My SIMPLE Second Brain in Notion 🧠

Not gonna lie, Thomas Frank's Notion Second Brain made me feel a bit emasculated.

My Notion Brain is so small and one-dimensional. It's so simple.

But then I realized: It's SIMPLE - that's why it works.

I couldn't even fathom the level of effort that went into Thomas's Notion template, and I almost bought it. But if I did, it probably would have remained completely blank. I wouldn't know where to begin. I'd be completely overwhelmed by all of the potential functionality.

Instead of trying to make my Notion look like his, I doubled down on my own. And I love it.

It's simple, easy to comprehend/understand/use, and it's FUNCTIONAL.

Because productivity is all about getting things done, not building the most complex systems we can manage. Tools are meant to assist us, not suck time, attention, and energy out of us.

-----

-----

[nellyefron]

Love this. I watched tons of second brain videos, and while the system seemed impressive, I couldn't see it being functional for myself. Not every "area" of my life needs to be documented in Notion. I've also been looking for a simple system that utilizes databases only when necessary, but not for every task/project/goal.

[simplyroger]

Finally a down to earth view and very clear explanation of the concept. Thank you - keep up the good work!

[Ingrid-jxiz]

THANK YOU! This is the only second brain Dashboard view in Notion that makes sense to me. Having a dashboard made up of dozens of “pages”/blocks/databases for your life that lead to other subpages you have to click/navigate to just seemed so overwhelming and a general eyesore. Yours looks very practical and reasonable. I use a similar ideology with my second brain where all main categories/functions of my life are viewable at a glance and actionable in one click, and I use Google Keep as that “dashboard” view. Apple Notes I use for notes + personal task/project management and Google Calendar

[montosantos]

Man ! Awesome video ! The simplicity was top notch and this is a boon for all of us who spend endless time scrolling to find the best template. Hands down the simplest and the best template I've seen.

[shazol]

Thanks for sharing it for free. Super helpful.

[potatodrive]

Funny i said id watch your video last, after having opened like 10 tabs on how to setup my notion for me, after literally over 5 hours .... you sir in 4 minutes made me realise what an utter waste of time all that was. What i will take from those hours and your 4 minutes is to find what works for you, that may involve starting by duplicating someones template, and over a while slowly adding features as you see fit.

to any first time users, you do need a second brain setup for sure but you dont need Thomas Franks Ultimate Brain (not that its bad ) to begin with, later perhaps when you are more advanced and conversant with Notion, that might suit your needs then, for a start, i totally recommend this style of template.

[justnaturalcake]

I'm currently building a Second Brain in Notion but I keep re-inventing everything cause whatever I make doesn't look as good as other super complex Systems
Now I'm making another Second Brain but keeping it very minimalistic and simple. I have 3 Categories: Dashboards (Inbox, Process, Review. just the necessary ones) then P.A.R.A Method pages and Others. It may sound complex but it's really simple. Now I'm kinda struggling with properties ideas and designing

[somerandomfellow]

After each week do you need to create a new dashboard or how does it work?

[jazzthedog]

Nice. I have been using notion for over a year and I got too many relational models which are complex. A lot of my stuff options and trading related is scattered all over in a way. I will try and check yours out. How does every new week get added to the dashboard? Are u filtering and creating a date-based view? Are you putting in your trades in notion or sticking to Google sheets, docs still?

[atieshpawar]

I'm a beginner in notion what is your advice should I stick with the basic notion template or hop on the second brain thing
I'm from India my age is 27 and I'm currently giving a competitive exam (duration is 1.5 years and the exam due date is on 28 May 2023) got recently enrolled in digital marketing(the course is of 6 months n it will get done in march) I want to manage both because I can't afford to be focusing on one thing because it will cost me a lot want to do this both thing simultaneously I want a genuine suggestion from you seeing your video I got

[drnkz]

I can't get your template. No email received.