My Second Brain in Apple Notes (PARA Method) | Part 4

[@MickAlister]

I love the Apple Notes example. This gets rid of the excuse of "I'm searching for the best app" for many of us who are overthinkers. Rather than go down rabbit holes, we should simply start.

[@KarimPanch]

I wish I saw this comment month ago😭

[@robertmaxey5406]

I have been there and I read desperate pleas for help from people looking for the best app. This should be easy, but people are hell bent on complexity. They want cute and pretty over usefulness and productivity. Apple gives you Notes, Calender, Numbers, Pages and Keynote. Everything can be connected to give you a FREE and highly productive system that just works. Love your videos.

[@paul-hugo-palmeostudio]

best comment of the world.

[@mrcvry]

I did and moved on to Obsidian… for now. 😂 I‘m not a fan of markdown but it is great that you can just move all your files into another app or folder and go on with your notes.

[@Andy-jz1zw]

I need a manual for ever thing. Otherwise I think I'm not using it right or I'm missing out on something. Don't be that guy 😂 Nothing is perfect. We make the tools work for us, not the other about about.

[@Nullzone42]

This was probably the best demonstration of your method I’ve seen so far - the idea that you don’t have to have a holistic view up front to be able to organize yourself is somehow radical, but deeply empowering!

[@khezuhl]

Great example. Now a video about Apple Reminders instead of Things 3 would be great :)

[@michelleadams5609]

Fell back in love with Apple Notes after abandoning Evernote, for good reason. So nice to get back to basics and just get used to capturing the most essential.

[@qazwashere7]

Ever since I seen your first PARA video I’ve been structuring my life within it. Makes things so much easier. I use to have 100s of folders filled with 1,000s of files that I forgot and haven’t touched in years. Now I know how to organize it!

[@mrcvry]

And after that to never touch them again… again. 😊

[@martyn_b_jones]

I recently took the PARA method and updated my Apple Notes (and my work OneDrive and Chrome bookmarks - it’s been quite liberating!). One thing I do with Notes is a Smart Folder for notes created in the last 30 days (I did start with 7 days). I then do a monthly review of the month, a check of my notes if they are in the right place, have a proper title instead of “new note”, tags etc. Doing this seems to help my review process and also is a way of triggering new ideas or links between notes.

[@MattShelley138]

This is great

[@jerrylee5537]

I use the Smart Folder for the exact same purpose. It’s just like a filter system on any productivity apps and it’s often overlooked.

[@alc2672]

How do you use tags in Apple Notes? Is it to cross-reference notes across projects/areas?

[@martyn_b_jones]

@@alc2672 yes, to group themes or subjects which are over different notes. I’ll use the # feature to name them and see them quickly

[@angelanairiarte]

Love how clear and concise this breakdown was. Been building and tweaking my second brain for almost a year now and this just gave me so much clarity. Great reminder that it doesn’t have to be complicated.

[@julepesaldana47]

this was such a helpful demonstration! i'd love to see a future demo on how to use this side-by-side with Apple Reminders for task management

[@groovysecondhalf]

Exactly What I Was Thinking ~ How To Effectively Use Them Together

[@rheahalona]

Yes please!

[@BookkeeperResources]

I use the PARA method within Apple Notes but a little differently as I rely on Smart Folders. I use a blank folder with capital letters to divide up my folders. Eg ---PROJECTS This way I can drag folders from a Project to Archive. I don’t have as many folders as you. My system strongly relies on Smart Folders. (Which is why I can’t collapse the folders). When I start a new folder for, say, Trip to Nice…I make it a Smart Folder with all tags for Nice being the filter. Then, I search my notes and folders for related content to repurpose. As I come across notes that I want in the Nice folder, I use the tag “Nice”. This means it stays in the original folder, as well as appearing in the Trip to Nice folder. Using Smart Folders allows me to quickly repurpose notes into new projects. It also allows me to add it to several folders when I first create it. So, when I add a note for my parents, it may also end up with a medical tag and adds it to a medical folder, and a parent tag (which puts it into a Smart Folder called Mum and Dad which is a shared with my siblings).

[@Sandilini]

I switched from Notion to Apple Notes so that I don’t spend too much time making my notes pretty and overthinking. One thing I struggle with is the distinction between Areas and Resources Update: thinking about Areas as Areas of RESPONSIBILITY really helped

[@velmurugann6817]

Using both Apple notes and notion will be good ? Notion is for organising and Apple notes for taking quick notes

[@KiwiMoto72]

its hard to do without an integration that sync automatically@@velmurugann6817

[@mrcvry]

@@velmurugann6817 I haven't used Notion, but I see it more as a private wiki. It is public. No privacy or real encryption. Better suited for a company or team work. I don't know what you note, but I don't want to have to think about whether it's safe to use Notion for every note. Apple Notes is great, but Apple only. I need my notes on many different devices now.

[@camillebazin6630]

You're right we waste so much time trying to make this pretty ! But at the end we want to be efficient and that it's practical for every day use.

[@matthewrobrien]

I’ve also heard of “Areas of Focus” as a useful way to think about it

[@StephenBenHinds]

Amazing timing just about to start organising my apples notes into a second brain! ☺ ill give you a cool tip for those looking to do the same rather than copying and pasting from an article in safari, you can either hit the globe key and Q and that will make a quick note with a link to the article and the highlighted section on the Mac or on iPad you can drag from the bottom right corner and it will do the same. finally on iPhone just highlight the text and a where you would copy it gives you an option to make a quick note! amazing video thank you for sharing your brilliant system ❤

[@jeremcs]

Great tip! I was looking the other for a chrome web clipper to Apple Notes... Didn't find any. This is the closest thing i guess

[@gustavomoraes9538]

Comecei a usar o método PARA no apple notes e estava ansioso por esse vídeo. Fiquei feliz porque validou o que eu já estava fazendo, confirmou que eu estava fazendo do jeito "certo'" (orientado por você). Valeu e parabéns pelo conteúdo!

[@thewalls7770]

I recently discovered your material and book. I’m learning something new almost everyday. I’m a very busy IT director and being able to quickly find notes and reference materials is critical. I use an iPad Pro more than I do a desktop or laptop. With an iPad, most apps and websites will let you upload directly to Apple Notes.

[@Lennyviews_official]

PARA method is pure genius, I’m finding it really productive and easy. It definitely brings down the mess of digital as well as thought organisation to mere arrangement of information, thanks Tiago👍

[@primrosefilms]

Quick tip - if you'd like to embed your youtube video into your apple notes, select share video, and share it onto Apple Notes. That way its not just a link, but also has a thumbnail

[@badallmann]

Para for a year now. Finds: -Projects have a «Meta» note staring with a «Why» section (pun: the book) followed by How, Milestones, Goals and Vision (original idea, how I envisioned it) -Projects have a «Main» folder if I need an entry point for actionables, where I tend to list subtitles: Next, Todo, Continuous/Focus, Roadmap w alternatives++ -Resources always at the bottom of any note, organized part of note always on top. Easy to refactor -In addition I keep a «daily» folder that function like a detailed calendar and generic todo-list for the coming few days, more flexible for detailed, by-the-hour changing info than a calendar app imo. Travel iteraries for instance

[@Sportsfacts-jt3rw]

I like how open and honest you are about what you are doing. You are detailed in how PARA can be used in the many different apps. The speed that you share the information is clearer than many other creators. You have helped me figure out what is the best starting app for me to use to build my second brain. Thank you!

[@pilotsproject]

this is just what I needed! I tried PARA on several platforms for trial, but basically I always relate back to my NOTES app on my MacBook, as it is connected across all my devices. Thank you so much , Tiago! ❤

[@Ponn3s]

I really like Samsung Notes but I wish it was as cross-platform as Apple Notes is

[@Mr_jw]

Very new to the 2nd Brain concept (reading on my Kindle now). Love that you've created this video on Apple notes. At first I was diligently trying to revamp my note taking process by researching applications like Notion and Evernote. I got to the part of the book where you suggested I should "keep it simple" and "do what works". Apple notes takes the inertia completely out of the process because it's just...there.

[@AndresIbanezVasquez]

ikr? Currently using Joplin which has a similar structure to Evernote (which I was using before but became too glitchy and overpriced). I am sure the PARA method can be applied in any software, perhaps with some modifications. Having said that, I would not be surprised if a "using PARA in Notion" video comes out soon, since the point is to attract as many people as possible.

[@chloe_steward]

I don't use apple notes, but I find it so helpful to see the many applications of PARA across different software. Thanks Tiago!😊

[@vault2211]

Well, I saved this playlist link in my resources folder 😄 Thanks for sharing

[@katedodd6950]

This is really timely! I had stopped my usual analysis paralysis with several ‘apps of the moment’ and was thinking that I should just use Apple Notes. I set up the PARA folders and then something wasn’t clicking so I returned to Evernote. I don’t know WHY I didn’t think it was working in the same way, but I see that, of course it does! Thanks Tiago. Your clear and fluid delivery is music to these ears.

[@piecesofmind9853]

Also, you can add hashtags to Apple Notes, which lets you join entries in different folders.

[@luke-urban]

I saw the demo of your PARA Method a while ago (it's awesome BTW 💪) and since I use Apple Notes I implemented exactly what you showed in that example. Everything except one. Maybe that would be of some kind of value. In the Archives folder, I duplicate the PAR Structure. When I archive something it goes to the corresponding directory. That really helps me to keep the whole thing clean all the way 😉 As for the small improvement in creating a note in Apple Ecosystem, I suggest to utilize the "share" function. You can add the whole Tweet/X Post, or fragment of an article. without leaving the browser ;))))) Thanks for the video!

[@s.m.s.m.630]

Great idea of using the same structure in archives I also like to use tags and smart folders. Only downside - you can not put smart folders in regular folders so far.

[@sullivx]

🙏🏻🙌🏻💪🏻 awesome tip! Thank you!!

[@conniefisaacs]

I have been using this across everything between my work and my personal use. This is brilliant. So clear.

[@VincentForDesign]

I have finished watching the whole series. I want to thank you for making the series, I'm on the brink of losing my job and this is helping me to put everything together, I will practice this and see how it goes, but definitely shade light on my current situation. Thank you so much, Tiago!

[@carlanthonydelosangeles7411]

Hope to see video like this on others like LogSeq and Keep. Thanks so much! Love your book!

[@michelle2903]

As someone who is much more comfortable using Apple Notes, this is super useful.

[@nancystalik6828]

I have been looking for this all my LIFE! ... looking for your course now...

[@alpha12th]

I certainly appreciate that you will create another video for OneNote.👍

[@velanche]

I'm still trying to fulling put the PARA Method into practice, but one big thing I did earlier this year was to redo my Apple Notes sidebar fully into PARA folders and subfolders. Since I've been using Notes beginning around 2015, it was a challenge to move all of my previous notes to the Archives folder, because I did not want to delete the previous content. There are some quirks and limitations I had to deal with to move the previous folders and notes to Archives, but I did it. I find the system to be more engaging and active, and look forward to improving on it when the book comes out. Thanks for this; really useful.

[@tishbouvier]

Wow you made PARA extremely useful for Apple notes, so simple and organized.

[@malithsamaradivakara]

Thank you Tiago. Wonderful & clear explanation. Just what I wanted.

[@KevoScott]

Congrats on the book! I’ve been using PARA for several years now and it has been amazing. Thanks!

[@AFMoraes93]

Very nice series, Tiago! I can already say PARA is going to help me a lot in my organization and productivity.

[@lizzie8483]

LOVE IT! I've already read your book, but it was so interesting you explaining it in action, thank you!

[@sddoumbia]

Thank you Tiago wonderful video!!!

[@websherpa]

Collecting information is a bit of a rabbit hole. I can see how having it organized can help spawn new ideas based on a review, a little like the way a shelf of books in a personal library works. However (with the exception that information on the web does disappear) the entire Internet is an always accessible Resource folder that you can access at any time by using a well built query related to your most immediate need. I have reems of resource notes myself that I almost never ocnsult again once captured, mainly because I]ve moved on, and by the time I circle back I’ve totally forgotten that I have captured that resource (plus it’s context may not trigger the same understanding it did in the past). And that’s despire having added Subject titles and using a search….the information that I once collected is potentially stale.

[@camillebazin6630]

I agree with you. I was actually wondering why we have this need of taking notes all the time. I have been taking notes a lot on Google Keep but actually need only maybe 5% of it. At the moment I even feel like deleting the rest, whatever notes I don't use as it also takes space and is a lot of clutter for the eyes 😊 I think if we don't read an article for instant in the moment and save it for later, that means it's not that important in the end and saving it won't make us read it. I've experienced that lot. I was just glad to read your post. So thanks

[@galore777]

Hi Tiago, thank you for this video. I don't use IPhone, but I created similar setup in Samsung notes. I use Obsidian too, but it's easier to use Samsung notes on the go

[@brycefbarnes]

Nice video. Enjoyed your way of organizing information. I have been using my apple notes very ineffectively.. this was a good way of approaching the problem of organizing information without over thinking it... Cheers

[@junaiddhukka5319]

I’m using Apple notes for PARA. This video is quite helpful for improvement. Anyway, it’s time to copy this video link to my Project folder of BASB.

[@alperyilmaz8784]

Thnx Tiago, this is what I needed. Just simple and basic

[@gergemall]

Thank you ❤. Great audio and video production. you're a good sons and a good man.

[@TiagoForte]

Thank you!

[@kenzotheband]

I use Apple Notes with the PARA principles and it works for me even better with the smart folder function. I often scan documents with the app and link notes together. Can't wait to have the final verision of Notes in iOS17!

[@Mindtrash_]

Same!

[@BookkeeperResources]

Agree. I can have the same note in multiple folders.

[@minhvluu.maxwelllau]

A wonderful demonstration. I've watched the video several times & each time I can find it useful and understand more the mechanism of applying the PARA method. Thank you, Tiago!

[@troync1970]

You speak wonderfully, by the way.

[@RajaRoyTalks]

Thank you for this. Your videos are very clear and easy to understand. I like the pacing of your videos as well. Something to aspire to.

[@caiosouza6468]

Conteúdo incrível, Tiago!

[@CarlaVeraComedy]

I'm loving this! I've got a question tho. How and where could you include daily journaling here? Even if it's only a couple sentences per day. Thanks in advance!

[@stevenpaschak]

Got my copy of the book preordered, can’t wait to dive in!

[@phloem4]

Thanks for this. I just started this. One suggestion is to put windows next to each other and drag and drop. We can also use the “share” feature to send to Notes and the specific location in Notes.

[@James7104]

For people planning to switch from Evernote to Apple Notes: Export your Evernote notes as ENEX files, these can be imported into Apple Notes

[@sharingmatters]

Thanks for the tip. I am planning to do that. Evernote is overcomplicated.

[@ahujapradeep]

How is this done

[@tyshaia]

This was super insightful! Thank you !

[@TiagoForte]

You're so welcome!

[@robkennedy5906]

I'm happy you shared this with us. Looking forward to getting your book.

[@kohali903]

Hi there, thank you for sharing your PARA-method! It really works. 😊 One question: is it possible to get a complete e-mail into Apple Notes, like forwarding it to your account in evernote or like the Outlook feature: send to OneNote?

[@sullivx]

Tiago 1000 thanks for all you do and all the timeless, essential guidance you provide us! 🙌🏻🙏🏻 This is such amazing information!! 🙌🏻🙏🏻

[@MP-mh1tu]

Thank you so much

[@elevateyourcreativeness]

I think that was a super useful demonstration of using Apple Notes to get the most from the app. However, I’m looking forward to the upcoming update that will incorporate linking to individual notes.

[@MajdiOmar-y6g]

Simple system: > Do you want to do something? Goal-setting < > Is it more than 1 step? Checklist < > Is it 1 step? To-Do list < > Is it Scheduled? Calendar < >>>>

[@franci-uz]

Something I wonder: When using Apple Notes + Apple Reminders, how can I link a note to a todo in the reminder? (Like Tiago showed in Part 3 but with other tools)

[@thelionstudioz]

I really love the apple notes. I use daily

[@davidpowerfns]

great video, as usual. thank you! What I'm always weary about the PARA or maybe even anxious? is assigning a note to a specific project or area. This assumes that, for example, I'm going to need the note when I go and speak at a conference. But what if I would need it earlier or for something else? I would risk losing it or never bumping into it. No?

[@OscarRodriguez-im8od]

I use Samsung Note and I think it's the most powerful notes app on the market, of course, for a device and for project management I use Notion

[@Tomisurabu]

I watched many of your videos and i really do feel inspired. The only thing that I am struggling with, is whether I should combine or split my private & professional PARA. I feel like it would be better to keep both spheres separate .. but it might be too much to manage both as a beginner. Also, is there an elegant way to consolidate information on your progress for weekly meetings, where you give an update on all of your tasks? Thank you!

[@bazar_historias_peludas]

Thanks for teach us a powerful tool!

[@hcf797]

I'm really enjoying these video lessons on how to use PARA. I seem to still have trouble understanding what is supposed to go inside Areas. For example if I have an Area called "Health" what would be some things to include? For example, let's say part of my health is to lose 10% body fat in the next 18 months (to me that would be a project). I will also follow a workout routine and specific nutrition plan (Project & Resource??). Where does Areas come into play with this? Hope this makes sense.

[@gustavomoraes9538]

Olá, dentro da área "Saúde" eu coloco sessão de terapia, consultas médicas, exames, comprovantes de pagamento de plano de saúde. Como o Tiago explica, são coisas que não são "acionáveis" como os projetos, mas que são importante de ter guardado para registro e consulta. Espero que esse comentário te ajude, valeu

[@hcf797]

@@gustavomoraes9538 boa noite. Tudo bem? Obrigado por explicar. I don't know much Portuguese but I was able to understand what you said which makes sense. Fala!

[@susandollinger7965]

I think this was a really great video. I feel like I finally understood where to put notes and the genius of the system. I am wondering about a few things: A) what happens when you are done with the project with the speaking notes in it? T What will you do with them after that point as they could be useful for another project? And B) if you wanted to find something like the handwritten notes again for another purpose, how would you locate them again? Tags? I know that Evernote can read handwriting, but not every program can.

[@mrcvry]

A) -> Archive B) I would only use handwriting for a quick note and then flesh it out later in writing. Rearranging, thinking about the details. Adding text notes or tags would also be my choice if that is not possible, as with drawings.

[@juniversec]

Also Apple Notes supports adding link directly (from the toolbar) to current note from some currently open apps like Firefox/Safary/Mail. No need to copy and paste manually from URL.

[@jens2635]

I currently switching to logseq. I use Para and I really like it. Lets see how well Para works together with logseq. I used Obsidian before.

[@countryman6083]

with have you switched ?

[@lokaphil]

This is such a great video, been a long time follower of yours, way before the book and the first cohort. This video really spoke to me and highlighted the hireachy of PARA more than anything else. I've realised I've been doing this wrong and saving most of my content into Resources over prioritising Projects and Areas first. Love how this more about the system and thought process of PARA and less about apple notes.

[@moveworkforward]

thank you. Curious to see how you use Apple Notes across devices and with other team members.

[@Mr.Watsonn]

thanks for the good exemplification.

[@swissheartydogs]

Many thanks Tiago: very clever! just enhanced my personal Notes folders with 4 main PARA folders! for my personal data. Will implemented the same PARA method for my professional data on One Note (paperless for decades), with secured servers. What could be the added value of an AI for our "second brain"?

[@aussiegruber86]

I learnt a lesson the hard way with Apple notes, if you annotate a pdf and make a decent amount of mark ups it becomes to large to email etc,

[@michelemize]

Great series, but Apple Notes is pretty similar to Evernote. I was hoping you would demo how PARA would work in something fundamentally different like Obsidian or Roam.

[@henry-the-dog-and-steve]

Yeah Obsidian is great and would like to get some inspiration on using PARA with it

[@sanguinj]

Apple Notes is the best option for those that we like Evernote, but unfortunate Bending Spoons screwed us. Good video and thanks for sharing.

[@Reznik88]

How do you keep ALL of these areas nurtured? On a weekly or monthly basis you go through all those “areas” and evaluate if you’ve addressed things in them for the week or month or just adhoc it?

[@jamesashby4334]

I use PARA to organize Apple Notes but I wonder about the best way to organize tasks in Apple Reminders. Do you recommend using the same PARA folder structure?

[@troyteweuchi6336]

Can you tell us what you think about the reMarkable 2

[@danthemaintenanceman]

Evernote has been driving me absolutely crazy!

[@dannyfryan]

Super helpful. I appreciate the examples and showing an alternative to Evernote.

[@LM67286]

I would love to see how you would set this up in notion and gardener style apps like roam or obsidian. And also Google keep.

[@AndresIbanezVasquez]

For whats its woth, I tried doing it in ROAM with some metadata at the top of each page, but it was just too complex and too messy. Personally I found that having folders is optimal for PARA as opposed to relying only on connections. As to Obsidian, it has folders and should work just fine for PARA. However, i cannot justify paying 8USD per month only for sync (and 10GB per vault only!), so unless I find an easy and frictionless way to sync my Obsidian notes to my phone for free (I have ONEDRIVE storage), I will stick to Joplin for now. Also tried using PARA inside TheBrain, if some people are interested I might do a video about that. Basically each Brain would be like an area of life, and each area would have its own PARA. As I said, PARA could be applied to anything, with some minor adjustments needed.

[@andrew_paper7617]

Super helpful, thank you!

[@mochamadirfanfauzie9023]

oh my god, thanks a LOT im always overthinking in this situation.

[@SWINDISA]

Could you show how to use Para on Finder?

[@TheStoicManVlog]

I totally thought this was Adam Neely!!! What a trip!!!

[@pptplus]

Most helpful, thanks

[@ronbarton7799]

Great advice and video Tiago. do you have any videos or resources for using the technique with Microsoft OneNote?

[@CyberBobCity]

How do you decide if that pdf goes into apple notes or on your cloud drive or hard drive?

[@claudiobarcelos08]

Hi Thiago. When will be the launching in Brazil?

[@Ferkoel]

I have a question about the note from your coaching session. You documented the note into a project. Once the project is done, you will archive it. Do you then move the note from the coaching session to another folder (since it was not specific to this project) or do you archive the note along with the project? Feels like you might miss out on this note (especially since you can not search for the words in the note because it is handwritten) while it might be useful in the future.

[@FlippingFurp]

I’m wondering the same thing!

[@LydiaBellPHR]

If it were me, I would probably save the coaching note in resources instead. Then maybe link to that note from within an existing relevant note. (Don’t know how to link in Apple Notes yet, but I think I remember reading that you could.)

[@sharingmatters]

I like the idea of a weekly review.

[@robreichjr]

Love it - Could you explain how to structure and navigate a personal/business balance if i run an agency with multiple client projects ongoing? What are some best practice if it gets a little more dicey? I am currently defaulting to 2 different Notion workspaces and it doesnt feel fluid.

[@arrchi-ar]

I'm kinda confused with Areas and Resources. When I look through all of my notes I think most of them can well fit into Areas and Resources as well. For example, I have 'Home' area, where I put all of my stuff related with Home. So let's say I have a note with list of home related random things like type of the batteries we use in the kitchen scale, and so on. Does it fit in AREA folder? Or it maybe should be put into a RESOURCE called 'Home'? Maybe I just overthink it but I'd like to have a clear vision of what type of notes should be placed in a specific folder.

[@bitcoinsss]

Okay! But when use Evernote and when Apple notes? Or is this or/or and not and/and ? 🤓🙏

[@SivaArunagiri]

Thanks for another great video. Hope you do one video for implementing PARA in Tana as well.

[@Helios-v7g]

I use hashtags in apple notes which automatically files the note under the relevant folder based on the hashtag

[@retgits]

This was a great video! What I do wonder is how you’d handle progressive summarization as Apple notes doesn’t have an inbuilt highlight function?

[@gustavomoraes9538]

No livro "criando um segundo cérebro" do Tiago ele fala que, pra aplicativos que não possuem essa função, você pode usar a função "sublinhar" ao invés de "destacar". Espero que esse comentário te ajude, valeu!

[@sh.online.577]

The para audiobook was amazing but please please Dear @Tiago let it support narration for kindle and the second brain book as well please 😇thanks from the heart 🙏

[@1newest]

Just now read Second Brain in Amazon. Great for organising information and good explanation on how to use tags effectively. Still one doubt. Suppose we use Evernote or Apple Note, we create a new folder for each project. The Archives (space/ folder) keeps on getting bigger and bigger. How to tackle it?