On First vs Second Brain

Why your complex Notion dashboard is not a solution to your action problem.

Photo by Jason Goodman on Unsplash

"Next month," he said, sipping his brown and sugary cappuccino.

"I'll start running once my Garmin Forerunner 965 arrives. It's got top-notch GPS for precise tracking. And I need those Nike Alphafly 3 shoes for carbon plate comfort. I've been watching elite runners on YouTube, learning their techniques. Oh, and Zone 2 training—did you know it's the best way to run?"

I sighed, holding back my frustration. "I just asked when you're starting, not for a TED Talk."

What should have been a simple answer like "this weekend" turned into "1,000 reasons why I'm not running yet."

I know I used to be in my friend's position, too, trapped in my second brain, planning, strategizing, and thinking about doing something without actually doing it. Instead, what I should have done was shift my brain gear from second to first so I could focus on taking action.

I admit that sometimes mental masturbation that happens in the second brain feels much better than actually doing the thing because I can fantasize that my plan is going to be 100% working, which often never comes. As someone who proudly loves planning and leveraging my second brain on Notion, I hide in my safety blanket of planning to protect myself from the risk of doing the thing: failure.

I remember a few years ago when I got yearly planning done at the end of the year. I told myself that I would start a side hustle. I wanted it surpass my work salary so I could quit my job. A year passed on. Not a single side hustle ever came to reality from my Notion page. I told myself that work got in the way. But the truth was I was afraid of failure. I prefer to indulge in planning it, making it real in my head without facing the risk of failure. It scared the shit out of me.

That's when I realized hiding out in the second brain is a defense mechanism for fear of failure. It gives me a sense of fake achievement and instant gratification, making me believe I am progressing.

If not careful, the second brain can trick us into believing we are making progress by indulging in fake activities.

This can happen in every part of our daily lives.

For example, instead of working on executing your marketing campaign into a reality with your colleagues, you spend your time getting to inbox zero, making yourself feel like a productivity nerd. You're caught up in the illusion of being productive while the real work piles up.

Creating a yearly goal on your complex Notion dashboard with a custom formula to build a clear quarterly milestone and break it down into monthly and weekly tasks will make you like an intelligent wizard. However, you might spend more time on the setup than the tasks themselves.

You tell yourself you want to lose weight by the summer. You watch every Huberman podcast, listen to Dr. Layne Norton's talks, read hundreds of PubMed papers, and learn a complex diet program. But if you don't go to the gym and ensure you don't eat more than you burn, you won't progress.

As a recovering second-brainer, I've realized that I can only learn something by doing it. Planning is needed to reduce risk. The second brain is there to help me be more careful when taking action, but it shouldn't be used to satisfy myself into believing I am making progress and learning.

Here's a quote that resonated with me:

Exposure to information isn't learning.

Listening to podcasts 3x in a day isn't learning.

Reading a book a thousand times isn't learning.

Changing your behavior based on your inputs is.

It is when you apply things you've learned that you actually learning.

I learned about side hustling 10x faster when I actually did, even if it started by helping my friend's small business. I learned to be faster in my marathon training by running at least 40km weekly instead of watching YouTube. I write for 30 days straight, even if it's just 100 words.

There are a few simple rules I use to ensure I do everything I say:

1. Start small: Instead of saying I'd read one book monthly, start by reading a book for 15 minutes daily. Sometimes, I reduce it to 10 pages every day. If running my first 5km is hard, run for 15 minutes regardless of the pace. Instead of thinking I need to build a side hustle, I help my friends with their business problems.

2. 30-day challenge: This helps me push through procrastination. I've done a 30-day running challenge and am now at 175 days of daily journaling. It builds mental resilience and keeps me focused on doing rather than planning.

3. Build some evidence: By starting small and doing 30-day challenges, I've proven that I can do what I set out to do. This builds confidence and momentum, and the ball will keep on rolling.

Ultimately, shifting my mindset to be biased toward action has been the most impactful for me. Whenever I decide to do something new, I avoid overplanning it by keeping to the basics. Focusing on the basics is proven to lower the bar of actually doing the thing, making it easier to start and adapt myself along the way.

Thanks

Becky Isjwara

for getting me out of my second brain!

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💡 Life Update

• 🔊 Podcast binge-ing: Mastering Cold Email by Colin and Samir Show with Alex Banayan. A must-listen to find your third door.

• 💎 My favorite quote of the week: "World is full of lonely people who’s afraid to make the first move. - Kevin Kelly”

• 📚 Books I'm reading: 10% of Friends: Understanding the Power of our Most Important Relationships.

• 🎬 Recent favorite Apple TV series: Silo (I know I was late to the party!)

• 🛠️ New project I'm working on: Creator Bullets (The 5-minute actionable insights, resources, and strategies on how the top 1% of creators and solopreneurs monetize their businesses).

• 📨 Interesting read: The case against morning yoga, daily routines, and endless meetings by

  Andrew Chen