WEEKLY WHEATIES #2444
Second Brain, Apps, Apple, Future, Weird Picks
In this newsletter:
📝 Post: You Need a Second Brain
🗞️ In Case You Missed It: App Updates
🗞️ In Case You Missed It: Apple October Updates
🗞️ In Case You Missed It: Looking Ahead
😎 Pick of the Week: Weird Picks
📦 Featured Product: Sound Bars
📝 You Need a Second Brain
Let’s face it. You can’t remember everything. And you can’t “store” everything you want to save physically in your brain, either. So, maybe you take notes in a notebook or journal. Maybe you take notes in an app on your phone or tablet. Maybe you email or text yourself. Maybe you screenshot everything. Almost guaranteed you do one or more of those things mentioned. And, you probably do at least one of those every day. Let’s also face something else. This doesn’t work. You can’t ever find what you need when you need it.
Insert your new “Second Brain.”
The concept of a Second Brain is pretty simple, but there are tons of ways to set it up and use it. The only wrong way is the one that doesn’t work. And the best way is the one that works for you that you will actually use. There are many books, YouTube Videos, Blog posts, etc., on this subject, so I will keep this light, quick, and easy. If you find this is something you want to do and dive deep, simply complete a web search of: “Second brain with [your app of choice].”
You knew this was leading to an app, right? But guess what? That’s okay because you’re already using an app to do this! You just may have to change the app you are using, or at least start using it in a different way. And to burst a few bubbles up front, you cannot do this effectively with your text messaging or screenshots - at least the same way you’re using them now.
Put plainly, a Second Brain app will store all of the information you want to refer back to later. Think of it as a much more advanced version of your Bookmarks Toolbar for your browser. Bookmarks are things you should use more frequently in one location (i.e., your desktop computer). A Second Brain is a digital way of storing anything and everything. Typically, this will include links to websites, videos, recipes, and maybe even pictures, addresses, tickets to events, or whatever else you find that works best to store in your Second Brain. The importance here is the concept and process, not the specific how. Meaning, you need an app you will actually use, not just an app that’s the ‘best’ one. What works best for me may not work best for you.
Some research shows there are various ways of this process working for different types of people. I would love if we all fit one category exactly, but I don’t find that’s always true. However, knowing about them, and figuring out other methods may help you decide the process you want to take. Forte Labs shares these 4 styles and How to Choose a Digital Notes App as Your Second Brain.
Whether you use an Android or Apple device to ‘start’ your process, there are tons of apps that are available to help here. However, what helps them become even more powerful is the shortcuts you can build, app widgets on your phones, plugins on web browsers, automations, and more. For example, you can set up a shortcut that every time you take a screenshot, it will be sent to your second brain.
Some apps can connect to an email or phone number, allowing you to text or email your second brain. Even more offer the ability to “Share” directly to the app itself. Meaning, in most apps today, you have the ability to send, or share, an item. On your phone, typically, a new screen will pop up, allowing you to choose how you want to ‘share’ the item. Rather than choosing from your text message app, a social media app, email, or something else, you can now choose your new Second Brain app.
So, what apps do this? Again, there are a lot, and this exhaustive list is not complete, just sharing a good mixture of different types and popular ones in alphabetical order. Some of which you may have even used before or may use now. If you want to see the Top 68 Apps suggested by the Second Brain creator himself, Tiago Forte, head over to YouTube for the video or Amazon for his book.
Email
Notice I mentioned Email in that list. If you choose this route, I would simply suggest creating a new email [Garrett2ndBrain@gmail.com] and don’t use this email for anything other than content for your second brain. I would highly suggest folders to keep things organized and even a filter that sends every incoming email that’s not from any of your personal emails to a different folder with any name of your choice.
I would also suggest using an app that you have access to on your phone and computer as best you can. Whether that’s a web app or a downloaded app. You need to access your second brain when mobile at the very minimum. That’s kind of the point at least…
It’s also important that it can be searched easily. Here is where you may want to use tags or hashtags to filter and sort, too. You can keep these as simple as: personal, work, cooking, hobbies, etc., or become very detailed just using cooking as an example: air fryer, dessert, beef, etc. You can also use multiple tags, so you could even do both. However, I’d caution you to keep it simple - at least to start - otherwise, it could become overwhelming.
Two final tips or thoughts. If you ever plan to save a website, but it may have a habit of changing, consider using the Archive.org’s version to save the older version of the site. If you want to dive deep into this and not quite sure where to start, consider checking out Thomas Frank on YouTube. He can walk you through The ULTIMATE Second Brain Setup in Notion. While this is probably way more than you’d like, it also showcases how deep this idea can go. His process can also be copied into other apps of your choice.
Do you already have a second brain? What app(s) are you using?
🗞️ ICYMI: App Updates
Anthropic announced updates and a new model to their Chatbot, Claude, and shared how during testing Claude took a break from the coding demo and began to peruse photos of Yellowstone National Park. Check out some of their new features and test out their software on their site here.
A popular project management, workspace, or Wiki app - called Notion - released a slew of updates in their first-ever Make With Notion event. These include: Forms, a Mail client to coincide with their Calendar client, multiple new Layouts with a marketplace for creators, and many powerful automations with button integration.
In the social media landscape, Snapchat’s answer to its sinking stock price is more ads. One of their competitors is losing money for another reason - internal sabotage. TikTok parent company dismisses intern who it says 'maliciously interfered' with its AI technology. It sounds like the intern inserted malicious code to slow down the model, which was a possible payback for their group not receiving the GPU usage needed for other development.
🗞️ ICYMI: Apple October Updates
While in the past, Apple has held an October Event for their Macs and iPads following their major September iPhone Event, they are reportedly moving away from annual launches and will start staggering releases. We are seeing that this month already, too. Last week, Apple released a new iPad Mini 7 with higher default storage (128 GB), support for the Apple Pencil Pro, and a newer chip to support Apple Intelligence. On Thursday, there was a tweet about Mac announcements coming this week, too. Note: it doesn’t appear to be an event, or all happen at the same time. We can presumably expect a new iMac, Mac Mini, and MacBook Pro with the newer M4 Chips. Lastly, it was also reported that Apple is working on a new App Store-like app dedicated to games.
🗞️ ICYMI: Looking Ahead
As technology seems to advance more and more each year, recently, we’ve had a few examples showcasing what our future may look like. First up, the AI craze isn’t going anywhere soon as more and more money gets pumped into it - much less taken out. Part of AI is made possible by work done in the field of neural networks, of which the Noble Prize in physics was awarded to Princeton University physicist John Hopfield and University of Toronto computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton. As the company REMSpace aims to provide groundbreaking advancement in REM sleep, they shared how Two people ‘communicated in their dreams’.
As we look up to the stars, SpaceX’s Starship test ends with a remarkable ‘chopstick’ booster catch, allowing these parts to be reused and making these launches less and less expensive. A new startup, Aetherflux, is working on using lasers to send solar power from space. Coming back down to earth, Tesla is in talks for a Robotaxi test program to compete with Waymo and others. Lastly, looking at the small scale of things, a US startup is charging couples to ‘screen embryos for IQ’.
😎 POTW: Weird Picks
In theme with Halloween this week, check out these weird picks I found from random corners of the internet!
📦 Featured Product
Whether you’re a movie buff, a sports freak, or just like to watch the news, great audio from your TV can always help. Aside from having a full surround sound setup with a receiver and 5 or more speakers, there are a few less inexpensive ways to get high-quality sound. Let’s face it: your TV sound will never be good enough. However, keep in mind that all of the options below require power and are typically placed right below the TV. You can’t go wrong with a Bose Soundbar, but over the years, I’ve been suggesting Sonos. They offer the less expensive Ray, the premium Arc, and the in-between Beam. All versions can pair with other speakers to provide more of a surround sound feel, too. If you’re in the Apple ecosystem, consider purchasing two HomePod Minis. These can pair and provide stereo sound and also have the benefit of Airplay from other Apple devices. Lastly, they can be placed on your nightstands if used for a bedroom TV.
