_Capture only the most important information

Remember how we talked about being bombarded with information? This is your first line of defense. 

Whether you’re collecting information from meetings, books, articles, podcasts, or conversations…you’ll escape the “reactivity loop,” consume content at your own pace, and capture what resonates with you.

That way, you can let everything else (and the FOMO) go. This filtering process alone will free up 50% more head space. 

_Organize for actionability

You’re capturing information, but where do you put everything? How do you organize your digital life? 

From now on: No more random notes spread across your different apps, docs, notepads, and sticky notes. Not only will you know where your insights are, but you’ll also organize your digital life differently than ever before — for action. 

This will make it easy to prioritize your life and turn your digital notes into “thinking tools” that allow you to access brain power you didn’t even know you had. 

_Distill down to the essence 

This is where the magic happens. The Distill phase is how you're able to find what you need at a moment's notice.

In the midst of a busy workday, you don’t have time to review ten pages of notes on a book you read last year. By distilling your notes in a way that your future self can use them over and over again, you’ll build your own “knowledge treasury” full of your unique intellectual property.

_Express your unique ideas and experiences 

Now it’s time for action. All the previous steps—capturing, organizing, and distilling—are geared toward one ultimate purpose: Getting your work done faster with less effort. And thanks to your Second Brain, you’ll never start from a blank page again. 

With the building blocks all laid out, you can start expressing your ideas in your unique voice –through writing, speaking, designing, teaching, persuading, or building a product or a business – to help advance your career and make a meaningful contribution to the world.