Building a Second Brain: Web Edition
Tiago Forte's "Building a Second Brain" revolutionized personal knowledge management. Here's how to apply those principles specifically to web content.
The Promise of a Second Brain
Your brain is for having ideas, not storing them. A second brain captures, organizes, and surfaces knowledge exactly when you need it—especially web content.
The Four Stages: CODE
Capture
Everything interesting goes into your system:
- Research articles
- News that matters
- Technical documentation
- Industry insights
- Competitor analysis
With PageStash, click the extension button and the full page is saved instantly—no copy-pasting, no losing formatting.
Organize
Don't organize by source or topic. Organize by actionability using PARA:
Projects: Active work (next 3 months) Areas: Ongoing responsibilities Resources: Topics of interest Archive: Completed or inactive
Distill
The web throws information at you. Your job is to extract wisdom.
Progressive Summarization:
- Save the full page
- Highlight key passages on first read
- Bold the crucial sentences
- Write a summary in your own words
Each layer makes future retrieval faster.
Express
Knowledge unused is knowledge wasted. Your second brain should fuel creation:
- Writing
- Presentations
- Decision-making
- Teaching
Web-Specific Strategies
URL Rot is Real
Websites disappear, get paywalled, or change. Capture the full page, not just the bookmark.
Context Matters
Add notes when you save: "For Q2 marketing deck" or "Counterargument to our approach"—helps future you understand why it mattered.
Link Your Thinking
Connect related pages. PageStash's knowledge graphs do this automatically, showing how your saved content relates.
The Collection Habit
Set aside specific times for collection:
- Morning: Industry news (15 min)
- Afternoon: Project research (as needed)
- Friday: Week's best finds (10 min)
Avoid all-day distraction. Batch your capture.
The Review Ritual
Weekly Review (30 min):
- Process what you captured
- Move to proper PARA categories
- Highlight key insights
- Connect to existing knowledge
Monthly Review (90 min):
- Archive completed projects
- Identify patterns in your captures
- Clean up quick-capture items
- Celebrate what you've built
From Collection to Creation
Your second brain should make creating easier:
Writing: Full-text search finds exactly the quote you need Research: Knowledge graphs reveal connections you missed Learning: Spaced repetition of key insights Decisions: All relevant context in one place
The Tools That Work
For text: Obsidian, Notion, Roam For web content: PageStash Together: Capture full pages with PageStash, extract key insights to your note-taking tool, link between both
Common Mistakes
Over-organizing: Don't spend more time organizing than creating Hoarding: If you never reference it, delete it Perfectionism: Done is better than perfect Not reviewing: Without review, it's just a pile of stuff
Start Simple
Week 1:
- Set up PARA folders
- Start capturing to Inbox
- Weekly review on Friday
Week 2-4:
- Add progressive summarization
- Connect related items
- Start creating from your system
Month 2:
- Implement knowledge graphs
- Refine your capture habits
- Measure your creative output
The Compound Effect
One good article today seems insignificant. But 500 great articles, summarized and connected, become a competitive advantage.
Your second brain grows in value over time. The question is: when will you start?
Build Your Second Brain for Web Content
PageStash gives you the foundation: full-page capture, instant search, automatic knowledge graphs, and organization built for scale.
