Setup guide
Second Brain Setup: PARA Method
Tiago Forte's PARA method organizes everything into Projects, Areas, Resources, and Archives. Here's how to make it work with AI.
Why PARA works with AI
PARA is a lightweight folder system. The hard part is keeping it clean — moving finished projects to Archives, promoting resources to active projects. AI can handle the janitorial work.
Auto-categorization
When you capture something, AI suggests which PARA category it belongs in based on existing content. A note about next quarter's roadmap starts in Projects. A book summary goes to Resources.
Automatic archiving
When a project has had no activity for 30 days, AI flags it for archival or moves it automatically. Your active workspace stays focused on what's current.
Weekly PARA review briefing
Your weekly briefing shows: projects that need attention, resources relevant to active projects, and archives worth revisiting. PARA stays clean without you doing the cleanup.
Set it up with tentus
tentus makes this methodology practical. Lumi handles the linking and surfacing so you focus on the thinking.
Other setup methods
Second Brain Setup: Zettelkasten
The Zettelkasten method is the gold standard for networked thought. Here's how to set it up with AI so the linking happens automatically.
Second Brain Setup: GTD Workflow
David Allen's Getting Things Done is the original productivity workflow. Here's how AI keeps the capture-clarify-organize-review cycle running without the upkeep.
Second Brain Setup: Building a Second Brain (BASB)
Tiago Forte's BASB framework is the most popular second-brain system. Here's how to implement CODE — Capture, Organize, Distill, Express — with AI doing the heavy lifting.