Inspired by Tiago Forte's "Building a Second Brain" and Sönke Ahrens "How to Take Smart Notes", I am building my own second brain.

Although information today is more accessible than ever, building a second brain is about creating intentional structure rather than simply retrieving facts. A well-curated system acts as a trusted extension of memory - filtering the noise, connecting ideas across domains, and preserving insights that might otherwise be lost in the flow of constant stimulus. By consolidating resources, reflections, and annotations in one place, the second brain becomes not just a storage tool but a thinking partner that evolves alongside my work and interests.

For this purpose, I use tools such as Zotero to collect and manage references, Obsidian to create notes within an interconnected network of ideas, and Notion to map references by project. Additionally, I use Research Rabbit to explore related authors and papers, and AI tools like Elicit and Consensus for research.

This turns scattered information into long-term insights that support my research, writing, and projects. I am planning to elaborate further on this topic but here are the links I've followed to set up these tools:

• 🎥 How I use Obsidian with Zotero
• 🎥 Connecting Zotero and Obsidian
• 🎥 Zotero + Obsidian Workflow
• 💻 Notero GitHub Repository
• 📝 Technical Guide to Setting up Notero
• 🎥 Zotero Workflow Tutorial

A reflection on the threshold spaces of collective housing, written in the context of the Postgraduate Programme in Housing Innovation.