A system to capture ideas and organizing chaos with storytelling

🤔 INTERESTING

Inspired by Tiago Forte and his book, “Building a Second Brain.”

A second brain is a fancy word for an intentional notetaking system that keeps tracks of your ideas, projects, and other efforts in your life.

I have a bit of a convoluted process but it works for me:

• Quick Capture: Drafts or Apple Notes (fleeting ideas in day)

• Slow Capture: Notebook & Pen (journal & sketch)

• Long Capture: Obsidian (examining & colliding ideas)

The most important thing is not 'how', but 'how long.'

Avoid the temptation to switch systems once you’ve made a couple decisions. Stick to a system long enough to work out the kinks so it works for you.

There's no perfect system. It just becomes less imperfect over time. ❤️

📐 DESIGN

A simple tip for communicating ideas visually:
Use ❌ and ✅ to communicate your point of view.

What’s the number one thing your visual metaphor should answer?

That’s right!

The Call to Action!

In my maximizing vs optimizing visual, I present a difference…but then…

…what am I asking the reader to consider once they’ve seen this distinction?

That’s where I can say ❌ (avoid this), but instead ✅ (do this)!

How cool is that?! 🤓

🔮 ENCHANTING 

“Make it your mission to find, see, remember, and identify stories, and you will begin to see your life in a new and more compelling light.”

-Matthew Dicks (author of “Storyworthy”, one of my favorite books on storytelling)

🧠 ANALOGY

In my 20th year teaching film and animation…

Wanna know the most difficult challenge my students face?

Learning to write economically. Saying more with less.

The process starts with throwing up everything onto the first draft (in screenwriting, we call this the “vomit script”…I restrained myself from visualizing this 🤣)

Then, compress as much as possible and squeeze out any excess crud!

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