Setup guide
Second Brain Setup: Maps of Content
Build a useful index note from a few sources, explain each link and maintain it through deliberate review.
By tentus team · Updated 2026-10-26 · 1 min read
Method reference: Linking Your Thinking: Maps of Content. The workflow below is a practical adaptation, not a claim of automatic product behavior.
Choose a question for the map
Create a document whose title names a question or topic, such as "Alder onboarding decisions." Its job is navigation: explain where to begin and which notes answer which questions. There is no required ten-note threshold.
Build a small, annotated index
Fictional example: link an initial scope note under "What we agreed," a later deadline message under "What changed," and an open-question note under "What remains unknown." Add each date and a sentence explaining the link. Keep the latest deadline alongside the earlier one so the change is visible.
Use Lumi to suggest gaps, then review
Ask: "Based on these linked sources, what question is still unanswered? Point to the source behind each suggestion." Open the sources, reject unsupported links and write missing information explicitly. A suggested budget is not evidence that a client approved it.
Maintain the map when the work changes
Add a new link when it changes the answer, remove broken or irrelevant links, and record the review date. You maintain the index; this guide does not promise automatic map creation, stale-map alerts or inclusion in a weekly briefing.
Set it up with tentus
Use these steps with the tools available to you. tentus is preparing for pre-beta testing; join the waitlist to hear about access.
Other setup methods
Second Brain Setup: Zettelkasten
A practical linked-note exercise: write one idea, explain its connections and revisit the source.
Second Brain Setup: PARA Method
Apply Projects, Areas, Resources and Archives through a small, deliberate review of your notes.
Second Brain Setup: GTD Workflow
Use capture, clarification, organization and review to turn notes into decisions about what to do next.