and education.
Also using free mindmapping for my process.
That's more than enough for me.
Was jut thinking this a second before reading your comment. Agreed.
Agree. He just over does it
I think this makes sense for him because he needs a few separate apps for business, such as notion which his team has access to. Some apps function as a collaborative brain. The rest are private spaces
The rest of us should certainly aim for simplicity though.
I love it..
not every app is made for everything
& it’s honestly what works for you.
I'm certainly more in Ali's camp, regarding the number of note apps used... as each one is for specific purposes.
This was so cool! I can't wait to watch Elizabeth Filips System!
Soon™
Elizabeth's approach is really fascinating and totally different from Ali's or mine
Am I the only one who thinks Tiago Forte looks like Elon Musk?
I hope not. Tiago sounds sane.
@@keithdow8327 thankfully haha ! I meant their facial features.
Bwhahaha I love that Ali is reading “Fifty shades” and taking notes in the b-roll
Loving your sharing of your guests' BASB Maps. What software do you use to map it out? I really appreciate seeing everything laid out with flows and connections.
Thank you! We build it out in Keynote, then animate using After Effects
Great video. I use apple notes daily but i downloaded the rest u mentioned. Cant have too much.
My favourite bit of this video was that beautiful MacBook cover.
My second favourite part was the example of looking up info in your roam space and finding useful stuff. Once you have enough notes in there, it makes it so much more efficient to look there first rather than Google.
Very useful video. Full of goodies for those interested in the PKM space.
This actually makes me relax about all this productivity parody and all its superstars. I actually see that ali s method is as messy as mine if not much more as he uses even more apps!!! Value your own ideas, your own method. Grab some of the suggestions but adopt only what works for you. In the end it will be messy anyway. Love que quote to let chaos rule and then rule over chaos!
Does anyone else watch this and find the level of productivity slightly overwhelming, like scarily productive? I feel like these guys are on a different level to most people.
It seems exhausting, to be honest
Completely ok to use notion normally and nominally
..this is initial process information personalisation…next level you design formatting n buttons 😅knowledge and value creation …products and services uEx / UI …first time in start up …was 6 months was without current AI..imo do it first time without AI ..
Nobody ever touches on security. I cant use half the apps yall use because im not giving anyone access to the intimate inner workings of my mind lmao
The video I need this at moment ❤️
Love this! So inspiring ❤
The editing on this is sick!
I love the intense notetaking shot of Fifty Shades of Grey
Incredibly extraordinary video
Editing is at next level
Instantly subscribed the channel & don't want to miss valuable information from the channel
Nice! that was enjoyable to watch!
We are witnessing the perfect harmony and dancing of two high IQ's in full operational mode. The editing takes the video to another leve I should add.
It’s overwhelming to those who don’t have this much going on in their head. But this is relieving to me , someone who has all this in my head whether I want to or not. And given that I have certain ambitions, THIS SORT IF WORK is THE GAME CHANGER to allowing me to be both productive and happy at the same time. It’s not something you just consciously design, rather you discover a workflow for yourself and your ambitions and passions.
NOBODY ELSE noticed Ali taking notes from Fifty Shades of Grey 🤣
I’m stuck trying to decide whether I’m a gardener, librarian, or architect. I’m a little of each, so I hate to rule out entire avenues with all of the fruits that could be harvested down each path. Ultimately, I may just go with Evernote for the sake of its all-in-one approach. Regardless, it was great to see how someone else’s second brain works. I’m currently reading your book and I eagerly look forward to implementing it into my life.
Sounds as if you have a Scanner personality. There is a great book called Refuse to Choose by Barbera Sher you should check out. It's life-changing.
Great video. Very interesting and comprehensive....but it makes me glad that my 'second brain' is a lot calmer and simpler than this! 😄
great stuff my dude
I loved this video but as someone newer to this system and one that gets overwhelmed with “too much detail” this video is probably best for power users that have a great understanding of not only BASB but how their own thought processes work.
Well said
7:11 hey, there's me!
Awesome video guys, this came out really well and I'm super impressed with the editing 🔥
You're an entire node of Ali's Second Brain 😂
😊
man that 0:38 fifty shades of grey..so much lessons to pick up
Love these insights and the app recommendations. Not sure if it was this or another video but you asked if there was a good source to capture notes on TH-cam videos. I believe he answered he watches them mostly for entertainment. However I think some of these insights would be amazing in my second brain. how do you recommend capturing these types of thoughts from YOU TUBE specifically?
You really talk about the toilet a lot in many of your videos, and it always makes me laugh. If I had to guess it is the most mentioned "friction" in your videos in the sense of using a particular tool because it works offline because you may need it while on the toilet. Great content, as always!
Great Video 👏❤
Thank you!
Great combination!
this video is amazing
Thank you for showing an example. Do you have any other examples of how to apple this approach to design and construction management with an emphasis on customer service to a school district?
I need to make a video like this .. have so many capture methods as well
that's awesome!!!
genius i will try this
I’ve always called it “chaotic organization” or “chaotically organized” or (used much less often) “messy desk syndrome”
0:37 My guy is taking notes from FIFTY SHADES OF GREY!!
awesome sharing :)
Hello, I recently subscribed your channel. And started using obsedian. Please do make a video on how to use flash cards inside obsedian. I am new & no idea on it. TH-cam has no tutorials on it ☹️
As Linux fanatic I generally don’t listen Apple users but Ali Abdaal is different. Absolute genius and absolute legend. I love it ❤️❤️❤️
To me having all these different apps is like having a bunch of friction in between my thoughts ideas notes and expressing them out into the world. It's like having 12 or 20 different kitchen appliances when you can use only one or two that do most of the work
Powerful video. Can you please link to all apps you use.
10/10 thumbnail
Hi Tiago - great video! Can I ask what software you used to design the graphic? Would love to do something like this for my team.
We used Keynote to design the rough graphic, then re-built it entirely from scratch to animate in Adobe After Effects (massive props to our editor!)
@@TiagoForte ❤❤❤
Interesting, for sure, but the problem with such systems is that they are only optimal for people dedicating their lives to... explaining how to use those systems. It is a system designed to optimise itself as an end itself, though I guess some people take what they can and incorporate certain ideas into their own workflows. I don't think it is healthy to adopt such systems wholesale. For a start, each of us has a different learning style and different capacities, aims, skills and schedule.
I agree with you that the system is far too elaborate, but I think that there is a lot of value in actually contemplating why they feel the need to incorporate certain mechanisms into their systems. In particular, it's interesting to see how they are able to mitigate the probability of forgetting or incorrectly categorizing information that they might find useful with respect to some task or goal.
@@garysteyn1039 I never said there was no value in it, but people should take care not to fall into a trap where they believe productivity as a lifestyle makes one productive. The paradox is that most people spend many hours reading about productivity, which is obvious irony, and likely to lead to a lack of authentic productivity in their own lives!
@@ashcross True lol. At some point the extra time you spend fine-tuning your system doesn't justify the marginal returns to productivity the system will actually yield.
I agree. As experience teaches, it's easier to overcomplicate things rather than simplifying them!
I’m unclear about it being unhealthy, or do you mean obsession over “process” instead of capturing ideas, notes, journals & knowledge of interest?
At 0:38 I lost it when I saw Ali jotting down notes from Fifty Shades of Grey. I seriously wanna know what's he learning from that book. 😂
Great video Tiago. Do you have any videos coming up on Craft?
Not right now, but we'd be excited to talk to someone who's dug deep into Craft as their Second Brain.
(Email us at marc@fortelabs.co if anyone is reading this and feel that's you!)
@0:37 Kinky boy taking notes from "Fifty Shades of Grey".
Came here for this right away lmao
Love watching and learning from you both! I'm an anesthesia student, and would love to get some recs on how best to organize school/life/work =)
i realise this is a bit strange considering im a stranger on the internet, but would you recommend studying to become an anaesthetist? im reasonably interested in going on to study medicine, and ive been told this is a field where i might do well (for context im 15 years old), so im just intrigued to know how hard it is?
That is SO MANY pieces of software.
Nice video. Is there an app that also uses my trusted source info but allows me to save the connections. So I don’t have to reimport the sources each time Also to keep previous pinned notes
Reallyally interesting. An aspect that usually remains undiscussed is the cost of these solutions: what is the USD footprint of using tools on a monthly basis? The cost quickly adds up.
Yeah we are going to do a second brain at multiple costs vid in future, good point!
I think complicating thing is not helpful. But it works for him.
Clean shot, is not available in the Apple Store. Can you suggest update option?
As Ali is sometime faster than Roadrunner it will take some rewatching to ingest all the things he's doing.
One thing is, that he's doing this for some years so his SB is filled with information, that makes it easier to flesh out an idea.
... nah, just have a fun session and read the close captions, whilst editing a copy of the auto-transcript... two passes max... or I would if I could. : ))))))))))) But as a clear violation of my rights and abuse of my disability in hearing. : ((((((((
Added a transcript, hope that helps :)
The problem I have with the "Chaos and search" method is that I sometimes don't find the correct words in my brain to use for searching. With a system of folders I can usually browse my way to what I'm looking for.
Спасибо за инсайды!😀
Good lord! I hope he has all this backed up on film. If there is ever an EMP, he won't know how to tie his shoes.
Nice talks.
My brain is melting
0:39 Ali might be the only person who takes notes even while reading 50 shades of Gray.
It's nice to see the actual breakdown, the thing I find stressful / overwhelming is having the perfect system when actually just need to let go and embrace a bit of chaos lol
Guys, I am confused about having multiple Apps. Tiago has apple notes, Evernote and notion? And he keeps both prof & personal together? So how are they different? He keeps them all and replicates the, manually?
Tiago
What is your experience with the remarkable tablet & digitized, but manual (handwritten) notes?
I wanna a video with quickstar guide for NOTION.
I loved the graphic representation how was it build what software was used ?
After Effects
Hey, Tiago! How are you?
Can you give me some tips about Progressive Summarization?
How can I adopt a "routine" to do this progressive summarization w/ my notes, podcast reviews, articles, news, books, etc?
Should I adhere the P.S to my weekly review like ev. weekends or something like that?
I read your book - Building a Second Brain - where you give a lot of rules of thumbs about how we can develop and matering our "second brain" or a term that you usually uses like "Athletes of knowledge".
In some chapters, I remember that you mentioned to do your P.S when you're in a state of relax in the evening, or without objectives.
However, this seems simple to you as a Master of BSB. For us, mere mortals that have been starting in this beautiful journey is somewhat complicated.
Can you give me some good examples in How the best way to do P.S?
Thanks a LOT!
I'm sure there is a better place to ask these questions, but I'll try here anyway.
I've started creating my Second Brain, but there are a few types of input I find hard to deal with:
Where do you keep track of new music to listen to? This might come in form of text recommendations from friends, links to Spotify, Bandcamp or SoundCloud. I don't want to keep that in Pocket, because it's not a type of content that doesn't lend itself to the same mode of consumption as reading. Keeping it in the notes app is an option, but it feels off, because I feel it's more for content I already consumed. Any tips?
What to do with questions that pop up but can't be answered immediately? For example, let's say I had a conversation with a friend about attachment styles in psychology and I decide to research the topic further at a later point. How do I capture this? Should I create an empty note with the title "Attachment Styles"?
Another example: I learn about a new tool called XYZ that is tangentially relevant to the domain I work in. Again, what's the procedure here? Creating an empty note as I suggested above?
Cheers!
Does anyone know the app or tool they have used in the video to create the graphic representation? Thanks!
I’m a librarian testing Amplenote but I’m tempted to go back to Roam and do some gardening…
Wow Ali