Why you should build a second brain

Nowadays, information is everywhere. We can easily access it on our smartphones the first minute we get up from bed.

Having information access is excellent, but it also creates some issues: distraction, laziness, exhaustion, and unambitious feelings.

Our time area is marked by digital and information overload. Some call it "social media fatigue", meaning the more time we spend on social media, the more negative effects appear.

As developers, we find solutions to problems. As you may suggest, there is a solution to this overloading information issue.

The new gold resources of the 21st century

The creation of the internet was an innovation at the end of the 20th century.

It profoundly changes our way of working, interacting, and consuming information in ways no one ever imagined centuries ago.

We are connected to all the people around the world every time, every day. We have news from our city, from people that we follow, and short media information every hour (for some, every minute).

Now that social media has your attention, it will show you ads that people pay to show you their product, mastermind, and selling page.

You know where I am getting at: your attention is the next gold of the 21st century.

With your attention you can create projects, start a new habit, a new sport or see people outside, but now it is consumed by social media.

How can you regain control of your attention?

Select content that is worth consuming

The quantity of information is not the problem, but the quality is.

When I open TikTok, I shut it down after 10 seconds because the content is not what I want (I didn't use TikTok extensively to get personalized content too).

I am selecting the type of information I want to see that aligns with my goals.

"Anything you might want to accomplish - executing a project, getting a new job, learning a new skill, starting a business - requires finding and putting to use the right information."

- From "Building A Second Brain" by Tiago Forte

So next time you seek social media, ask yourself: Is this information worth your time?

Store it and use it

The principle behind "Second Brain" is building your own Wikipedia. Many tools can help you organize information in a way that is easy to consume, find, and organize.

Once you find a worthy piece of content that you must remember, you can easily add it to your Second Brain, so you can easily find it later when needed.

This way, you regain control of the relationship with content. You are not looking passively but actively searching for ways to improve and use information to achieve your goals.

Having a second brain has become mandatory in our century.

Your Next Actions

Here are the steps that I would recommend to improve your relationship with information:

1. Seek for content that educates, not entertains.
2. Find platforms that share content that is aligned with your goals.
3. Model your social media algorithms.
4. Choose a Second Brain software.
5. Select and store information on your second brain.
6. Maintain your second brain, which will be part of your life now.