2026-05-07-Ali-Abdaal-Ultimate-Productivity-System

How to Build Your Ultimate Productivity System

後設資料

• URL：https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6hmdrsLQj8
• 作者：Ali-Abdaal
• 頻道：Ali Abdaal（個人頻道）
• 發表日：2022-07-14
• 片長：18:16
• 觀看數：2.83M+（2026-05-07 時）
• 語言：英文（使用者貼入英文逐字稿）
• 形式：YouTube 個人頻道生產力總覽影片；以「漸進式三層架構」整理 Ali 個人生產力系統的完整工具棧——從基本生活管理（Layer 1: Ron），到資訊捕捉（Layer 2: Hermione），到 Building a Second Brain（Layer 3: Dumbledore）

一句話濃縮

生產力系統存在的目的是「讓大腦不必做它不擅長的事」（記任務、記行事曆、記資訊）；Ali 把完整系統拆成 Ron（生活管理）→ Hermione（資訊捕捉）→ Dumbledore（第二大腦 連結思考）三層，可依使用者投入意願漸進加層，而不是一次裝完整套大師系統。

核心元命題：大腦 vs 系統的 Venn 圖

Ali 開場用大腦 / 系統的 Venn 圖把任務分三類，論證為什麼需要生產力系統：

類型	定義	工作分配
Type 1	大腦本身做最好的事	創造、享受、放鬆、活在當下、與人連結 → 留給大腦
Type 2	大腦能做但系統做更有效率	任務管理、行事曆、email → 可以但不該交給大腦
Type 3	完全該外包給系統	記電話號碼、生日、與我關心之事無直接關聯的細節 → 必須交給系統

→ 生產力系統的目的不是塞滿時間，而是讓大腦不必做它不擅長的事。整支影片貫穿這條元命題。

三層架構：Ron / Hermione / Dumbledore

Ali 把完整系統拆成三層，可選擇性疊加：

層	角色定位	適合誰	解決什麼
Layer 1：Ron	Keep your life in order	所有人	基本生活管理；讓大腦不必記行事曆、任務、email、檔案
Layer 2：Hermione	Capture new information	大量閱讀 / 聽 podcast / 看影片並想記住內容的人	資訊捕捉；不讓「兩個月前讀過的書全忘了」這件事發生
Layer 3：Dumbledore	Build a Second Brain	想用系統當創意 thought partner 的人	建立連結；資訊不只是被儲存，而是會自我重現、激發新想法

→ 重要的隱含論點：不必一次裝完整套。Ron 層四件事就足以讓多數人生活在序，後兩層是 optional extra。

Layer 1（Ron）：四個必備組件

(1) Calendar — 行事曆是生活作業系統

• 若不在行事曆上，它就不存在——Ali 把所有事件、約會、阻擋時段都進行事曆。
• 引用 David-Allen：「Your brain is for having ideas, not for storing them.」（你的大腦是用來產生想法的，不是用來儲存它們）；附加 Ali 自家版本：「My brain is a dumbass. I want my brain to not have to remember things that it doesn’t need to.」
• 行事曆的三個功能：
  1. 記住要做的事（朋友邀約、晚餐、會議、看牙醫）
  2. 主動阻擋時段做想做的事（每天早上九點起 3 小時寫書、運動時段、社交時段、週五晚上做 dinner host）
  3. 配對自動排程 app（Calendly / TinyCal / SavvyCal）—— 把行事曆連結傳給對方，讓對方直接從你的 free slots 預約；省掉 email 來回協調
• Ali 用的是 Fantastical（第三方 calendar app）；Apple Calendar、Google Calendar 都行。

(2) Email — One-Touch to Inbox Zero

• 引用 Tiago-Forte 的「One-Touch to Inbox Zero」方法：每封 email 只「碰」收件匣一次，根據其性質立刻派出到對應系統，然後 archive：

email 性質	派出到
需要約時間	Calendar
需要做的事	Task manager（to-do list）
需要參考的資訊	Note-taking app
想之後讀的文章	Read-it-later app

• 額外通用 tips：
  • Unsubscribe 取消所有沒必要訂閱——Amazon、商家、行銷 email
  • Smart filter 過濾關鍵字 “unsubscribe”——Ali 在 Gmail 設過濾器，含 “unsubscribe” 關鍵字的 email 自動 skip 收件匣（行銷郵件 / 電子報共通特徵；真人寫的信很少含這詞）
  • 單一 email 入口——所有 email 轉發到同一個 Gmail（Ali 在劍橋唸醫學院時把學校 email 轉發到個人 Gmail）
  • 不要把收件匣當 to-do list——這是收件匣最常見的誤用

(3) To-do list — 100% 覆蓋率紀律

• 工具：Todoist（Ali 多年實測後的選擇）；iPhone dock 主畫面常駐

• 實作分層：

  • Daily Highlight：今天最重要的一件事（用紙本筆記寫）
  • Might-do list：今天可能會做的事（叫「might」而非「must」減壓）
  • Todoist 主清單：所有任務的真正歸宿
  • Someday/Maybe list（David-Allen 提示）：想做但無時程的事——攀岩、滑翔、樹屋露營、風箏衝浪——等下次規劃假期時翻

• 元命題：「任何不寫下來的事，你的大腦不會記得。」

• 100% 覆蓋率才有效——這是 Ali 教過數百個人後的結論：

  多數人 to-do list 失敗是「沒有 100% 覆蓋率」——清單只記了 90%，剩 10% 還在腦中。問題是「你不知道你忘了什麼」，所以你永遠在低度焦慮中懷疑「我清單上是有大部分事，但不是全部」，於是大腦仍在背景持續記憶——清單就失去意義。要有效，必須所有任務都進去，沒有例外。

(4) File management — Cloud storage

• Ali 雖是 Apple 鐵粉但仍用 Google Drive 作 cloud 主力：個人 Drive + 公司 Drive；本機 Mac 同步資料夾。
• 一切（business、醫學院筆記、physiology essays、照片回憶）都在 Drive；換電腦、硬碟壞、被偷都不怕。
• 現代搜尋功能夠強——「直接全 Drive 搜檔名」就能找到。

Layer 2（Hermione）：四個資訊捕捉組件

只給「想記住消費內容」的人——讀很多書 / 聽很多 podcast / 看很多影片但兩個月後全忘的人。

(1) Kindle app — 閱讀 + 高亮

• Ali 試過 Apple Books 等替代，「Kindle app 仍是最好的」；不必有實體 Kindle 也能用（雖然他推實體 Kindle 是 life-changing 產品）
• 大多數書讀 ebook 而非實體；高亮極順手
• Kindle Notebook 集中所有高亮——之後要找書中某段時，直接翻自己的 highlights

(2) Read-it-later app — Instapaper

• Ali 用 Instapaper（免費）多年
• 用法：在手機 / browser 看到文章不想當下讀 → share 到 Instapaper → 後續通勤 / 馬桶時間翻 Instapaper queue
• 核心價值：把「發現文章」與「讀文章」分離——
  • 反例：在馬桶上滑 Twitter 看到有趣文章，當下讀 → 馬桶坐 3 小時
  • 反例：工作中朋友推薦文章，當下讀 → 被 Wikipedia rabbit hole 帶走 → 偷走真正重要工作的時間
  • 正例：直接 send to Instapaper → 信任系統會在合適時點重新呈現
• 時間是唯一無法製造的非再生資源；中斷重要工作去讀外部推薦文章 = 偷時間

(3) Readwise — 高亮聚合層

• 自動拉 Kindle 高亮 + Instapaper 高亮 + 其他來源 → 集中一個 hub
• 可 export 到 Notion / Roam / Obsidian 等 PKM app
• 解決「前 Readwise 時代」的問題：找到動人段落 → 要自己手抄 → 要決定存哪 → 阻力高不會做
• 本質是 降低阻力 的工法——「讓系統幫我記，不是我記」

(4) Capture app — Apple Notes

• Ali 試過很多 note app，最終回到 Apple Notes
• 場景：馬桶 / 火車 / 聽 audiobook 時想到 → 開 Apple Notes 寫下 → 之後可搜尋
• 「有幾百筆 notes 在 Apple Notes，我不擔心當下分類，我信任系統會找到」
• 元命題：Minimum viable level of organization——降低自己壓力、避免 burnout 的關鍵就是「信任系統」，不要每筆 note 來都要做精心歸檔

Layer 3（Dumbledore）：Building a Second Brain

• 這層是 第二大腦 整套（Tiago-Forte 的書 + 課程）
• 工具：Ali 用 Roam（自 2019 年中起，三年），「或許要換 Obsidian」
• 與 Layer 1 / 2 的差別：
  • Layer 1：生活管理（事情有序）
  • Layer 2：資訊捕捉（讀過的東西能找回）
  • Layer 3：創造連結（系統作 thought partner，資訊會 resurface 並激發新想法）
• 應用場景（Ali 自陳）：寫書、做 content、寫 newsletter、做 podcast——所有創作都從 second brain 中萃取既有思考。
• Ali 提到要進入這層的人，可看他另一支 BASB 拆解 CODE 的影片（vault 對應的是 CODE系統）。

燒腦 takeaway

為什麼這支影片對 vault 特別重要

1. Ali 自己的完整系統首次以主題形式進 vault——之前 Ali-Abdaal entity 主要靠 Feel-Good-Productivity 與 10 Time Management Tips；這支影片補上「他到底用什麼工具、怎麼組織」這層具體實作。
2. 與 2026-05-07-Jeff-Su-簡單兩步驟生產力系統 形成「完整版 vs 簡化版」對位——
   • Ali 影片：2022-07-14 發布
   • Jeff Su 影片：2022-08-02 發布（Ali 後 3 週）
   • Jeff Su 開場提的「Tiago / Ali / Thomas Frank 系統對一般人嚇人」直接針對 Ali 這套 12 個組件的完整系統；他的 80/20 簡化是相對於 Ali 完整系統而言的。
3. 元命題的單一事實來源：「大腦不擅長記事」這條 vault 多處引用 David-Allen 的 quote（Jeff Su 也引用）；Ali 在影片中明確歸源 David Allen 並加上自家版本「My brain is a dumbass」。
4. Layer 模型可作為 CODE系統 簡化光譜的第四個參照點——但與 PC(O) / 老石三步 / Jeff Su 兩步是不同性質：Ali 的三層不是 CODE 的簡化，而是「漸進式擴增」——Layer 1 完全與 CODE 無關（生活管理），Layer 2 = Capture，Layer 3 才是完整 CODE。所以 Ali 模型回答的是「CODE 之前還需要什麼」這個 CODE 沒回答的問題。

與 vault 既有概念的銜接

• Actionability — 100% 覆蓋率紀律是 Ali 對 actionability 的隱性實作：找不到 Project 歸宿的事 = 還不該收進 to-do list
• Tiago-Forte — One-touch to Inbox Zero quotable + BASB 推薦
• 時間管理 — Calendar-first life management 紀律（若不在行事曆上，它就不存在）+ might-do list 命名減壓
• Feel-Good-Productivity — Ali 自承「好系統是 burnout 的解藥」——把記憶外包給系統，大腦才有空間做 Type 1（享受 / 創造 / 連結），這條完全對位 FGP 的能量為本

提取概念

連結到此來源衍生 / 更新的 wiki 頁：

• Ali-Abdaal — 大幅更新；補入 Ali 完整三層生產力系統（Ron / Hermione / Dumbledore）、12 組件工具棧、大腦 vs 系統 Venn 圖元命題、自家版「我的大腦是 dumbass」quote、to-do list 100% 覆蓋率紀律
• 第二大腦 — 補入 Ali Abdaal 把 BASB 定位為「Layer 3 / Dumbledore」的漸進式架構；BASB 不是入門系統，而是已有 Layer 1+2 後的進階模組
• CODE系統 — 補入 Ali 三層架構作為「CODE 之前」的補位框架——回答「Capture 之前還需要什麼基礎」這個 CODE 沒回答的問題
• Tiago-Forte — 補入「One-Touch to Inbox Zero」方法：每封 email 只碰收件匣一次，立即派出到 Calendar / Task / Notes / Read-later 之一然後 archive
• 時間管理 — 補入「若不在行事曆上，它就不存在」紀律；行事曆的三功能（記事、阻擋時段、自動排程連結）；might-do list 命名減壓；100% 覆蓋率紀律（10% 漏網會讓清單失效）；Daily Highlight + Might-do list + Someday/Maybe list 三層任務分層
• Actionability — 補入 100% 覆蓋率作為 Capture 階段的隱性紀律：清單少 10% 就破功
• Jeff-Su — 補入時間軸對位：Ali 影片 2022-07-14 / Jeff Su 影片 2022-08-02（後 3 週）；Jeff Su 兩步法直接相對 Ali 三層系統做簡化
• Feel-Good-Productivity — 補入「好系統是 burnout 的解藥」：把記憶外包給系統，大腦才有空間做 Type 1（享受 / 創造 / 連結）
• MOC-PKM — 來源累積補入「Ron / Hermione / Dumbledore 三層架構」作為CODE 之前的補位框架

Ingest 筆記

2026-05-07

• 不新建「三層生產力系統」獨立概念頁：Ron / Hermione / Dumbledore 是 Ali Abdaal 個人化的命名隱喻；本身不是與 CODE系統 並列的方法論，而是「CODE 之前的擴展架構」+「漸進式採用建議」。把它寫進 Ali-Abdaal entity 主軸 + CODE系統 / 第二大腦 補位段更符合單一事實來源。
• 不新建 David-Allen entity：本影片是 vault 第 2 份明確以 GTD / David Allen 為核心紀律的來源（前一份是 2026-05-07-Jeff-Su-簡單兩步驟生產力系統），且兩源同句引用（“Your brain is for having ideas, not for storing them”）。但仍未有以 David Allen / GTD 為主題的深度來源（如《Getting Things Done》書評、David Allen 自己的訪談）；先在觀察清單列為死連 stub 升至高優先，待第 1 份主題深度來源 ingest 後直接建頁。
• 不新建 Roam-Research / Obsidian / Instapaper / Readwise / Todoist / Fantastical entity：這些是工具實例 entities，目前僅以 Ali 的工具棧形式出現；vault 自身已用 Obsidian 但未建頁。觀察清單新增 PKM 工具叢集條目，待累積 1+ 份以工具為主題的深度來源後再建頁。
• 不新建 一觸碰收件匣歸零 / One-Touch-to-Inbox-Zero 概念頁：本期是 vault 第 2 份提及 Inbox Zero 主題的來源（前一份 2026-05-07-Jeff-Su-簡單兩步驟生產力系統 的 Gmail snooze 工法）；併入 時間管理 與 Tiago-Forte 即可。觀察清單新增 Inbox-Zero 死連 stub。
• 元命題校準：Ali 系統有兩條深層元命題值得永久標記：
  1. 大腦 vs 系統的 Venn 圖——把任務分 Type 1/2/3，明確劃分大腦該做與系統該做的工作；這是 Actionability 的「為什麼要外化」前置層。
  2. 100% 覆蓋率紀律——清單只蓋 90% 就破功，因為「你不知道你忘了什麼」會持續觸發背景焦慮；這條對 第二大腦 / Actionability / 時間管理 都是核心。
• 未來累積方向：
  • (a) Ali Abdaal 其他工具 / 系統影片（specific tool reviews、Building a Second Brain 拆解、Roam vs Obsidian 比較）——本影片末尾提到一支 BASB CODE 拆解影片，未來可 ingest
  • (b) 一手 Tiago Forte 的「One-Touch to Inbox Zero」方法源頭文章 / 演講
  • (c) David Allen / GTD 深度來源（書評 / 訪談 / 演講）—— 已有兩源同句引用 quote 累積
  • (d) Roam Research / Obsidian / Instapaper / Readwise 的主題深度來源
  • (e) Inbox Zero 主題深度來源（Ali 影片末尾提到他有一整支 Inbox Zero 影片）

原文（使用者提供的英文逐字稿）

以下為使用者貼入 YouTube 影片的英文字幕逐字稿（疑似 YouTube auto-caption；保留原口語節奏與時間戳）。

Intro
0:00
in this video we are talking about how
0:01
to build a productivity system and the
0:03
first question to start with is why do
0:04
you in fact need a productivity system
0:06
and really the main reason is so that we
0:08
can do the stuff that we want to do we
0:09
can do things that are meaningful to us
0:11
in an efficient way without wasting our
0:12
time and so that we're less stressed out
0:14
doing it because then we don't have to
0:15
rely on our brain to do things that it's
0:17
not designed to do and we can almost
0:18
think of this as like a bit of a venn
0:19
diagram where we've got the brain and
0:21
we've got our system and broadly we can
0:22
categorize tasks into one of three
0:24
things so type one tasks are things that
0:26
our brain itself does best these are
0:28
things like creativity and enjoyment and
0:30
relaxing and living in the present
0:32
moment and all that fun stuff connecting
0:33
with other people all of this stuff
0:35
totally cool if our brain does the thing
0:36
then we've got type 2 types of thing
0:38
which is stuff that like we often use
0:40
our brain for but that our productivity
0:42
system or some kind of system can
0:44
probably do a little bit more
0:45
efficiently for example things like
0:47
keeping on top of tasks keeping on top
0:49
of calendars keeping on top of emails
0:50
having to use our brain to remember all
0:52
of that stuff is really taxing and quite
0:54
stressful especially if you have a lot
0:55
of stuff to be doing and then thirdly
0:57
there is the type 3 stuff the stuff that
0:58
we definitely should be using some kind
1:00
of system for this generally involves
1:02
kind of remembering information that is
1:04
not directly connected to the things we
1:06
actually care about so for example
1:08
memorizing phone numbers is a bit of a
1:09
waste of time in a way memorizing a lot
1:11
of people's birthdays a bit of a waste
1:13
of time you can just outsource that to a
1:14
system like a calendar and so really the
1:15
idea of a productivity system is well
1:17
productivity is using our time
1:18
intentionally and effectively and so the
1:20
point of having a system for it is so
1:22
that our brain doesn't have to do so
1:23
much work so anyway in this video we're
1:24
going to talk about kind of three
1:25
different layers of a productivity
1:27
system that you can choose to build if
1:29
you feel that it helps you with your
1:30
life it certainly helps with mine and
1:32
we're going to split that into layer 1
1:33
which is ron layer 2 which is hermione
1:36
and layer 3 which is dumbledore

Ron: keep your life in order
1:39
so the wrong layer i.e layer one of the
1:40
system is all about keeping your life in
1:42
order and there are really four things
1:44
four different components that you need
1:46
in a productivity system in my humble
1:47
opinion to kind of get to a place where
1:49
your life is reasonably in order let the
1:51
feast begin

[Calendar 段]
1:52
the first one is a calendar now it
1:55
is amazing how many people i know who
1:57
don't live their lives based on a
1:58
calendar and who are trying to remember
2:00
in their own heads all of the
2:01
information for like events that they
2:03
need to attend a friend invites you for
2:04
a birthday party two weeks from now oh
2:05
it's cool it's fine i won't write it
2:07
down i will just try and remember oh
2:08
i've gotta have dinner with my mum next
2:10
week it's fine i'm just gonna remember
2:11
like our brain is so bad at remembering
2:13
these things and one of the quotes that
2:15
i always come back to is from david
2:16
allen who is one of the world's biggest
2:17
productivity gurus who says that your
2:19
brain is for having ideas not for
2:21
storing them and one of the principles
2:23
of productivity that i always come back
2:24
to and i have done over the last five
2:25
years is that my brain is a dumbass i
2:27
want my brain to not have to remember
2:29
things that it doesn't need to so feel
2:30
free to use a physical calendar if you
2:32
really want to but basically everyone in
2:33
the world these days uses some kind of
2:35
digital calendar usually some kind of
2:36
app on your phone apple calendar is good
2:38
google calendar is good there are a
2:40
bunch of different third party
2:41
alternatives the one i personally use is
2:43
fantastical this is for example what my
2:45
fantastic health looks like earlier
2:46
today breakfast with osama and sharina
2:48
dashoom same page meeting with angus
2:50
table read for this video podcast q a
2:53
for the podcast video filming video
2:54
filming and then i'm going to cambridge
2:56
for some talks this evening i have an
2:58
orthodontist appointment tomorrow i've
2:59
got this whole retreat thing that i'm
3:00
going to in the evening and basically
3:02
for the last several years i have been
3:04
running my life based on my calendar and
3:06
this is amazing this like takes an
3:07
enormous amount of stress off my
3:08
shoulders because if something is not in
3:09
the calendar then it doesn't exist like
3:12
as soon as a friend says to me hey do
3:13
you want to do this thing on this date
3:14
i'll look at my calendar and be like let
3:16
me have a look yep and i'll just add it
3:17
there there and then so that i'm not
3:19
trying to remember like what was that
3:20
thing that like catherine invite me to
3:22
et cetera et cetera so a calendar is
3:23
really good for remembering stuff that
3:24
you need to do but it's also really good
3:26
for actively intentionally blocking out
3:28
time for the things that you actually
3:29
want to do so for example for me i know
3:31
that every morning i want to block out
3:32
three hours to work on my book and so
3:34
there's a blockchain in my calendar and
3:35
then i know that oh okay cool when i get
3:37
to the morning at nine o'clock this is
3:39
the thing that i'm doing i block out
3:40
time for exercise i block at times for
3:42
sports event for social events friday
3:43
nights i want to host a dinner therefore
3:44
i'll block that timeout in my calendar
3:46
and then the third and final really good
3:47
reason to use a calendar is that you can
3:48
then use automatic scheduling apps like
3:50
calendly or tinycal or savvycal or any
3:53
of these others and what that does is it
3:54
generates a link and that link connects
3:56
to your calendar and then if you want to
3:57
arrange a meeting with someone or a zoom
3:59
call with someone you met on the
4:00
internet or even a hangout with friends
4:01
you could if you wanted to save the
4:03
whole back and forth of scheduling
4:04
especially if it's with email especially
4:05
if it's a work thing by just sending
4:07
them a calendar link and then they'd be
4:08
able to kind of book a time in your
4:09
calendar now i use this a lot for kind
4:11
of booking interviews for book research
4:12
and all this kind of stuff and it's just
4:14
super super helpful and it saves a lot
4:15
of time and again means that my own
4:17
brain doesn't have to kind of do the
4:19
work in arranging all these things all

Email
4:21
right the next thing every productivity
4:22
system needs at the wrong level is some
4:24
kind of system for email management most
4:26
of us use something like gmail that's
4:27
totally fine you can use an app like
4:29
apple mail i use an app called
4:30
superhuman which is very good but it's
4:31
expensive you have to pay for it but
4:33
it's it's pretty solid now there's an
4:34
approach to email that i really like
4:35
from my friend thiago forte who is again
4:37
productivity expert and it's called one
4:39
touch to inbox zero and basically the
4:41
idea behind this method is that every
4:43
email touches your inbox only once if
4:45
it's something that requires a calendar
4:47
event then it goes into your calendar
4:48
and then you archive the email if it's a
4:50
to-do if it's something that needs
4:51
action it goes into your task manager
4:53
more on that in a minute and then you
4:54
archive the email if it's information
4:56
that you need to reference at some point
4:57
you put it into a note-taking app and if
4:59
it's an article or something that you
5:00
might want to read it goes into your
5:02
read it later app and we'll talk much
5:03
more about those further in the video
5:04
there's a few general tips that apply to
5:05
emails as well which again are
5:07
completely game-changing for
5:08
productivity if you haven't done them
5:09
already the first one is to just
5:10
unsubscribe from all these random emails
5:11
like amazon or like sales or like shops
5:14
and like all of this stuff is pretty
5:15
unnecessary we don't want to treat our
5:17
inbox like kind of this place where any
5:19
kind of marketer from any kind of
5:20
company can just spam stuff into it one
5:22
thing that you can actually do and this
5:23
is what i do is that i've created a
5:25
smart filter in gmail which searches the
5:27
content of every email for the word
5:29
unsubscribe now if the word unsubscribe
5:31
is in an email it is probably not an
5:33
important email because no one
5:35
no real person is going to email you
5:37
with the word unsubscribe in their thing
5:38
whereas if you're getting like a
5:39
marketing communication or a newsletter
5:40
or whatever and it has the word
5:42
unsubscribe in it you can just
5:43
automatically make it skip your inbox so
5:44
it doesn't kind of clog up the inbox the
5:46
other thing you should do is that
5:47
ideally only have one place to deal with
5:49
all your email so for example when i was
5:50
at university i forwarded all my
5:52
university email to my personal gmail
5:54
and also all my personal gmail to my
5:55
personal gmail because gmail has just
5:57
way better features than whatever hermes
5:58
app that cambridge university was using
6:00
but really the main point is that we
6:01
want to avoid using our inbox our email
6:03
inbox as a place to find articles to
6:06
read or even worse using our email inbox
6:08
as a to-do list which brings us on to
6:10
component number three of a decent
6:11
productivity system and that is to have

To-do list
6:13
some kind of to-do list now again david
6:16
allen's advice from getting things done
6:17
comes in here your brain is for having
6:18
ideas not for holding them and if you
6:20
don't write something down in a to-do
6:21
list your brain is very unlikely to
6:23
remember the thing you could do this on
6:24
pen and paper if you really want to i
6:26
sometimes do like my daily planner i use
6:28
my essentially productivity part-time
6:29
productivity notebook and in that i ask
6:31
myself one question which is what is the
6:33
most important thing i need to do today
6:34
that's my daily highlight and every
6:36
every day i try and fill the end to be
6:37
like okay today the single most
6:39
important thing i want to do is x and
6:40
then i have a my to-do list this is just
6:42
stuff that i might do later in the day
6:44
and i like calling it a might do list
6:45
because it just takes a little bit of
6:46
the pressure off me and it means i don't
6:48
have to stress too much if i don't get
6:50
all those things done so that tends to
6:51
be what i do on a kind of day-by-day
6:52
basis when i figure out what am i doing
6:53
for the day but the actual app that i
6:55
use to track all of the other stuff is
6:57
todoist i've tried a bunch of different
6:59
apps over the years so essentially what
7:00
i do is that if i need to add a task to
7:03
my to-do list then usually i'll input it
7:05
on my phone or on my macbook if i happen
7:06
to be on my macbook and you'll see on my
7:08
iphone that i've literally got todoist
7:10
as like one of the primary things in my
7:12
dock so if i do think of anything at all
7:14
anytime a task pops into my mind i think
7:16
okay this is not gonna happen until i
7:17
write it down and i just open up to-do
7:19
list and i write down whatever the task
7:21
is so for example i know right now i
7:23
need to find bow tie
7:25
from cambridge flat cool now that's
7:27
written down now i i will get to it at
7:29
some point similarly i use this for
7:31
shopping list i use it for any thank you
7:32
emails i need to send as soon as
7:34
anything pops into mind it just goes
7:35
straight into the to-do list app either
7:37
on my phone or on my macbook and then
7:39
whenever i've got some time where i feel
7:40
like you know what i'm gonna batch go
7:41
through my to-do list because i've got
7:42
half an hour and nothing better to do
7:44
then i'll just go through and just bang
7:45
my bang i'll delete the ones that are no
7:47
longer relevant like oh should i get all
7:49
plant smoothies probably maybe not screw
7:51
it doesn't need to go i'll just take
7:52
that off or delete it but for something
7:54
i actually need to do it's great because
7:55
then i can batch and do these things
7:56
like i need to send a bunch of thank you
7:58
emails and so i've just batched them all
8:00
into todoist knowing that at some point
8:02
i'll get around to sending all these
8:03
emails in one go something i like to do
8:04
is sort of got this someday maybe list
8:06
for like you know work stuff someday
8:08
maybe it's like personal stuff these are
8:10
things i'd like to do at some point
8:11
rollerblading archery hunting glamping
8:13
mountain biking treehouse clamping
8:14
retreat all these different things like
8:16
when i have an idea for something cool i
8:18
just chuck it into the someday maybe
8:19
list this is again a tip from david
8:20
allen and that means that i know at some
8:22
point when it comes to planning my next
8:23
holiday i'll just be able to look at
8:24
that and think you know what the idea of
8:26
kite surfing sounds pretty cool let me
8:28
google and figure out where i can
8:29
potentially go kite surfing now at this
8:30
point the mistake that the vast majority
8:32
of people seem to make with their to-do
8:33
list at least from all the people that
8:34
i've coached in productivity is actually
8:36
not having 100 coverage so for example
8:39
if you have a to-do list and it only
8:40
covers 90 of your things rather than 100
8:43
you're going to get into one of these
8:44
problems i can't remember what i've
8:45
forgotten so like the point of the to-do
8:47
list is so that you don't forget things
8:49
but if 10 of things are in your brain
8:51
you won't know what that 10 is and so
8:53
you're always going to be stressed
8:54
thinking i know my to-do list has most
8:56
of the things i need to do but it
8:57
doesn't have all the things i need to do
8:58
therefore i still need to remember my
9:00
brain to do stuff and then it just adds
9:01
this sort of low low level tension and
9:03
stress to every single thing that we do

File management
9:06
in life anyway final thing in our wrong
9:08
level of productivity system is some
9:09
kind of file management system again
9:11
this is like super basic stuff but again
9:13
there are so many people who have
9:14
literally coached in productivity who
9:15
don't have a decent file management
9:17
system generally what you want is some
9:19
kind of cloud storage now the one that i
9:21
use even though i'm an apple fanboy for
9:23
absolutely everything i still use google
9:25
drive as my cloud storage system of
9:26
choice i've got my personal google drive
9:28
and i've got the business google drive
9:29
and i've got the folders on my mac so
9:31
for example i can look in my drive i can
9:34
look at all of my business stuff all of
9:35
my med school stuff let's look at
9:37
pre-clinical medicine let's look at
9:38
first here these are all the notes that
9:40
i had in first year across all my
9:41
different subjects let's look at home
9:43
that's physiology essays examples
9:45
documents all of this stuff it is all in
9:48
my google drive and i you know my my
9:50
whole life is basically on google drive
9:51
photos memories files all of the things
9:54
on google drive so that if i ever lose
9:56
my computer if my hard disk discover
9:57
goes if it ever gets stolen if i want to
9:59
upgrade computers it's so easy i know
10:01
every single thing is on google drive
10:03
and these days like searching functions
10:05
and these things are so good that
10:07
if i know that i need to find a certain
10:08
file i'll just search my google drive
10:10
for it because i know it's probably in
10:11
there somewhere all right so that was
10:12
the wrong layer of the productivity
10:13
system for essential life management the
10:15
four components that in my humble
10:17
opinion every single person needs to
10:19
survive in this world that we live in so
10:21
that your brain is not super super
10:22
stressed out trying to remember all
10:23
these random details the next layer up
10:25
of the productivity system is an
10:26
optional extra and this is for people
10:28
that consume a lot of books honestly
10:30
don't you two read and this is where the

Hermoine: capture new information
10:32
hermione level of the productivity
10:34
system comes in and basically the idea
10:35
here is that it's a layer above it's
10:37
like additional modules that you can add
10:39
to your basic productivity system if you
10:41
want if you consume a lot of media media
10:44
meaning books or audio books or podcasts
10:46
or videos or anything like that that you
10:48
might want to remember later this layer
10:50
of the productivity system is about
10:52
taking notes it's about capturing
10:53
information that resonates with us from
10:55
the stuff that we consume and again this
10:57
is for people who you know if you've had
10:58
that feeling where you read all these
10:59
things or you listen to all these things
11:01
and you have all these insights but you
11:02
don't write them down and then like two
11:03
months later you've forgotten what you
11:05
read in that book that potentially
11:06
changed your life that's the point of
11:08
this level of the productivity system

Kindle
11:09
and here we have another four modules of
11:11
the system so the first one is the
11:13
kindle app yes there are other ways to
11:15
read there's apple books and stuff but
11:16
like to be honest i've tested them all
11:17
and i found the kindle app to be by far
11:19
the best one you don't even need to have
11:20
a physical kindle although that's one of
11:22
the most life-changing products i do
11:23
recommend yeah the kindle app is
11:24
absolutely sick i tend to read most
11:26
things on ebook format rather than
11:28
physical book format but it's not just
11:29
reading that i can do on the kindle app
11:31
it is also highlighting and highlighting
11:32
on the kindle lab just is an absolute
11:34
breeze and what i can do is that once
11:35
i've read a book i can always look at my
11:37
highlights in the kindle notebook and
11:38
then if i need to revisit things that i
11:40
learned from a book or a quote from a
11:42
paranormal romance book that i
11:43
particularly enjoyed i can just open up
11:44
my highlights and i can see everything
11:46
that's previously resonated with me

Read-it-later app
11:47
alright so that was the kindle app next
11:48
we have a read it later app now the one
11:51
that i've been using for the last
11:52
several years is called instapaper it's
11:54
free and essentially the point of
11:55
instapaper is that anytime you're
11:57
reading something or you want to read an
11:58
article on the internet if you don't
12:00
want to read it there and then on your
12:01
phone or on your browser you can just
12:03
share it into something like instapaper
12:05
and then it will just show up on your
12:07
list and now again when i have a spare
12:09
moment if i'm commuting if i'm on a tube
12:10
or whatever i'll just open up insta
12:12
paper usually on my phone and i'll just
12:13
flick through some of the articles and
12:14
instant paper and i'll be like oh okay
12:16
cool this one looks interesting i'm
12:17
improving ourselves to death this is a
12:19
bit of a critique about self-help and i
12:20
can look through that article i can
12:22
highlight stuff as well it's all very
12:23
handy and it's just a great way of
12:25
separating the reading of articles from
12:27
coming across the articles because often
12:29
i find that you know if i'm on the
12:30
toilet for like three minutes and i'm
12:31
scrolling through twitter and i come
12:33
across an interesting article if i read
12:34
it there and then it might take 10
12:35
minutes and then i'm on the toilet for
12:37
three hours and that's not very good or
12:38
if i'm in the middle of something and
12:39
someone recommends an article i know i
12:40
want to read it at some point but i know
12:42
i don't want to read it there and then
12:44
i'll just send it straight to insta
12:45
paper and trust that at some point i
12:47
will get around to reading that article
12:48
and again this separation from
12:50
separation of things like if i'm trying
12:51
to focus on something that i genuinely
12:53
care about but then i get i get derailed
12:55
by an article recommendation and go down
12:56
this wikipedia rabbit holes trying to
12:57
figure out all these conspiracy theories
12:59
that ends up actually taking time away
13:01
from the thing that i actually care
13:02
about and kind of stopping me from kind
13:04
of being productive and being
13:05
intentional with how i'm spending my
13:06
time and because time is our most
13:07
valuable non-renewable resource it's the
13:09
only thing we can't make more of it's
13:11
like it always felt a bit like oh i know
13:13
i've carved out this time to work on
13:15
this thing that's important to me but
13:17
i've just been stolen away by being
13:18
distracted by this article insta paper
13:21
or something like that completely solves
13:22
that problem now when it comes to
13:23
actually finding articles and
13:24
interesting things to read that will
13:26
level up your life and like things you
13:27
actually care about people always ask me
13:29
like how do you find stuff to read and
13:30
for me it's because i subscribe to a
13:31
bunch of email newsletters and one of
13:33
the main ones that i read every single
13:34
day is called morningbrew who are very
[後續 Morning Brew 贊助段省略]

Readwise
14:53
alright component 3 of the
14:54
hermione layer is an app called read
14:56
wise i'll put an affiliate link down
14:57
below they're not sponsoring this video
14:58
but if you click the link you'll get an
15:00
extra two-month trial rather than just a
15:01
one-month trial and i'll get a bit of a
15:03
kickback if you sign up i've been
15:04
recommending read-wise for the last like
15:05
three years now read wise is incredible
15:08
it's like this little hub that takes in
15:10
details like it takes in your kindle
15:11
highlights and your insta paper
15:12
highlights and a few other sources and
15:14
it puts them all in one place and it
15:16
means you can then export those
15:18
highlights to apps like notion or rom
15:19
more on those in layer three and it's
15:21
really handy because now all of this
15:22
stuff gets automated anytime i see a
15:24
passage in kindle or an instant paper
15:26
that resonates with me where i think oh
15:28
i want to save this passage all i have
15:30
to do is highlight it and i trust i just
15:31
trust that read-wise will behind the
15:33
scenes sort it all out again before read
15:35
was existed before we had this kind of
15:36
thing what we'd have to do is if you
15:38
found a passage that resonated with you
15:39
you'd have to write it down you have to
15:40
highlight it you'd have to store it
15:41
somewhere you have to figure out where
15:42
you're trying to store it it becomes a
15:43
real faff and again coming back to a
15:45
point what is the point of a
15:46
productivity system people always ask
15:48
it's to get [stuff] off of your own brain
15:49
like i now don't need to remember all
15:51
these things because the system is
15:53
remembering it for me and then i trust
15:55
that the system will resurface it as and
15:57
when i need to access those highlights
15:58
again and then finally the fourth

Capture app
16:00
component of this sort of system is some
16:01
sort of capture app for notes now again
16:03
i've tried a bunch of systems over the
16:04
years but actually the one that i've
16:06
come back to most often is actually
16:07
apple notes and essentially anytime i
16:09
need to remember something for example
16:11
if i'm taking a note while i'm on the
16:12
toilet or if i'm on the train and
16:13
listening to an audiobook and i want to
16:14
take notes on something i'll just open
16:16
up apple notes and i'll write it down
16:17
and i'll trust that if i need to
16:18
resurface that thing sometime further
16:20
down the line it will always be in my
16:22
apple notes and it will always be
16:24
something that i could potentially
16:25
search for at this point honestly i've
16:26
got hundreds and hundreds and hundreds
16:27
of notes in my apple notes and then i
16:28
just trust that they're there like i
16:29
know i don't need to worry about doing
16:31
stuff with them as soon as they come in
16:33
i don't need to worry about an elaborate
16:34
system for this what i care about is
16:35
having the minimum viable level of
16:37
organization the minimum viable level of
16:39
systems and structure to again reduce my
16:42
own strain reduce my own stress even
16:44
often ask like oh how do you seem to not
16:45
burn out how do you manage like honestly
16:47
like having a decent system is a massive
16:49
cure for burnout because you just trust
16:51
the system you trust the system to do
16:52
stuff you don't have to again have that
16:54
low level of anxiety running in your
16:55
actual brain all right so that was the
16:56
hermione layer of the productivity
16:58
system and now the final layer that if
17:00
you want to layer on top of that you can
17:01
if you really want to is the dumbledore

Dumbledore: create a system
17:04
layer which relates to a concept called
17:06
building a second brain you might have

Building a Second Brain
17:07
heard me talk about building a second
17:08
brain before it is a book it is a system
17:09
it's a course written and done by my
17:11
friend thiago forte and it's like a
17:13
pretty game changing productivity system
17:15
because the idea like level one the run
17:17
the wrong layer level whatever you want
17:18
to call it was about just being able to
17:20
organize our life and kind of get by
17:22
level two was about capturing insights
17:24
from all the stuff that we read and
17:25
consume and level three this dumbledore
17:27
level is all about making connections
17:29
and in a way using our productivity
17:31
system for creativity rather than just
17:33
for storage and in a way if you can
17:34
actually build your own second brain
17:35
this ends up acting as a thought partner
17:37
for you i've been using this system
17:39
since like mid 2019 now it's been three
17:41
years and i've found so many ways in
17:43
which particularly for writing my book
17:45
but also for creating content and for
17:46
writing newsletters and for doing
17:47
podcasts the information i've captured
17:49
into my second brain using an app called
17:50
rome the one i use these days although i
17:52
might switch to obsidian more on that
17:53
later but capturing all this information
17:55
into an app called rome research means
17:57
that it just sort of resurfaces and if
17:58
you want to find out more about this
17:59
dumbledore level then check out this
18:00
video over here which is my book club
18:02
episode all about breaking down the
18:03
c-o-d-e component of the building a
18:05
second brain system and that will give
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you a step-by-step guide on how to apply
18:08
it in your own life so thank you so much
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for watching check out this video over
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here and i'll see in the next one