<aside> 💡 This article is part of a series entitled #29 Organisation for creatives
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The idea is simple. Don’t hold all your appointments and tasks in your head. You’ll always be anxious you’re missing something.
A second brain is a combination of a reliable calendar and a great To Do list programme.
I use Fantastical and OmniFocus but there are many, many programmes available.
This is a huge topic so I won’t go into forensic detail here. If you’re interested in reading through the whole methodology, the daddy of this system is the book Getting Things Done (GTD) by David Allen. I read it when the system was paper-based - now I’m sure it’s been updated for the digital age. But in essence - have your life split into projects. Your whole life, don’t make a distinction between your work and your private life. Everything becomes a project. Oh and have a next clear action for every single one of them. It means you can theoretically act on anything in your life at a moments notice. It sounds a bit overwhelming but it really works.
Also, immediately put new appointments in your calendar - don’t put that stuff off.
The other thing is - in order to trust your second brain, you need to update it regularly. I have checklists for both Daily and Weekly routines, intended to prune unrealistic or irrelevant actions and update projects with next step tasks if I’ve completed the current one.
Take a look:
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It’s a lot to set up. A LOT. But once it’s up and humming along it eradicates a huge amount of ambient anxiety from your life. I’m a huge advocate of this stuff so please contact me if you want to know more.