I am constantly getting flummoxed by the PARA system. It ends up taking me more time trying to figure out the nuanced rules on where to put something (Projects/Areas and Areas/Resources are the most persnickety ones) that I often end up duplicating a concept and having two folders for it, one in each hierarchy. I'm still not sold on the PARA organizational method, but maybe there's something I'm missing.
How to build a second brain as a software developer
81–90 of 177 posts
Re: How to build a second brain as a software developer
#82I am constantly getting flummoxed by the PARA system. It ends up taking me more time trying to figure out the nuanced rules on where to put something (Projects/Areas and Areas/Resources are the most persnickety ones) that I often end up duplicating a concept and having two folders for it, one in each hierarchy. I'm still not sold on the PARA organizational method, but maybe there's something I'm missing.
I use a sloppy meld of Zettelkasten and PARA for this very reason. I used to get nervous about the subject ontology, and the link-to-anywhere aspect of ZK's tags fixed that for me. Plus having a unique ZK tag on every file means I can move subdirectories around to suit what I'm working on at the moment without any links breaking.
Re: How to build a second brain as a software developer
#83Missing from the list is Zettlr
https://zettlr.com/
which is opensource, looks very nice and is built for the Zettelkasten method and has LaTeX integration.
Was quite useful for some university classes.
Re: How to build a second brain as a software developer
#84My second brain keeps moving. For example, I have a great setup with Notability on an iPad. Except after a few months, I start typing stuff into Workflowy. No reason, I just reach for a different tool. A few months later I'm in a random text file and then back to Notability. I don't know why I do this. One thing that sorta helps is implementing the Jonny Decimal System so that all the different pieces can be indexed.…
Gonna be cheeky and drop a link to JD here, given that it’s my site. :-)
Re: How to build a second brain as a software developer
#85Earlier quoted context omitted.
I moved from mind maps (I used and liked FreeMind) to indented outlines in plain text files when I realized I wasn't really losing anything to map the nodes to headings and the edges to sub-headings. I can capture the same relationships, keep it synced to everywhere via cloud storage, and I don't need special software beyond a text editor to look at or edit it. Now I just need to learn how to go back through them.
One thing I do , which combines the two is create the lists in Obsidian, then use the mind map plugin to visualize them.
Mindnonde lets you build a mindmap and export as markdown so a reversal I guess
Re: How to build a second brain as a software developer
#86I am constantly getting flummoxed by the PARA system. It ends up taking me more time trying to figure out the nuanced rules on where to put something (Projects/Areas and Areas/Resources are the most persnickety ones) that I often end up duplicating a concept and having two folders for it, one in each hierarchy. I'm still not sold on the PARA organizational method, but maybe there's something I'm missing.
For me, implementing PARA in Notion has helped with that. I have one big database just called "Content", and then links to Projects/Areas/Resources. So if I'm not sure where something goes, I just put link it to all of them.
Re: How to build a second brain as a software developer
#87I keep seeing articles like this and I keep being a bit disappointed that they mostly adopt techniques that were developed for general knowledge workers ("personal knowledge management system") or ideas by/for writers or researchers, and don't seriously think about how to treat/manage code. A brain isn't just about knowledge; it's also a set of skills, capacities, patterns of behavior. Software is an area it's possib…
You’re kind of describing org mode.
Re: How to build a second brain as a software developer
#88Lost me here - "Tiago Forte (the original creator of the second brain concept)" Ugh, no. No, no, no. Tiago isn't doing anything original. Tiago has never done anything original. This isn't Tiago's thing.
He's at least "a promoter of the second brain concept". I'd find your comment more useful if you mentioned or linked to someone that you think would better fit the "creator" category, instead of claiming how he's never done anything original.
Re: How to build a second brain as a software developer
#89I recently read "Getting Things Done"[0] and began incorporating what I learned into my simple second brain. And the results are kind of ridiculously good for me. I built my whole system on a Google Sheet, but I'm experimenting with building myself an App instead- something I would never have been able to accomplish or even been willing to start if I didn't have this second brain helping me. The lessons I've learned…
> Building a system that evolves to fit my needs, being flexible with myself, rather than trying to jam myself into someone else's system...
I've concluded that this is a necessary journey for me. It's a slow process, trying to learn how I best think and associate.
Re: How to build a second brain as a software developer
#90Lost me here - "Tiago Forte (the original creator of the second brain concept)" Ugh, no. No, no, no. Tiago isn't doing anything original. Tiago has never done anything original. This isn't Tiago's thing.
The PARA method (introduced to me by Tiago) has helped me. Who created that?