用 3 个简单步骤打造你的第一个第二大脑

     作者：Axel Casas, PhD Candidate

 And revolutionize your productivity

彻底改变您的工作效率

In today’s world, information overflooded us.

当今世界，信息充斥着我们。

We are constantly drowning in news, chats, meetings, books, work tasks, personal goals, online content, etc. Trying to keep all of this in your head is overwhelming, stressful, and impossible. It overloads cognitive load (the amount of information our working memory can hold).

我们总是被新闻、聊天、会议、书籍、工作任务、个人目标、在线内容等淹没。试图将所有这些内容都记在脑子里是一件令人难以承受、充满压力和不可能的事情。它使认知负荷（我们的工作记忆所能容纳的信息量）超载。

The good news is that you don’t have to remember all.

好消息是，您不必记住所有内容。

Instead, you can create a digital space, an extended version of your biological brain—a second brain. This is a system to store, organize, and retrieve all your relevant knowledge whenever you need it. An extended brain frees up mental space and improves focus without burning out.

相反，你可以创建一个数字空间，一个扩展版的生物大脑--第二个大脑。这是一个存储、组织和检索所有相关知识的系统，只要你需要。扩展大脑可以释放思维空间，提高专注力，而不会让你焦头烂额。

Building one may sound complicated, but it shouldn’t be hard.

建造一个听起来很复杂，但其实并不难。

This is how you can start building one.

您可以从这里开始建立一个。

Step 1. Capture Information In One Place

步骤 1.在一个地方采集信息

The main function of a second brain is to help you retrieve information.

第二大脑的主要功能是帮助你检索信息。

Think about this as a digital inbox where you can store anything you don’t want to forget or need to reference later. Common examples also include calendars, timers, Siri reminders, and notebooks. In a second brain, you could include:

把它想象成一个数字收件箱，你可以在这里存储任何不想忘记或需要日后参考的内容。常见的例子还包括日历、计时器、Siri 提醒和笔记本。在第二个大脑中，你可以包括

• Ideas that pop into your head.
  
  你脑海中闪现的想法
• Tasks you need to do.
  
  您需要完成的任务
• Notes from books, scientific articles, and online content.
  
  来自书籍、科学文章和在线内容的注释。

You use them to remember and make your life easier.

你用它们来记忆，让你的生活更轻松。

One more fact: our brains are bad at remembering.

还有一个事实：我们的大脑不善于记忆。

That’s why Rodrigo Quian Quiroga calls it a forgetting machine in his book. So by capturing information in another digital space, you avoid this problem. You don’t need to remember. Just open your second brain and retrieve information.

因此，罗德里戈-基安-基罗加在书中称其为 "遗忘机器"。因此，通过在另一个数字空间捕捉信息，就可以避免这个问题。你不需要记忆。只需打开你的第二大脑，检索信息即可。

So the first step is to decide where you will organize your knowledge.

因此，第一步是决定在哪里组织知识。

But choose only one.

但只能选择一个。

There are many software programs for this, just as Obsidian or Notion. If you are starting with this, I suggest Notion. It is simple, beautiful, and effective. Obsidian offers full personalization, but it is more complicated to set up.

这方面的软件很多，如 Obsidian 或 Notion。如果您刚开始使用，我建议您使用 Notion。它简单、美观、有效。Obsidian 提供完全个性化的功能，但设置起来比较复杂。

Once you have this, capture everything relevant for you.

有了这些信息后，就可以捕捉与您相关的所有内容。

Examples

实例

• Taking notes about a course, book, article, etc.
  
  就课程、书籍、文章等做笔记。
• Any idea or thought that comes to mind (like an idea to write a Medium article).
  
  任何想到的点子或想法（比如写一篇 Medium 文章的想法）。

If you already use a second brain, let me know which software program you use 🙂

如果您已经使用第二大脑，请告诉我您使用的软件程序：)

Step 2. Organize Your Folders With The PARA Method

步骤 2.用 PARA 方法整理文件夹

The next step is to organize the information so it is easy to find later.

下一步是整理信息，以便日后查找。

Remember, your goal is to make your life easier, don’t make it more complicated. This is where the PARA method comes in. It is a strategy popularized by Tiago Forte to organize your work and knowledge in 4 folders:

记住，你的目标是让生活更轻松，而不是让生活更复杂。这就是 PARA 方法的作用所在。这是蒂亚戈-福特（Tiago Forte）推广的一种策略，将你的工作和知识整理成 4 个文件夹：

1. Projects: top responsibility and finite work (clear deadline or outcome).
   
   项目：首要责任和有限工作（明确期限或成果）。
2. Responsibility: work you must do frequently (don’t have deadlines but are important to track of).
   
   责任：你必须经常做的工作（没有截止日期，但必须跟踪）。
3. Resources: information that may be useful in the future. Information you’re not actively working on but still want to keep.
   
   资源：将来可能有用的信息。你不积极工作但仍想保留的信息。
4. Archive: projects you finished or information that is no longer relevant but you may want to review later.
   
   存档：您已完成的项目或不再相关但您可能想稍后查看的信息。

This is how my PARA looks:

这就是我的 PARA 的样子：

├── PROJECT
   ├── RESEARCH
   ├── BOOKS
   ├── EBOOKS
   └── COMMUNICATION
|
├── RESPONSIBILITY
   ├── PAPERS
   ├── LEARNING
   ├── STUDENTS
   ├── UNIVERSITY
   └── MEDIUM
|
├── RESOURCE
   ├── CURIOSITY <- papers/readings notes I found interesting
   ├── WRITING <- tips to write better
   └── AI/TECH RESOURCES <- tools for students
|
├── ARCHIEVE
   ├── UBA <- the notes of my Psychology degree
   ├── RESEARCH DONE
   └── ARTICLES PUBLISHED

As I said in a previous article, this method has many positive outcomes:

正如我在前一篇文章中所说，这种方法有很多积极的效果：

• All your information is condensed into 4 folders instead of multiple ones.
  
  您的所有信息都被压缩到 4 个文件夹中，而不是多个文件夹。
• As you look and work for priority, it is way easier to find documents.
  
  当你为优先权而寻找和工作时，寻找文件就会容易得多。
• It is way easier to choose a folder where you will work.
  
  选择一个您要工作的文件夹会更容易。
• It helps you integrate your workflow.
  
  它可以帮助你整合工作流程。

Plus, it reduces cognitive load.

此外，它还能减轻认知负担。

Step 3. Review And Maintain Your Second Brain

步骤 3.审查并维护您的第二大脑

If you don’t use it regularly, then a second brain will not be useful.

如果你不经常使用它，那么第二个大脑就不会有用。

This is where many people quit using them. You must review it frequently to ensure your second brain is relevant and up-to-date. If you capture information but never come back to it, it will become, once again, overwhelming and disorganized. Worse yet, forgotten.

这就是许多人放弃使用它们的原因。您必须经常查看，以确保您的 "第二大脑 "是相关的、最新的。如果你捕捉到了信息，却从不回头看，那么这些信息就会再次变得不堪重负、杂乱无章。更糟糕的是，还会被遗忘。

Reviewing also helps to find new ways to use the knowledge you already have in your second brain.

复习还有助于找到使用第二大脑已有知识的新方法。

Find a strategy to use it frequently and trust it:

找到经常使用它的策略，并相信它：

• Make a weekly checklist: take 30 minutes to review your projects and responsibilities.
  
  制定每周清单：花 30 分钟回顾一下你的项目和职责。
• Make a daily checklist: each morning, choose the responsibilities and projects you will work on.
  
  制定每日清单：每天早上，选择你要完成的责任和项目。
• Organize and review your ideas: take time to check your ideas.
  
  整理和回顾你的想法：花时间检查你的想法。

Over time, it will become your default tool to work and stay focused.

随着时间的推移，它将成为你工作和保持专注的默认工具。

How I use my second brain

我如何使用我的第二个大脑

• I take notes about my courses/books/articles, etc.
  
  我做有关课程、书籍、文章等的笔记。
• I write ideas for new articles and research.
  
  我为新的文章和研究撰写创意。
• I work on scientific articles.
  
  我的工作是撰写科学文章。
• I create, organize, and maintain databases.
  
  我创建、组织和维护数据库。

A second brain is a productivity and learning game-changer.

第二个大脑可以改变工作效率和学习方式。

In a nutshell, to build your first digital/extended brain you should:

一言以蔽之，要建立第一个数字/扩展大脑，你应该

1. Capture ideas and information in a single place (i.e., Notion or Obsidian).
   
   在一个地方捕捉想法和信息（如 Notion 或 Obsidian）。
2. Organize your folders using the PARA method.
   
   使用 PARA 方法整理文件夹。
3. Review it.
   
   回顾一下。

The more you trust and work on your second brain, the more effective it will become.

你越信任自己的第二大脑，并为之努力，它就会变得越有效。

With time, you will master it and perhaps move to other more customizable software programs like Obsidian.

随着时间的推移，您将掌握它，或许还能转而使用其他更多可定制的软件程序，如 Obsidian。

Hope this helps!

希望对您有所帮助！

原文：https://medium.com/cogni-tiva/build-your-first-second-brain-in-3-dead-simple-steps-5f9c94095cbb